You should always treat your furniture with care, especially when you are moving. How to protect furniture when moving? Whether you’re moving across the country or on the road, you want all of your belongings to arrive in perfect condition. Additionally, furniture is one of the heaviest and most expensive items to pack, ship, and move. Replacing any type of damaged furniture during a move can be very expensive.
Gather Packing Supplies
Be honest: when you used to move, did you pack everything in boxes and call it a day? How about loading a couch, dresser or refrigerator directly into a moving truck without any packaging or protection?
How to protect furniture corners when moving. A common sentimental myth is that all you need to pack and protect your belongings are cardboard boxes, duct tape, and moving blankets. While these items are effective, investing in more supplies will ensure a smooth move into your new home or into a storage facility.
What Supplies Need To Protect Furniture When Moving?
How to protect furniture when moving If you want to protect your furniture during the moving process, you don’t need to spend much money on supplies. Simply head to your local hardware store or shop online to purchase the following additional items for your furniture:
- Bubble Wrap
- Sofa and mattress covers
- Plastic stretch wrap
- Sealable plastic bags
- Corrugated cardboard sheets
- Soft, non-scratch moving blankets
- Optional: Painters tape and a permanent marker for labeling
How to Prepare Furniture for Packing
When it comes to larger pieces of furniture, we all know that disassembling is inevitable. But before you start taking drawers out of dressers and legs off of tables, there are a few key steps to take to prepare your furniture to be packed.
How to protect corners of furniture when moving. Before you pack or dismantle anything, take the time to thoroughly clean and dust your furniture. It may seem silly, but this is an important step. Dust and other debris can scratch hard surfaces during the moving process. Cleaning the furniture before you move also means you won’t drag any unnecessary grime into your new home. In other words: You’ll thank yourself later!
You’ll also want to take a few minutes to remove any knobs, casters, or pulls from your furniture. Take the drawers out of dressers and desks and pack other items neatly inside them. This functions as extra storage space while lightening up heavy furniture for the move.
Disassemble Furniture in Advance
How to protect furniture when moving? If possible, completely disassemble your furniture. Remove the legs from the table and sofa. Remove the bed frame and remove the cushions from the sofa and chairs. In short, if a piece of furniture can be safely disassembled, do it. This makes it easier to move furniture and avoid damage from hitting walls or door frames. It also makes it easier to pack a moving truck.
To safely disassemble furniture for packing, consider the following tips:
● Always use the instruction manual (if available) to determine how to properly disassemble furniture, appliances, or electronics.
● Store screws and other small parts for each piece of furniture in a resealable plastic bag. Stick the bag firmly to the item to prevent loss of hardware.
If a piece of furniture has a lot of pieces, use masking tape and a marker to note where each piece goes. This will go a long way to protect your furniture. (Not only does this protect your furniture in the long run, but it saves you time and effort when it’s time to put everything back together again.)
● Go easy with the drill when dismantling and reassembling. You don’t want to risk stripping the screws. Make sure you lower the torque setting and use the correct size drill bit for the job.
● Consider dismantling furniture the day before to save time on a moving day. If you’re hiring movers, chances are you’re paying by the hour.
>>Read more: The Simplest Way How To Protect Furniture From Cats In 2023
Shrink-wrap My Furniture for Moving?
When it comes to protecting your furniture, bubble wrap and plastic sheeting are fantastic tools that are easy to obtain. Plastic wrap adds an extra layer of protection and helps prevent gouges or scratches while furniture is on the moving truck.
How Do You Shrink-wrap Furniture For Moving?
Wrapping your furniture with bubble wrap or plastic sheets is incredibly easy. It’s totally doable to wrap furniture for moving by yourself. However, having a partner can help if the item is especially heavy or breakable. All you need to do is wrap delicate pieces in two to three layers. Plastic wrap, or specially designed plastic sofa covers, should be used to protect your upholstered items. In a pinch, old blankets or packing blankets will also work.
So How to protect furniture when moving, bubble Wrap is also ideal for protecting glass table tops and mirrors. Consider taping a giant “X” on the item using painter’s tape, so if it breaks, it will be less likely to shatter. Wrap the glass or mirror completely, paying special attention to the corners. Finish by placing the item between two sheets of corrugated cardboard.
Does Plastic Wrap Damage Wood Furniture?
How to protect furniture when moving, especially for woof furniture? Wood furniture is some of the easiest furniture to damage when moving. From antique wooden pieces to newly finished wood dressers and tables, it’s essential to protect these pieces adequately during a big move to preserve them for years to come.
However, if you’re planning on moving any wood furniture, plastic wrap and bubble wrap may not be the best protective option. Plastic wrap won’t damage wood furniture in any way, but it also may not provide enough protection to prevent warps, dents, and cracks. Instead, you may want to opt for something with a thicker material, like a moving blanket. Then, you can use plastic or bubble wrap as an additional layer of protection. Using corrugated cardboard sheets between wooden pieces is also a good idea.
Learn How to Pack a Moving Truck
How to protect furniture when moving? Once you’ve taken the time to prepare and pack the furniture you need for your move, it’s time to load everything into your car, van, or moving truck. But did you know: the way you put items in your moving truck makes all the difference!
