What Constitutes A Potentially Detrimental Item?

Self-storage policies are in place for the safety and protection of people and property. These policies often include prohibiting you from storing certain items in your storage unit that are considered detrimental to public safety. Most banned items could explode, catch fire, or otherwise cause harm. To ensure you’re not storing a potentially dangerous item in your unit, always read the self-storage policies thoroughly and consider the following tips.

Anything Explosive Or Flammable

Any items that might explode or catch fire are almost always included in self-storage policies as part of the prohibited items list. Explosive, flammable, and combustible materials tend to be very unstable, and spikes in temperature could make these items even more dangerous. Never store the following things in your self-storage unit:

• Firearms, including antique guns
• Ammunition
• Dynamite or explosives
• Fireworks
• Gasoline or anything containing gasoline
• Propane tanks
• Kerosene lamps
• Lighter fluid
• Paint, paint thinner, and paint remover
• Linseed oil
• Grease and oil
• Aerosols, such as cooking or hair spray
• Fertilizers

Self Storage Policies Against Other Hazards

Besides the above items, anything that’s corrosive, potentially noxious, toxic, or otherwise hazardous will also make the prohibited items list. Most of these listed items are clearly dangerous, but some items aren’t as evident as others. For example, some cleaning chemicals are harmful if improperly stored, so they’re often included in self-storage policies. Follow the rules, and don’t store:

• Asbestos or anything containing asbestos
• Radioactive or toxic waste material
• Acid, including car batteries and drain cleaners
• Poisonous or corrosive waste, including old batteries
• Ammonia, bleach, cleaning products
• Insecticides and pesticides
• Roofing tar
• Biological waste, including needles and syringes
• Illicit drugs and medications

Anything Alive Or Perishable

It’s inhumane to keep an animal inside a storage unit, and it’s against self-storage policies and the law. You can’t keep anything alive or previously alive in storage, which also includes plants. Anything that requires food, water, or light to live is strictly forbidden in all storage units. Storage units don’t provide appropriate ventilation and are prone to extreme temperatures, which would be very detrimental to the well-being of an animal or plant. Besides having your rental rights revoked, keeping any animal in a storage unit could lead to criminal charges for animal cruelty.

Along these same lines, you can’t keep anything perishable either, which includes any type of food, whether it’s for people or animals. Food eventually goes bad and produces noxious odors, while also attracting various insects and rodents. After entering your storage unit to get to the illegally stored food, bugs, mice, and rats often move in permanently. They’ll ruin your belongings and may eventually infest the entire facility.

Spoiled food and dead plants also begin to grow mold, which presents its own health hazard. Anything susceptible to mold, mildew, or bacteria won’t be allowed, which includes any wet items.

Contact The Self Storage Experts In Clifton, New Jersey

You also can’t store anything that’s illegal or stolen, and it’s against the law to live or work in a storage unit. Other items may also be deemed inappropriate by management or staff members.

Our professional, knowledgeable staff at Clifton Rt. 46 Self Storage in Clifton, New Jersey, are here to ensure every one’s safety and well-being. We provide a full list of prohibited items when you rent your storage unit. If you’re ever unsure whether an item is allowed, please contact us at 973-772-1300 or speak to our on-site management team. When you’re ready to rent your next self-storage unit, give us a call or reserve a unit online today.

Safe Tips for Loading and Unloading Your Locker When the Time Comes

People rent self-storage units to store various items for a short while or long-term. Maximize your space through precise organization, which also helps you find things easier. While loading storage lockers, ensure everything is safely stacked to prevent stuff from falling and breaking or hurting someone. Always take appropriate steps to protect your safety.

Organizing Furniture In Storage Lockers

Begin loading storage lockers by placing your appliances and biggest pieces of furniture against the back wall and along the sidewalls, then work forward. Maximize your storage space by taking apart any furniture that comes apart and storing it upright at the back of your storage unit. It’s okay to place headboards, mirrors, dining tables — minus the legs, and wide wooden furniture vertically, but storing cushioned furniture upright can damage it.

While it makes sense to store mattresses upright to conserve space, it’s not recommended for long-term storage. Mimic the normal positioning of a mattress by laying it flat. Stored upright, the coils, springs, and other inner workings eventually settle out of position and ruin the mattress. Don’t place boxes and other items on top of mattresses, which also destroys the springs and coils. The same is true of couches being stored long-term.

Loading Storage Lockers With Boxes

Before you start loading boxes into your storage locker, make sure all your boxes are packed with like items and labeled correctly to make it easier to identify what’s inside. Stick to containers of the same size and shape for safer, more stable stacking and get the most out of your space.

When stacking boxes, always place the heaviest items on the bottom and the lightest ones on top. Don’t stack above your head to prevent head and neck injuries should the boxes fall. Use only heavy-duty boxes or plastic totes to create safer, sturdier stacks, reducing the likelihood of boxes collapsing over time.

Use shelving for oddly shaped items that don’t stack well, priority items you need to access often, or boxes to prevent buckling from over-stacking. When shelving isn’t an option, protect the bottom of your boxes and other belongings by placing them on raised pallets, preventing moisture from seeping inside and silverfish, ants, and other vermin from making their home under or inside your stuff.

Unloading Storage Lockers

Whether you’re unloading your entire storage unit or just enough items to get to something stored in the back, always start by removing items from the top, rather than the middle, and work your way down. An unstable stack of boxes is an accident waiting to happen.

Avoid crawling over the top of a partial stack of boxes to get to another stack behind it. The boxes could crush under your weight, breaking items stored within and causing injury to yourself. Completely unloading an entire stack of boxes before starting on the next keeps the remaining stacks stable. Keep a clear path and random objects off the floor as you remove items from your storage unit to avoid getting hurt as you ran into or stepped on an obstacle.

Prevent Injuries

Avoid hurting yourself while loading and unloading storage lockers with appropriate lifting techniques. Use a dolly to move heavy appliances, furniture, and other items that weigh too much to lift safely. Every time you lift something, even if you think it’s light, lift with your legs and not your back by bending at the knees, not the waist, which helps prevent back injuries.

Back injuries are some of the most common afflictions when moving stuff. Besides lifting properly, always keep items close to your body and avoid twisting with a load in your arms, which also prevents muscle strains. Tight muscles make you more susceptible to injury, so stretch before you begin loading or unloading storage lockers. Keep muscles loose by stretching periodically throughout the day and after you’re finished.

Rent From The Storage Professionals

Clifton Rt. 46 Self Storage in New Jersey has the short-term and long-term self-storage solutions you need. We offer extended gate access from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily to enable loading and unloading of storage lockers when it’s convenient for you. Contact us today at 973-772-1300 to discuss your off-site storage needs with our knowledgeable staff.