If you are planning on putting your furniture and belongings in a long-term storage unit, you are probably worried about their safety. There are many people who don't take the steps to protect their things and end up damaging their items beyond repair. This is why it is so important that, if you put your items in long-term storage, you do a couple things to protect them.
1. Polish All Surfaces
Before you put anything in storage, you should polish it. This goes for wood, leather, and any kind of porous surface. A good polish will protect the material from absorbing any moisture while in the unit so that it won't break or expand. You should be sure that you use nice polish with protective ingredients so that there is a layer of protection between the surface and the elements that could harm it.
2. Cover All Items Loosely With A Cloth
While your items are in storage, you may be tempted to cover the items with plastic or some sort of wrap. Unless you can get it professionally done, you should abstain from plastic wrap. Plastic wrap can harm the items if it doesn't allow any air to pass through. This is why a cloth loosely draped over the items works as well or better than any kind of wrap you can get.
This cloth will help to protect your belongings from dirt and dust that could erode the surfaces of the items but still let enough air pass through so that the materials can properly breathe.
3. Opt For A Climate-Controlled Unit
One of the worst things you can do for your expensive furniture and musical instruments is store them in a place that has extreme weather and temperature changes. For instance, if you have a piano and it goes between dry and wet climates or extreme temperature changes, it will cause the piano to go out of tune and damage the strings. This is also the case for leather and wood. It can cause the leather to crack and the wood to expand and shrink.
For this reason, you should be sure that the unit you choose has a way to control the temperature so that it stays at a constant level and humidity. Paying extra each month to keep the temperature constant will be nothing compared to the cost of replacing all of your things because of climate damage.
These are just a couple things that you can do when storing your belongings to ensure they are safe. Contact a company like Allsafe & Storaway Self Storage for more tips.
