Two Tips to Keep in Mind If You Plan to Put Your Furniture into a Storage Unit

The storage units that are provided by self-storage companies are ideal spaces in which to safely stow valuable items, including furniture. If you're planning to put your furniture into one of these storage units, here are some tips that you may find helpful.

Inspect and clean the upholstered parts of the furniture before putting it into the unit

If some of the furniture that you plan to put into the unit is upholstered, then it is important to thoroughly check it for dirt and stains and to clean any that you find before placing the furniture in this storage space.

This is because if for example, you or a family member recently spilt some food or drink on the upholstered item, and this spillage is not noticed and completely cleaned up before the item is put into storage, the dirty section of the fabric may gradually become mouldy. If this mould is left to fester for months whilst the piece of furniture is in the unit, it may leave the fabric with a permanent stain and odour.

If this happens, you may end up having to get the affected item reupholstered when you eventually collect it from the unit.

Try to avoid stacking pieces of furniture on top of one another

In order to save space inside the unit, you might be thinking about stacking some pieces of furniture on top of other items. However, this might not be a very wise decision. If, for example, you place a hefty armchair on top of a table and leave the items in this position in the unit for months on end, the weight of this armchair bearing down on the table could eventually cause the latter to collapse. If the table collapses, the armchair could then fall off it and then land on another nearby item. If this happens, both the armchair and the item it lands on could end up broken.

Similarly, if you stack the disassembled pieces of a metal bed frame on top of a glass coffee table, these sharp-edged components could scratch the surface of the glass or even cause it to crack (if they are very heavy).

In short, adopting this space-saving technique could lead to you having to replace, or have extensive repair work performed on, several of the items you put into the unit, and that means it isn't worth it. Rent two storage units if you must to fit everything safely and securely.