Hiring a self-storage unit can be a great option to keep your furniture and items when your home or office is undergoing a significant renovation. However, you can’t just put everything in the boxes or containers and bring it to these facilities. In fact, there are a few things that are not recommended or even allowed to be stored in a storage unit, whether for hygiene and health reasons or for the sake of safety.
1. Dangerous goods
In most cases, hazardous items are not allowed to be kept in storage units to ensure safety for you and other people. These are any substances or goods which are basically hazardous, toxic, flammable, and combustible in any way. These include ammunition, weapons, explosives, fireworks, asbestos, fertilisers, compressed gases, cleaners, corrosives, petrol, and paint. If you are not sure about whether a substance or item you need to store is toxic or dangerous, make sure to ask the customer service before moving.
2. Illegal items
It is obvious that those items of an illicit nature or are stolen are completely permitted in every selfstorage unit. While many most services try their best to protect the privacy and security of their clients, they might ask for some proof of ownership for this purpose.
3. Food
When you keep food products for an extended period of time in storage units, they tend to attract vermin, especially if you did not store and maintain them properly. As a result, some common pests like cockroaches, ants, mice, and rats might penetrate the packages and cause lots of damage to all of your stored goods, both in your section and nearby areas. Therefore, you should not store any types of food and beverage in a storage unit.
4. Delicate items
Though most storage locations are secure places to keep your goods, these are not always climate controlled. This means that your items might be exposed to unfavorable conditions such as extreme temperatures or excess moisture. For this reason, do not keep your delicate and easily damaged items such as electronics, valuable books, or old photos in a storage unit unless you seal them well to protect from these elements.
5. Animals and plants
Whether dead or alive, animals and plants should not be kept in a self-storage unit. Even dried flowers or stuffed animals can still decay over time, which eventually leads to bad smells and attracts vermin.
6. Leaking items
You should also avoid bringing in items which have leaks or contain liquids that are likely to be released into a self-storage unit. These issues can result in serious damage to adjoining areas and ruin the items of other people in the facility. The cost of these damages might be passed to you at the end of the rental term. In worst cases, these clients can bring legal claims against you and ask for compensations, which can be costly.
