Killeen Moving Blog - Tips, Tricks, and Insider Info
July 22, 2019

Moving Casualties in Killeen: How to Protect Your Most Difficult-to-Move Items

Packing & MovingBy Julie DeLong, A-1 Freeman Moving Group 

If packing and moving your residence to a different location in or around Killeen, some items probably won't endure the move. This is what's called a moving casualty, a tragic degree of damage or complete breakage that may occur on move-out day, move-in day, or whilst the truck bumps along from one home to the next. Irrespective of how carefully you pack, the majority of households encounter some form of modest moving casualty over the transition, however you do not have to.

Being a professional moving company in Killeen, we pack lots of delicate pieces for our clients to be sure they reach the destination undamaged. And so, today, we are here to share ways to avoid the most prevalent moving casualties if you are packing yourself and ways to safeguard your most difficult-to-move items.

Fragile Glassware, Fine China, & Antiques

There is a good reason that professional movers use numerous special packing materials for moving your kitchen items. Glassware and ceramic plates are difficult enough to transport without breaking them, much less fine china along with sensitive antiques. A number of households notice a minimum of one crack or broken glass piece in a move with lots of breakable goods in cartons.

You need to be extra careful packing, stuffing, separating, and cushioning your most delicate items. 

  • Use cardboard dishware dividers
  • Pack plates vertical, this method cuts down the chance of breaking
  • Stuff each and every hollow space with paper, bubble wrap, or packing peanuts
  • Don't permit glass to contact other glass
  • Don't pack too tightly, or pressure/bumps might cause damaging
  • Pad extra space and the outside of every box with fluffy packing material

Wall mirrors & Picture Frames

Sizeable panes of glass are particularly tough to pack because they have a great chance of being broken or shattered in the move. This implies mirrors and glass-covered framed artwork should be packed with special care. What is important is to shield the glass surface and minimize the possibility of an impact with the glass. 

  • Pack mirrors collectively in a box utilizing cardboard dividers in between
  • Attach a blanket or cloth covering the whole area of the glass
  • Apply a large piece of cardboard over each and every glass surface to decrease impacts
  • Store vertical, just like the dishes
  • Never allow packed glass to lay flat

 Wood Furniture

Wood household furniture is a common moving casualty, however not the full furniture piece itself. Alternatively, wood is likely to suffer from scrapes, scuffs, and also harm to the finish when being taken apart or hauled by way of tight corners and doorways of the home. It is quite common for once-pristine wood household furniture to arrive at the new residence needing refinishing or repairs. Here is how to avoid harm to your household furniture (and also wall surfaces) along the route: 

  • Remove hardware like handles and feet to make the furniture pieces more rectangle-shaped and even.
    • Stow all removed parts with each other inside a visibly tagged bag or box.
    • Small packages of taken off hardware might be held in a drawer of the pieces of furniture it came from
    • Keep various groups of removed pieces in the same box for convenient reconstruction
  • Tape All drawers and cabinets shut
    • Utilize paper tape or masking tape that will not damage paint, stain, or finish
  • Take big household furniture apart if possible.
    • Wrap each piece individually and load up into one carton or bundle.
    • Clearly tag everything you disassemble, including where the parts need to be reconnected down the road. Colored tape will help.
  • Cover everything in furniture pads or moving blankets to decrease the possibility of scuffs
  • Ask for assistance or hire professional movers to relocate sizeable or heavy pieces of furniture 

Musical Instruments

If you have any musical instruments, you realize that a move often means legitimate risk for these kinds of carefully tuned and delicate pieces. From grand pianos to flutes and everything in between, instruments are usually breakable and need to be addressed with the utmost attention.

For sizeable musical instruments such as pianos, harps, and acoustic bass, you may need to make use of a specialized instrument moving team. Speak to your moving company in Killeen on what they can do or services they're able to connect you with that specialize in moving big musical instruments securely spanning long or short distances.

