Simple Tricks For Keeping Your Stuff Safe In Self-Storage
Using a self-storage unit to keep your belongings can be a convenient way to hang onto meaningful items, stock for your business, or household goods. Unfortunately, once you lock your unit, it's safety and security is out of your control. Even so, there are things you can do to protect the contents of your unit from unforeseen circumstances—such as flooding, temperature extremes, and theft—often for very little money. By taking the right steps, your unit will be as safe and sound as any part of your home.
Setting Up Your Storage Unit
Before you bring in a stick of furniture, a thread of clothing, or an iota of business supplies, you need to appropriately prepare. Make sure nothing is laying directly on the floor. In the event of heavy rain, burst plumbing or other sources that could cause water to pool. For smaller items, this can be as simple as storing them in sealed plastic containers, but larger items may need to be stored on shelves, stacked on top of wooden pallets, or set on cinder blocks.
Heat and cold can also affect your unit's contents, so make sure that you're insulating them appropriately and protecting them as best you can. If you live in area with extreme temperature and have sensitive items, avoid storing them in units that aren't climate controlled.
Securing Your Unit
Most self-storage facilities today have closed circuit security cameras installed to help deter thieves. Unfortunately, this only helps to apprehend the culprit after the fact, so make sure you've done all you can to avoid being the victim in the first place. The easiest way to do this is to choose a storage unit which is visible to nearby traffic or a staff office. That visibility is usually your best deterrent, but don't rely on it.
If you must store valuables in your unit, make sure they are well concealed and difficult to remove in the first place. You should also invest in a bulky lock with a sheathed bolt, which will make it nearly impossible to cut it off without removing part of the door too. Finally, keep a detailed inventory of the unit's contents. That way you'll have a record of everything that's gone in or out of it, making it easier to tell if something has gone missing.
Self-storage facilities like Epic Group Inc pride themselves on their security, but no security system is perfect or impenetrable. Hedge your bets, and save yourself some stress by taking some additional steps to ensure that anything you keep in a storage unit will still be there in the same condition you left it in, regardless of how long it will be between visits.
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