Whether you’re a lucky person shifting your home to your dream burrow, or a rather unlucky student who got stuck with a tiny dorm room for the semester, you might be having the same unfortunate problem – lack of space.
What is fortunate about this situation is that there are several safe and cheap storage options available at your disposal. Most storage units can solve all personal storage problems. You don’t need to worry about your excess belongings as they can be safely kept in a storage unit.
While this sounds a one-unit-fits-all type of solution to all your storage problems, keep in mind that you can’t store absolutely anything in the unit. That’s because doing so may cause some safety risks over time. But hold on! Yes, out of season clothes, books, or even furniture, can rest happily in a storage unit.
But, some people are extra creative. Don’t get us wrong, we appreciate creativity and out-of-the-box ideas, but don’t be so creative that it lands you into trouble.
Neither do you want to lose your self-respect by being so creative that you do something downright stupid, nor do you want to trouble your storage providers. Take our word: not troubling others is in fashion (and always has been).
Things You Must Avoid While Using Storage Units
If you have already chosen a cheap Brighton storage unit according to your needs, you should be aware of the type of things you should not put in storage units.
Here is a list of 8 things we do not recommend you to store in your unit.
Perishable Goods.
No one is a fan of molds and bacteria, unless it is cheese. That is another topic. But one thing we know for sure is that getting all your items covered in gross fungus is the last thing you want.
Foods and other perishable items can go bad easily, even if you go for weather controlled storage units. It is especially true if they’re not stored properly for an extended period. If left for a prolonged time, foods can rot and then start giving off nasty odors, making room for bacteria and mold to cover the entirety of your personal storage. When the gross fungus stays longer in your storage unit, it can be a costly and time-consuming problem. For instance, you might have to hire some professionals to perform the mold remediation process to eliminate the mold from your unit.
Consequently, it will attract rats and insects too. Your personal storage cannot become your personal pantry. We say stay away from storing food!
Illegal or Stolen Items.
Well, this should be obvious. Anything that you don’t own legally, should not be with you in the first place, let alone being in your storage unit. You can get the storage company in trouble, or be in trouble yourself, if the storage company sues you for illegal possession of stolen items.
This includes all stolen or illegal items like, smuggled tobacco, illicit alcohol, unregistered vehicles, and unlicensed medicines.
Flammable Materials
Any items that are prone to burning or exploding can not only damage property and infrastructure, but also pose serious risk to human life. Most storage companies are legally prohibited to store such items to avoid accidents and potential injuries.
This includes all hazardous materials like fuels, insecticides, liquor, firearms, air guns, chemicals, acids, gases, etc.
If you are not sure whether the items you want to store, in the cheap storage unit you have just found, are hazardous or not, check the queries section of the website, or just give your storage provider a call.
Moreover, if you’re looking for a storage unit provider like Maidstone Removals who knows what should or shouldn’t be stored in the storage facility, you can ask for referrals from family and friends or conduct a thorough search online. Doing so allows you to obtain a detailed list of prospective storage unit providers to choose from the get-go.
Your artwork
If you think a nice and cheap storage unit can be the place to store all of your paintings that you can’t get rid of as yet, then you might be a bit wrong.
Paints have pigments and chemicals that can lead to chemical reactions, if kept in extreme temperatures. A temperature of 70 to 75 degrees is optimum for most artworks. Canvases can also shrink or expand, if not kept properly.
The solution for this is two-fold. First, check the ingredients of your art materials and figure out, if there is any substance that might decompose. A sealing varnish can help too.
Second, find out the temperature your storage unit maintains. There are some weather controlled as well as cheap storage units available too, make sure you select the right one for your precious pieces of art. Although most pieces of artwork aren’t allowed in many storage facilities, there are some options that let these valuable possessions be safely stored in a storage unit. All you have to do is choose the right one carefully, and your precious artwork will be safe.
All living things!!
This goes without saying, right? No matter how safe and nice you think the unit is, you can never keep any living being inside one.
Humans and animals are beings that are made to live, not to store. It is a really bad idea to store even insects, inside a storage unit, for the purpose of dissection. This is exactly what we meant by some people being so creative that they do something downright stupid.
You don’t want to be one of them! Gone are the days when philosophers would say that animals are only automata who cannot feel anything (sorry, Descartes).
Anything wet
Before putting your belongings in a storage unit, you must check each item and make sure that everything is dry. Wetness is the best friend of molds and bacteria. Even if your items remain safe from such micro-organisms, there is no doubt that moisture will damage all your things.
Clothes, furniture, leather, almost everything, gets ruined by moisture. If you want your things to be fine when you get them back, you need to keep this in mind.
Money and Other Valuables
Most storage companies assure safety of your items and take many precautions to keep their units secure by using padlocks and keeping guards.
Still, you shouldn’t store money and other valuables, like jewelry and precious stones, in the unit. Same goes for your important documents like passport, driving license, and birth certificate. The reason for this is that while you have read this article, you cannot be sure that other people who keep their items in the units next to yours, will not keep something inflammable.
Therefore, we recommend that you keep such valuable items in a safe or a safety deposit box in your near-by bank or a portable storage.
No scents either.
Take our two cents and never put scents in your storage unit (pun intended). The reason? Certain scented items like candles and potpourri might attract rodents and other creepy insects into the place.
Once rats have made their way into your belongings, you can expect nothing less than a horror movie scene.
They’ll chew your precious plush toys with their sharp teeth, and destroy your beloved items with their wicked little hands (do rats have hands? Somebody call ratatouille). Sorry if that scared you. In all seriousness, we don’t recommend putting scented items in a storage unit.
We hope that you keep all of these things in mind and never put them in a storage unit. Be nice to yourself and the anonymous owners of the units next to yours. Happy storing!