How To Protect Your Valuables When Keeping Them In Self Storage

Putting your valuables into self storage is a great way to keep them safe and secure as well as free up some space in your home. The last thing you want however is to find that when it comes to collecting your items, they have become damaged because they weren't stored properly.

In order to ensure that your items look as good as they did the day you packed them away, below are some great tips on how to protect your valuables when keeping them in self storage.

Furniture - furniture is often very expensive so the last thing you want is to find it's unusable when you need it. When storing it away, make sure that all furniture is kept off the ground on something like a wooden pallet. Ensure that you put plastic over the pallet as well as this will prevent moisture or mold reaching your items.

Applying wax to wooden furniture beforehand can help it to stay looking great and having any upholstered furniture cleaned can preserve it for longer. Covering everything with a dust sheet will prevent it from becoming damaged and also consider rodent repellent as an extra precaution.

Electronics - computers, televisions, scanners, photocopy machines, laptops and any other electrical equipment is not only fragile but probably expensive as well. Naturally, you want to ensure that these items are well protected and you can do this in a number of ways.

Try to store them in the original box they came in and individually wrap each item in bubble wrap. Not only will this protect them from getting damaged by dust but if they do happen to get dropped, the packaging should hopefully prevent the item from breaking.

Appliances - the most important thing to do when keeping appliances in self storage is to ensure they're thoroughly washed and dried before you put them away. This will help to prevent build-ups, rot, rust and attracting pests. Also try to leave the doors of the appliances slightly open to allow air to pass through so you're not greeted with a horrible musty smell when you want to use it again.

Paperwork - people wrongly assume that it's easy to store paperwork because you simply put it away in a box and forget about it. Unfortunately, paperwork can be hard to preserve and the last thing you want to find it that the ink has faded or pests have eaten it.

In order to avoid this happening, think about climate control. This is useful for managing humidity (when it's too humid, mildew can occur.) A constant and moderate temperature will help to preserve your documents as will an airtight container.

Keep boxes off the floor and consider keeping any papers in a filing cabinet as this offers an extra layer of protection. The added benefit of this is that you will easily be able to locate particular documents as and when you need them.



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