How to prepare appliances for storage in 3 easy steps

If your place is being consumed by appliances you don’t use, or you are moving soon, it’s a good idea to keep them in a storage unit. Keeping appliances in storage units is a great solution short and long term. However, if you don’t store your appliances properly, they can damage storage units. To avoid any problems and costs, it will be important to know how to prepare appliances for storage. That is why Zippy Shell Greater Columbus has prepared some tips just for you on how to do this the right way.

Before you prepare appliances for storage create an inventory list

Your appliances such as a fridge and dishwasher can be quite expensive. That is why it’s a good idea to create a detailed inventory of all of your appliances to help you keep track of them. Make sure to have two copies of the inventory. Keep one copy inside the self storage Hilliard Ohio companies offer. This way, you will know what went it and what comes out of the storage unit. Additionally, you can use this opportunity to declutter. All of us have bought appliances we never used. And now is a good time to get rid of that rice cooker or pasta maker you never touched. You can either donate your appliances or sell them.

Buy high-quality packing materials

If you don’t have the original package of the appliances no longer, we suggest buying high-quality packing materials for the best protection. Take measurements of the appliances so you can get the right size. We recommend buying the following materials:

• Tea chest-size storage boxes
• Bubble wrap
• Packing tape
• Fragile packing tape
• Butchers paper

Prepare appliances for storage by unplugging and cleaning them

Don’t wait until the last moment to unplug your appliances. If you are storing a fridge or a freezer, always unplug them for at least 24 hours before storing them in one of the storage units Columbus Ohio residents recommend. This is going to give you enough time to clean the inside and remove any leftover food. Also, make sure to defrost your freezer and drain the ice properly. You will need to wipe and dry the fridge well. If you plan on storing a dryer, washer, or dishwasher in a storage unit, be sure to run a cycle with a cleaner before you disconnect any parts. Give the appliances enough time to dry out before storing them. After everything is dried, tape shelving, nobs, or racks in place so they don’t accidentally get lost during transportation.

Find the original packaging if possible

The best way of storing appliances is to put them in the original packaging. The original packaging was designed to protect appliances during storage as well as transport. This means it’s perfectly sized to prevent any movement during transportation. In addition, Styrofoam will keep the most delicate parts of appliances from ending up damaged. So be sure to get as much original packaging as you can.

How to wrap and pack small appliances

To prepare small appliances for storage, follow these steps:

• Put bubble wrap down on a flat surface
• Stuff any empty space of the appliance using packing paper
• Use bubble wrap to wrap the outside and around the item. Be careful with fragile sections of the item
• Fasten the bubble wrap with packing tape
• Fill every box with lots of bubble wrap
• Put the appliance in a box and use more packing paper to fill any gaps
• Close the top of the boxes with packing tape. Also, make sure to strengthen the base of every box with tape
• Place the boxes in resealable bags
• Put small boxes in a big moving box. Make sure the big box is only filled to the point where you can comfortably close and tape the top tuck

How to prepare and wrap large appliances

Dismantle large appliances such as the freezer and fridge as much as possible. For example, take out drawers and shelves from freezers and fridges. After you dismantle the appliances, encase them in a bubble wrap layer and then in a moving blanket. You can also use a rope to keep everything together. Don’t forget to only move large items with a moving dolly and make sure they stay the right way up in storage and during transportation.

Don’t forget to label everything

You will need to label boxes with specific when you are preparing appliances for storage. Otherwise, it will be difficult to find anything in the storage unit. It’s not enough to just write “Kitchen” on a box because there will be lots of boxes that say “Kitchen” and you won’t know what is inside of them. Instead, write the contents of the box. For instance, “Kitchen – Baking Appliances”. Or “Kitchen – Electric Appliances”. Also, you can stick colored stickers on the boxes and have this color-coded system correspond to the inventory. This way it will be easy to tell where the appliances are.

Store your appliances in a climate-controlled unit

Climate-controlled units keep constant temperatures which is a must for certain items. Items that require climate controlled storage need to be in such units because that’s the only way for them to stay in perfect condition. Your appliances are one of those things. By storing them in a climate-controlled unit you are going to protect the mechanical and electrical parts of appliances. Another benefit of storing appliances in those kinds of storage units is that they are pests, mold, or mildew free!

Take your time to prepare appliances for storage properly

Preparing appliances for storage properly will take a lot of time. However, it will protect them, so they are usable in the future. Don’t take the easy way out and move them to Columbus Ohio storage units climate controlled without preparing them in advance. No one needs the stress or expenses of replacing good appliances because they were not prepared for storage correctly. Therefore, take your time and prepare appliances for storage properly!