Self Storage Units: What To Store and What Not To Store

Self-storage units, whether they are small rooms within a major facility or large shipping containers, have always offered an excellent choice for storing any number of different items from a home or business. Many individuals living in small homes often use them to store seasonal goods such as garden furniture, barbecues or winter sports equipment. Businesses use them for excess stock or seasonal goods as they offer a much more cost-effective storage option than offices or warehouse facilities. Another common use is when moving home or relocating temporarily to another location or country and wanting to keep belongings safe and secure while renting out your home to tenants.

So the list of reasons why an individual or business might want to use a self-storage facility is endless but are there any restrictions on what exactly you can store in such places and do different companies have different rules? All facilities will have certain restricted items that they will not store, typically flammable goods, corrosive products or other hazardous chemicals and the rules do not differ significantly between facilities. The restrictions are in place to protect your own belongings as well as those of the other people storing goods and possessions on the same site so never be tempted to try and circumvent the rules – you may find it invalidates your insurance were there to be an incident caused by restricted items.

Typically you will be required to sign a contract stating that you understand the restrictions and agree to abide by the rules so you need to take them seriously. It is useful to make a full inventory of all the items you plan to store so that you can check any that you are concerned may be restricted. Ask your preferred self-storage facility for a list of restricted items and if you anyone other than yourself will be doing the packing (such as a removal company) then make sure they know your possessions are going into storage and provide them with a list of the restricted items. Ultimately you will be responsible if anything goes wrong so do not abdicate that responsibility.

There is no substitute for checking with your storage provider but here is a list of the most common restricted items as a guide:

Combustible, Flammable or Hazardous Items

• Fireworks
• Paint
• Fertiliser and other garden chemicals
• Petrol (gasoline) and motor oil
• LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas), Propane or Butane (eg, Calor gas for BBQs and propane/butane canisters for weed killer wands)

Tyres

Cars, motorbikes and other vehicles, including their rubber tyres, can be stored in self-storage units with certain conditions but generally a quantity of tyres cannot as they have a high disposal costs that the storage company would not want to bear if you default on your agreement with them.

Perishable Food

Any perishable food will not be allowed even if it has a long life as it can attract pests.

Other

Weapons, ammunition or explosives (which should be fairly obvious) and any radioactive equipment (eg medical equipment).

If in doubt about what can be stored at cheap storage units then always check first with aself storage bedford facility.

The author has written and published articles on a wide range of topics including Small Business Advice, Tax and Accounting, Interior Design, House Renovation and Project Management.