Storage

What Not To Put
In Storage

The Basics

Three Categories,
Not One

There are three different lists and people tend to blur them. There is what a facility prohibits in its contract, which is mostly about fire, flooding and pests. There is what a moving company cannot legally transport, which is a shorter and stricter list governed by hazardous materials rules. Then there is the largest category, things that are perfectly legal to store and a bad idea anyway, because they will be ruined by the time you come back. Most of what goes wrong falls into that third group.

Nothing flammable or combustible, anywhere

Gasoline, propane, paint thinner, lighter fluid, fireworks, ammunition primers. Facilities prohibit them and movers cannot carry them. Empty and drain fuel from mowers and generators before either.

Nothing alive and nothing that was recently food

Plants, pets and perishables. Also the half used bag of rice you did not think about, which is how a unit becomes a pest problem for the whole row.

Anything damp will ruin everything near it

A washing machine that was not drained, a fridge stored sealed, a mattress that went in slightly wet. Mold does not stay in one place.

Documents, photographs and electronics need climate control

Or they need to be somewhere else entirely. Inland San Diego heat in a metal unit is genuinely destructive to adhesives, tapes, vinyl and battery cells.

Do not store anything you would panic about losing

Passports, deeds, jewelry, irreplaceable photographs. Not because facilities are unsafe, but because access takes time you may not have in an emergency.

The Lists

What Is Actually
Prohibited

Flammables and fuels

Gasoline, diesel, propane, kerosene, lighter fluid, paint thinner, acetone. Prohibited by facilities and not transportable by a household goods carrier.

Explosives and ammunition

Fireworks, flares, ammunition and primers. Firearms themselves vary by facility and by law, so ask rather than assume.

Corrosives and pool chemicals

Acids, chlorine, muriatic acid and pool shock. These damage other property even when sealed, and chlorine in a hot unit is a genuine hazard.

Perishables and open food

Anything that can rot, and anything sealed that a rodent can smell. Pet food is the most commonly forgotten item on this list.

Living things

Plants and animals, without exception. Plants also carry pests into a facility where they will spread.

Wet or damp items

Not prohibited so much as guaranteed to cause damage. Drain appliances, dry everything, and leave fridges and washers propped open.

Allowed But Unwise

Legal To Store,
Bad Idea Anyway

Candles and anything wax based

An inland unit in August will reduce them to a puddle that spreads into whatever is beneath.

Vinyl records, tapes and film

Heat warps vinyl and degrades magnetic tape. If it matters, it wants climate control or a cupboard at home.

Batteries and battery powered devices

Lithium cells do not like heat, and a leaking alkaline battery ruins the device it is in. Remove batteries from anything going into storage.

Important documents

Legal papers, deeds, passports and tax records. Not because they will be damaged, but because retrieval takes a trip, and you will want them on a day when you cannot make one.

Upholstered furniture without a cover

Fabric absorbs whatever is in the air over months. Cover it, do not just push it against a wall.

Local Notes

San Diego Heat
And Humidity

The two local conditions worth planning around pull in opposite directions. Inland, through El Cajon, Santee, Lakeside, Escondido and the East County valleys, summer heat inside a metal unit is significantly higher than the outside temperature, and it degrades adhesives, warps vinyl and shortens battery life. On the coast, through Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach, Imperial Beach and up the coastal strip, heat is less of an issue and humidity is more, which matters for timber furniture, leather, artwork and paper. If your belongings include any of those categories, climate control is a real decision rather than an upsell. Our storage page covers what we hold directly, and our page on what movers can and cannot move covers the transport side of the same question.

FAQ

What Not to Put in Storage
Questions

Can I store a lawnmower or a generator?+

Yes, once it is completely drained of fuel and oil where applicable. Full or partly full fuel tanks are prohibited by facilities and cannot be transported by a moving company. Run it dry before move day rather than on it.

Why can’t movers take cleaning products?+

Many household cleaners are corrosive or flammable and fall under hazardous materials rules for a household goods carrier. Bleach, ammonia, drain cleaner, pool chemicals and aerosols are the usual ones. Take them in your own car or dispose of them properly.

Is it safe to store a fridge or washing machine?+

Yes, if it is completely dry and stored with the door or lid propped open. Sealed and slightly damp is how you get mold that spreads to everything around it. Drain washing machine hoses fully, they hold more water than people expect.

What about firearms?+

Rules vary by facility and by law, so ask the facility directly rather than assuming. Ammunition and primers are prohibited at most facilities regardless of the answer on the firearm itself.

Do you take anything into storage that you cannot transport?+

No. If we cannot legally carry it on the truck we cannot put it into storage for you either. We will tell you plainly what falls into that category when we do the walkthrough.

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