How to protect your furniture in storage

In this article, we’ll walk you through the best way to keep your furniture safe and protected while it’s in storage, no matter the duration of its stay.

1. Length of storage

Decide how long you need to put your furniture in storage for: is it temporary or long-term? This is crucial in deciding what sort of storage best suits you and your needs as it will help give an indication to prices and costs which will incur.

2. Clean your furniture

Many people forget about this step, but we would argue it’s one of the most important. Putting dirty furniture in storage will cause dirt to travel on to other items and bad odours to permeate the storage container and its contents. To clean furniture, you can use anything from soap and warm water to polishers and cleaning products for specific materials, for example wood or metal.

3. Dismantle large pieces of furniture

Not only will this prevent damage if your container is manhandled, but it is also cost-effective as it optimises the space you have available. Disassembling furniture reduces the risk of breakage or scratches and makes moving your furniture in and out of storage much easier.

4. Wrap everything up!

Lay thick plastic sheets on the floor and over your furniture to avoid moisture and unwanted stains seeping into your possessions.

5. Consider glass

Glass is delicate and likely to smash if not stored properly, so ensure everything that has glass in it is bubble wrapped and secure before putting into storage.

6. Don’t put furniture directly on the floor

Try using a platform to keep your furniture raised, i.e. with cinderblocks or wooden pallets. This gives additional protection against unforeseen circumstances such as flooding, which has the potential to damage your items.

7. Don’t cram too much inside

It might be tempting to pack your storage container to the brim to optimise space but think about hiring an additional container instead. This is because when furniture is packed tightly together, there is more chance of damage or scratches.

Medium Box, open by Meathead Movers licensed under Creative Commons 4.0