With regard to more compact personal instruments, these procedures can help you keep your musical equipment protected and in good shape throughout the move: 

  • Loosen the strings of all stringed instruments including guitars, violins, cellos, and small harps. The humidity and temperature changes over a move or while in storage can lead to strings to break or sometimes warp the wood of your musical instrument in the event the strings are extremely taut.
  • Pack mouthpieces individually and think about hauling your mouthpieces together with you rather than packing them in a carton.
  • Stow musical instruments inside their own shaped and also padded cases if it is possible.
  • If practical, cover instruments in bubble wrap, even in their cases, to deliver additional insulation and also protection.
  • In the event that you do not have a case wrap the instrument in numerous layers of bubble wrap and then put in its own box with nothing else inside.
  • Cushion the carton with paper, bubble wrap, or peanuts in order to avoid moving and bumping.
  • Don't package 2 instruments in the same carton in the event they harm one another on the move.
  • When it is a possibility, consider moving instruments inside your vehicle as opposed to on the moving truck. 

Art

Packing & MovingWhether you have posters, painted canvas, or sculptures, packing art could be tough. There is a pretty good chance your artwork may make it through the move without specialized moving services, but only if you pack it the right way and are cautious concerning where it's positioned in the moving truck. For extremely high-priced items, talk with your moving company in Killeen about whether you should think about moving them within your car or sending with an fine art transportation service.

However, should you have just got a few vulnerable pieces of artwork to pack and take with you, here is how to stop them from turning out to be moving casualties:

Canvas & Posters 

  • Decide if it's okay to roll up your artwork and stow in poster tubes. Vertical, hardy poster tubes are often the most secure strategy to use.
  • If storing flat, consider keeping in picture frames which are already loaded properly to lessen bumps.
  • If stowing flat, use a thin flat box near the measurements of your artwork
    • Put the canvas or poster between pieces of cardboard to keep them each flat and protected
    • Give some thought to plastic wrap, wax paper or possibly a rapid spray of paint-sealant for unsealed paintings or sketches 

Breakable or Oddly Sized Figurines 

  • Like dishes, fill every crevice, cavity, and handle with fluffy packing material
  • Like instruments, place in a bed of packing material and surround with more packaging materials to guard from bumps or compression
  • Metal in addition to wood could be stored in the same carton
  • Normally, do not pack a couple glass or delicate sculptures within the same carton

 Exercise Machines

Finally, we arrive at the sturdiest but perhaps most challenging packing process of all: your workout gear. Weights, weight benches, stationary bicycles, and specialized exercise machines tend to be a huge struggle to move. The weighted and structural items can be extremely weighty while the equipment on its own can be sophisticated and/or clumsy to move. In reality, large work out devices are commonly the reason for moving casualties.

Sporting gear, on the other hand, can be quite delicate. Rackets and skis, snowboards in addition to surfboards, along with other finely wrought sporting gear could take significant damage from the wrong sort of jostling during a move. These are belongings you shouldn't merely throw in a box and head out.

Here is how to move your home gymnasium and sporting gear correctly with no breaks, losses, or too-heavy boxes:

Weights 

  • Pack a couple per box
  • Cushion securely and pack into small now-heavy cartons
    • Look for or assemble cartons smaller than a book box
  • Load up disc weights in manageable stacks
    • Cover in furniture pads and secure utilizing shrink wrap
  • Don't pack a group of weights heavier than you can carry
  • Pick up utilizing your legs 

Exercise Equipment 

  • Retain and prepare the set up instructions
  • Take apart what you can and stow in bundles of bars and bench pieces
  • Label every part as well as screw while you take down and keep within tagged bags together with the workout gear pieces
  • Snap pictures before you take down to aid with reassembly 

Sporting Equipment (Rackets, Snowboard, etc.) 

  • Store rackets within their cases with an added layer of padding. Do not allow to fold.
  • Bubble-wrap skis and boards then pack into cases or vertical boxes.
    • Consider additional cardboard or struts to maintain cartons impact-resistant and inflexible
    • A professional mover can supply cartons, if you need them
  • Pack categories of gear jointly inside the identical container.

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Relocating to a new house in Killeen does not have to include the standard moving casualties such as furniture scratches or cracked dishes. Whether you are relocating large everyday belongings or distinctive fragile items, these suggestions will allow you to enjoy a tragedy-free move with each and every one of your treasured things making it safe-and-sound to your new house. If you're looking for further practical moving tips from a professional moving company who's seen it all or you might be anxious about packing special things in your house, give us a call today!

 

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The Mickelson Family
Best. Move. Ever!
Very pleased with the overall respect and care the men gave to my possessions. Even mailing me very quickly the only thing lost in transit. Would recommend to anyone needing a long distant move.
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