Moving House: Keep Your Home Furnishings Clean
Moving into a new home can be very stressful. If you have never gone through a move, you should know it is rarely a clean affair. Packages get put down a lot. You have to wrangle things through doors, even if they are much too big to fit.
You need to troop through the chaos of kids running around, if you have them, and getting mud and dirt absolutely everywhere. So, it should come as no surprise that keeping your furniture clean in the middle of all that is kind of a tall order.
And yet, you must still do your best, since some furniture pieces can be a nightmare to clean. Or just straight-up impossible to remove stains from. So, then, how to keep your furniture clean when moving?
We will endeavor to answer this question in a way that will ensure your move does not end in tragedy!
Make sure your furniture and everything you will be using is clean
The first thing you should do when trying to keep your furniture clean when moving is ensure everything is clean! Do not discount the importance of this. You will often find that what dirtied your furniture was the things you were counting on to keep it clean.
Dirty moving blankets. Dusty boxes or storage containers. Sometimes, it is even possible for a part of your furniture item to be dirty before packing, only for the filthy patch to smear on a much wider surface due to the rubbing of packaging and jostling of a move.
Taking the time to clean everything will also allow you to decide whether you want to get rid of old furniture. You will have the time to check if it is damaged and determine whether the damage to it is too great before taking it to your new home.
Disassemble all the pieces you can
Disassembly is extremely useful because it makes it easier to properly pack your furniture. Just make sure you know how to disassemble furniture when moving so you can take it apart for easy transfer without damaging it.
If you do not, no matter how convenient it is to decrease the size of your furniture, it would all be for naught. You might be tempted to skip the process because of this exact fear.
After all, it is unlikely that you know how to professionally handle the assembly and disassembly of furniture. However, consider this: If you are moving large pieces, it will be more prone to accidents – bumping it, dropping it, or anything that can happen if you don’t secure it well during transport.
These things are much more likely to damage and dirty your items than trying to disassemble them.
Get quality boxes and containers
One of the most helpful home shifting tips is to never skimp on the quality of your moving aids. The drawbacks of saving a couple of dozen dollars on boxes and moving containers are much too steep to justify.
What is easier to deal with? A slightly higher expense for the packaging you need, or your boxes tearing and disgorging items in the middle of your yard or the road? Your furniture would get dirty and damaged.
And realistically speaking, it will take a lot more money to replace a sofa than pay what the good boxes are worth. And, as a fun downside, you might need to go back to the store and buy more boxes anyway if the old ones tear.
Wrap your furniture using moving blankets and stretch wrap
Of course, you will not always be able to disassemble your large furniture pieces. Or some elements could be much too large to put into a box or a container.
So, to keep your furniture clean when moving, use stretch wrap and moving blankets. Note that we have mentioned both being used together!
Using one or the other could be fine, depending on the furniture in question. However, we recommend using both at the same time. Stretch wrap is there to secure any moving or wobbly bits. It will ensure they do not break off during transport.
It will also be the first layer of defense between dirt and your furniture. On the other hand, moving blankets soften the potential impact, preventing scratch marks and similar while protecting the furniture from dirt.
Plan out your moving day well
Weather is capricious, and there is very little you can do about it. What you can do, however, is do your best to plan ahead. Watch the weather forecasts.
Organize your move for a time of the year when rain, snow, and similar are less likely to happen because there are few things as hard to protect your furniture from as water and mud.
We are not saying you should not move during winter or fall at all. But if you do, you will need a lot more precautions. You will need to double down on any wrappings and even wrap your boxes and storage containers, too.
If you do not, the water could get to your furniture and leave some rather nasty stains. Not to mention the mud and dirty rain, which would guarantee your furniture would be ruined if they get to it.
Minimize the time you spend carrying your furniture
Another trick to keep your furniture clean when moving is to minimize the time it is being carried.
Most damage to furniture occurs during transport to and out of moving trucks. Once they are safely in the truck, it is relatively rare for anything to happen to it.
However, be it dropping your furniture or bumping it into things, or any of the million things that could go wrong, are much more likely to occur. Naturally, you cannot eliminate human error or magically load your furniture into the moving truck.
But you can have it parked as close to your front door as you can. And you can ensure that the way from where you would be picking it up and to the truck would be clear of any obstacles.
Both of these should sufficiently minimize the opportunity for anything to go wrong.
Hire a moving truck with a ramp and tie-downs
These pieces of equipment are something any serious moving company or moving truck provider should offer their customers.
So it is likely that you will not even need to worry about specifying their inclusion. If you cannot secure them from whatever company you were looking to hire, then you should reconsider your choice of movers.
Moving trucks are more often than not difficult to access without a ramp. This would require a lot of wrangling from a larger team of movers or force them to ‘throw’ your furniture inside.
You do not want either of these scenarios since they exponentially increase the opportunities for your items to get damaged or dirtied. Tie-downs, on the other hand, secure your items once they are in the truck.
They will make it so that the speed, bumpiness, and swerving during a ride do not jostle your belongings.
Never try to carry heavy things alone
It should be rather obvious why this would be a bad idea. First of all, you can very easily hurt yourself.
Throwing out your back, tearing muscles, falling only to have the furniture land on you, slipping down steps, or twisting your ankle are just some of the potentially harmful results of that particular decision.
And if you are not worried about yourself, think about what it would do to your furniture. Things would break. The wrapping or packaging will likely be damaged. Your items would end up all over the ground and potentially stained beyond recovery.
Whether it is for your sake or the sake of your furniture, look for the necessary help for transporting heavy objects.
Stay out of the way of your movers
If you have gone to the trouble of hiring professionals, then do not make their job harder! You might think that you are being helpful by carrying boxes or trying to help with heavy things.
However, they are a team. They know what they are doing and how to do it. If you get involved, you are more likely than not to break their routine and get in the way by forcing them to work around you.
They are the ones who know how to keep your furniture clean when moving, and your interference with their efforts could result in bad results.
Know exactly where you want your furniture to go and prepare for it
Letting your movers pile your furniture into your new home is not a good idea. The rooms can be dusty from lack of use. The packaging and wrapping are probably at least a little dirty after transport, as well.
This means that if you approach unpacking carelessly, you will get your furniture dirty at the very last step! To prevent this, plan out this aspect of your move beforehand. Know where you want each piece of furniture.
Have cleaners visit your future home, or clean it up yourself. And, of course, do at least light cleaning of the packaging and wrapping before you start unpacking things.
Alternatively, you can use the benefits of renting storage during relocation and have it all placed there while you plan everything out on location. This would also let you get the furniture into your home in stages.
Final Warning
You should now know enough about how to keep your furniture clean when moving to ensure a smooth move!
There is, however, one final warning. Do not prioritize the safety and cleanliness of your furniture over your own wellbeing!
A lot of people panic and try to catch what they are carrying if they drop it. And, when moving furniture, this very often results in serious injuries. So, look out for yourself first and your belongings second!