Whether you are moving house, downsizing, decluttering, or saving furniture for your children, self storage is a helpful option that will give you a safe place to store items of all sizes including furniture: sofas, sectionals, dressers, kitchen sets, and more.
While it may seem a daunting task at first, (and moving always does), putting your furniture in a self storage locker will ensure the safety and protection of your household possessions. Self-storage lockers are clean and dry but they are not temperature controlled unless they are specifically called climate controlled, a premium solution.
Therefore, it is important to properly protect furniture so that your furniture remains in great condition – ready for your next home or to pass along to someone else in the future. Here are some tips to help you better protect your furniture while in storage at a commercial storage facility.
1 – Clean and prepare
The first step to putting your furniture in a self storage unit is to prepare your items, and this starts by cleaning furniture. Steaming cleaning is a popular way to freshen upholstered furniture and remove dirt and odours. This is a good idea so that stains are removed and won’t continue to attack fabric and cause more damage while in storage.
Wooden items such as tables, dressers, and desks can be protected with a furniture polish / wax to moisturize and clean the surface.
Once clean, put your furniture in a well-ventilated room and dry completely before packing it up. This will ensure there are no patches of trapped moisture that could cause water damage, discolouration or mould growth over time.
2 – Disassemble large items for transportation and storage
After cleaning your furniture, it’s time to disassemble the larger items for easier transportation and more efficient storage. By removing legs from tables, taking out drawers on dressers and taking off cushions from couches, not only will furniture be easier to transport but it will also be easier to stack in your storage unit.
When disassembling your furniture make sure that you do this carefully. If you lose any nuts or bolts it’s possible you won’t be able to construct the furniture again, or it will at least be more difficult. It’s always a good idea to put any bolts, screws etc., in a marked envelop that is taped underneath the furniture item.
3 – Cover and protect your furniture
Now you have cleaned your furniture and disassembled the larger pieces, it’s time to make sure that they are all protected properly. Wrap items that can easily break in bubble wrap and protect larger items of furniture by covering them with blankets or cotton drop cloths.
Although many people might suggest covering furniture in plastic, you should avoid this where possible. Plastic packaging can suffocate certain materials such as leather and cloth fabrics, which can lead to condensation, mould and unpleasant smells that are difficult to remove.
4 – Store smartly
When placing your furniture in the self storage unit, make sure you do it strategically. Maximize your unit’s space by creating a proper plan to stack your items, and if you think you might need something then make sure it’s accessible.
Storing your items strategically will encourage air to flow freely around your unit and that will protect your furniture from damage, but it will also reduce damage to your items by placing heavier items on the bottom and items that you might need closer to the door.
Ready to find out about our self-storage solutions in Gravenhurst, Minden and MacTier? Contact us today to get answers to your questions and obtain a no-obligation storage quote.