Items Most Commonly Damaged During a Move

Posted on 10/09/2016

After you have made your moving checklist and you are done with choosing a moving company, it is time to do some packing. You need to be very careful with what you pack and how you pack it – it might be redundant information, but you need to be aware of all the dangers that shoving a box in a removal van presents. A lot of items can get easily damaged and need to be secured with better means or packed with greater caution in order to preserve their wholesomeness. Here you can read exactly which items need your attention more than the rest during the packaging stage of your move.

Art

Throw a special ceramic vase, a china set, or a painting in a removal box and stick it in the moving van and see what happens next. Here’s a hint: nothing good for the item inside the box. A bumpy road will easily destroy even the toughest art design if you pack it carelessly. Always make sure that art is separately packed, in boxes that cover it wholly, and it is secured by a good box stuffing or wrapped properly with something strong and safe, such as bubble wrap.

Glass Items

Glasses, plates, figurines, they are all to easily breakable even if you have the best bubble-wrap and the most durable boxes. The smallest impact can leave a crack and any crack on a glass object is a certain portent of its future breaking. What you should do with glass objects is keep them in boxes specially designed for them, with the proper moulding, or at least with the most stuffing. A box full of polystyrene will keep most glassware pretty safe – supposing you haven’t placed the box on the bottom.

Plants

All too easily breakable, plants are very hard to transport. Most moving companies even have a policy against the moving of plants and they refuse to move them since they are a) living things, and b) too easily damageable. You have to move the plants yourself without relying on a moving van, so the best place for them would be a spacey container where the leaves won’t touch too much of the surroundings. And never put them in boxes!

Furniture

Also easily breakable, although for the wrong reasons. You will be surprised at the weird methods people use to move furniture. Well, nothing quite like Mr Bean delivering his new armchair, but still people do try to secure furniture on top of their vehicles, do a poor job with tying them and then the furniture slides off and breaks or causes a bigger road accident. On the other hand, you have those who don’t disassemble furniture and shove them in the removal van, expecting them to arrive in the same state. Furniture is disassembled for a reason – its separate parts are much easier to transport and take care of on the road, so don’t be daft and make an effort to keep your belongings whole after they have arrived, not during loading.

Sports Equipment

Tennis racquets, golf clubs, bicycles, even balls – they are all susceptible to damage and will sustain it if they are not properly placed within the moving van. Find them a proper box or stick them together and place them in the corner of the van, somewhere they won’t bump too much into other boxes or objects. The main thing is to never mix them with the rest of the boxes – they need a separate corner for themselves so that they don’t bump or tear against other items.

With this knowledge you will be fully equipped to make sure that nothing gets damaged when you pack and load your boxes. When the removal company comes, you can participate in the loading process so that you make sure the boxes are handled and ordered properly. Have a safe trip!