The cold winter weather can be hard on many commonly stored items such as wood furniture, old electronics, and even many decor items that contain liquids such as snow globes and lava lamps. In order to prevent damage to these items, it is important that you take a few minutes to ensure your storage unit is ready for the cold winter season ahead. Thankfully, with the checklist below accomplishing this task can be relatively easy.
Step 1: Use Wood Pallets To Lift Items Off The Floor
Most storage units make use of either concrete or metal floors since these flooring materials are so resistant to many types of damage. The problem is, these materials can also hold moisture and will easily transfer cold temperatures to your stored belongings if you allow these items to rest directly on the floor's surface. Wood pallets provide a simple and inexpensive option to lift your items off the floor while still allowing for adequate airflow.
Step 2: Make Sure Sensitive Items Are Not Stored Up Against The Wall
The walls in a self-storage unit will often be made from the same materials as the flooring and will therefore pose the same dangers to your stored belongings. If you have items that are particularly sensitive to cold weather conditions, you will want to store these units towards the center of your unit. If you absolutely must put some of these items close to the wall, you will want to use blankets or other similar items to help provide an extra layer of insulation.
Step 3: Cover Wood And Electronic Items With Heavy Duty Plastic
Wood and electronic items are not necessarily sensitive to cold weather, however, they are extremely sensitive to the excess moisture that often comes along with the winter season. In order to protect these items from moisture damage, you will want to cover these items with a heavy-duty plastic cover. Just be sure that your wood items are well conditioned before you cover them so that they do not dry rot either.
Step 4: Remove Or Insulate Liquids
As liquids freeze and become solid they expand. While this is not necessarily a problem in itself, it can quickly become a problem if the container that houses the liquid is not capable of expanding as well. In order to prevent containers with liquids in them from bursting when the liquid freezes, it is important to either remove these items from your storage unit or to provide them with enough insulation to prevent the liquids from freezing.
Step 5: Install A Weatherproof Lock
Keeping your stored items in tip-top shape will not do you much good if you are unable to access your storage unit because the lock has frozen. If your unit is not already equipped with a weatherproof lock, you will want to take this time to install one.
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