Properly packing your moving truck will ensure your furniture won’t fray or tip over during transit. Plus, weight distribution is key to avoiding damage along the way. For example, you want to avoid putting your weight on the TV screen. This can result in scratches, cracks and irreversible damage.
Planning how to pack your moving truck will make things easier for you and your movers. Here are some top tips from us to help you get started:
- Start by building a wall of crates on the back of the truck. The cartons should be the same size, sealed and tightly packed to prevent displacement. For this part, choose the heaviest case that shouldn’t contain any breakable items. It will bring extra stability.
- Next, move in any square furniture, such as dressers or desks. Place them directly against your box wall for added cushion. Be sure to use packing blankets or corrugated cardboard between pieces.
- Use the tops of the dressers to stack more boxes. Just be sure the boxes are lightweight and tightly packed to prevent slippage.
- Move in mattresses next. Place a blanket on the floor to protect your mattress from dirt, especially if you haven’t wrapped it.
- Upholstered items need additional care. Use rope to secure the pieces to the hooks in the truck. Then, carefully choose which items will be packed around them. Even though you’ve wrapped your upholstered items, include a layer of packing blankets for added security.
- Don’t forget to take care when unloading the truck as well. Make sure the path to each room is clearly marked for the movers. The less time spent finding the correct spot to put down your heavy furniture, the less likely it will become damaged.
Protect Your Furniture During the Moving Process
Moving doesn’t have to be stressful. Take some of the worries out of the equation by packing, securing, and moving your larger items properly. Doing so will help ensure your furniture arrives at your new home in good shape. If you decide to utilize self-storage for your move, learn more about how to keep your items safe inside a storage unit.
If you’re looking for an answer to How to protect furniture when moving? there are many ways to do so. Keep on reading this article and we, QF – factory direct furniture, will show you how?
5 Steps to Take to Protect Your Furniture in Storage
1. Rent a Climate-Controlled Storage Unit
First, you need to make sure you rent the right type of storage unit. When it comes to storing furniture, you should rent a climate-controlled storage unit.
How to protect furniture when moving With a climate-controlled storage unit, the temperature and humidity is controlled and kept at the same level throughout the year with thermostats, HVAC systems, and dehumidifiers. With this control, you can avoid extreme heat and moisture that could damage your furniture.
A temperature-controlled storage unit protects your furniture from developing mold and rot, both of which can occur when your furniture is stored in a wet or humid unit. A temperature-controlled storage unit can also protect your furniture against cracking, which can occur with extreme temperature and humidity fluctuations.
2. Put Pallets on The Floor of The Storage Units
How to protect furniture when moving Second, even in a climate-controlled storage unit, the floor can hold in moisture and water can potentially leak under the door of the storage unit. Condensation on the floor can warp the legs of your furniture and lead to mold.
The best way to prevent the legs of your furniture from getting damaged is to elevate your furniture and not place it directly on the ground. Cover the floor of your storage unit with pallets, and set a tarp on top of the pallets. The tarp will further stop any moisture from getting to your furniture.
3. Clean Your Furniture Before Storing It
Third, clean the furniture before storing it. Storing dirty furniture can affect the quality of the furniture. Food crumbs can attract bugs to your appliance and can leave stains if left untreated in storage. How to protect furniture when moving:
Wood Furniture
First, dust the wooden furniture with a soft cloth or feather duster to remove dust from the furniture. For stains on wood furniture, use a towel soaked in soapy water to remove the stain, then dry immediately with a soft cloth. Finally, use a wood polish to protect the surface of your wood furniture.
Upholstered Furniture
For upholstered and fabric furniture, remove all cushions and make sure to vacuum all nooks and crannies. Use a steam cleaner to clean the fabric parts of the furniture.
When cleaning leather furniture, use a mixture of half vinegar and water. Rub the leather with the mixture, then let the furniture dry completely. Then apply Leather Care.
Leather Furniture
For leather furniture, use a mixture of half vinegar and water to clean it. Wipe the leather down with the mixture, then let the furniture completely dry. Then apply a leather conditioner.
Cleaning your furniture before you put it in storage will preserve the quality of your pieces. Allow your furniture to completely dry from the cleaning process before moving it into storage.
4. Take Your Furniture Apart
How to protect furniture when moving. If your furniture can come apart, take it apart before putting it into storage. For example, with a dining room table, you can sometimes take the legs off and separate the leaves of the table.
Taking apart larger pieces and breaking them up into smaller pieces will allow you to more easily transport, store, and protect your furniture.
5. Protect Your Furniture
How to protect furniture when moving? Protecting furniture in storage is tricky. You want to cover up your furniture so that it doesn’t get dusty and dirty during its time in storage.
But you need to make sure that you use the right type of covering for your furniture. For wood furniture, wrap it up with bubble wrap. For upholstered and leather items, put sheets, old blankets, or furniture covers over them.
Do not place plastic sheets or traps over your upholstered and leather furniture; plastic traps moisture, which can lead to your furniture developing a musty smell and even getting moldy.
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