Whether your new apartment is too small for your exercise gear or you need to store your gear because you’re leaving the country for a bit, a climate-controlled storage unit is the best solution. A climate-controlled storage unit cuts down the risk of corrosion and heat-related damage to sensitive gear.
Prepare your gym equipment in advance for the move to your storage unit, and be cautious while relocating your gym equipment. Here are five tips to protect your gym and yourself during the move.
1. Methodically Vacuum Your Gear
Exercise bikes, treadmills, and weight machines collect dust in the mechanisms. Oiled parts of your equipment can become caked with dust and won’t move properly. If you store your equipment with dust in the parts, they may not work at all when you need to use the equipment in the future.
Gym-equipment parts that can be adversely affected by dust include:
- Bearings
- Braking system
- Electronics and touch pads
- Wheels
Before you store your equipment, give all of your gear a deep dusting. Use your vacuum cleaner attachments to suck up dust from all over the machine.
2. Wash and Dry All Surfaces
Exercise equipment can grow rather nasty over time because of sweat, body oils, and dust. Disease-causing bacteria love the mess because they thrive in the sweat and dirt that settles on the surfaces, cracks, and crevices of your gym equipment.
Check with your manufacturer’s instructions for the proper solutions to use for each part of your equipment. In some cases, an ammonia product or another disinfectant will be recommended. Warm, soapy water can also be used on most surfaces as long as you wipe them with a damp, non-soapy cloth to remove soap residue.
Clean everything before you store your gear, including:
- Weights
- Foam padding
- Handles and pedals
Don’t ever use bleach or hydrogen peroxide to disinfect your machines. These two materials can harm the surfaces of your gym equipment. If you’re not sure which cleaning product to use, choose disinfecting wipes or a spray disinfectant to wash off exercise-bench padding and other surfaces.
3. Break Down Your Equipment for Easier Transport
You can hire a specialty mover to relocate your home gym to your storage unit. If you choose to move your equipment yourself, be aware that the bulky, heavy nature of your gear can make the move hazardous. Break down your equipment as much as possible to avoid straining your back or dropping heavy gear on your foot.
Never move your weight machines with the weights attached. Don’t move the weight on guide rods either. You could bend the guide rods and hurt yourself.
Remove your weights, label them with the name of the machine they belong to, and wrap with bubble wrap or packing paper. You can also move and store larger weights in sturdy boxes, but divide the load so boxes aren’t too heavy.
Take pictures of your gear before you break down any complicated equipment. When you need to reassemble your gear, you’ll know how it’s supposed to look. If you have them, use your equipment manuals to take machines apart correctly.
Even if you don’t completely break down your gear, remove any parts that protrude from your machines to avoid hitting walls and doors on your way through your home. Place each machine’s bolts, screws, cords, and other parts in a separate clear bag.
Alternatively, you can place bolts back in their proper holes and replace their nuts after you break down equipment. Then, the correct fasteners are already in the right spots when you’re ready to rebuild your gym.
Label each bag of components so you know which machines are associated with the various parts. If you have the manuals for the equipment, place them in the appropriate bags after you disassemble everything.
4. Secure Moving and Loose Parts
When you’re moving your equipment, you don’t want loose parts dangling or swinging out from the load. Unsecured parts can become trip-and-fall hazards and seriously damage walls and doorways.
Secure pivoting parts of your machines including:
- Pectoral deck movement arms
- Leg curling parts
- Extension pieces
Cables and belts should also be secured by taping them to the machine or removing them during transport.
5. Have Extra Help and Blankets for Moving Day
You need help to maneuver your larger gym pieces. Even if you’re a strong person, the bulky nature of treadmills and elliptical machines make them hard to move without at least two people to manage the load.
Wear gloves and hard shoes to protect your hands and feet while moving your exercise equipment. Take your time and move slowly through your home as you maneuver the larger machines through your hallways and door frames.
Wrap elliptical machines, treadmills, and other bulky equipment in moving blankets or other protective material during the ride to the storage unit. Store items so they don’t scratch or damage each other, and don’t store weights on top of other gear.
When you need a climate-controlled storage unit for your gym and exercise equipment, contact Sentry Mini-Storage Inc. to reserve your space. Our conditioned spaces keep your gym equipment safe from Florida’s extreme temperatures and humidity.
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