8 Items You Can’t Put Into a Self-Storage Unit and Why

A self-storage unit can provide the convenient solution to a number of residential and commercial issues such as clutter, disorganization, and moving logistics. You can store most items you might need out of your home or office in a unit, especially if you reserve a climate-controlled storage unit.

However, all storage facilities must comply with legal restrictions about unit contents, and many facilities have additional policies about stored items. Failure to follow these guidelines can lead to property damage, storage agreement termination, and penalty fines.

In this blog, we list eight items that can never be put into self-storage units and explain why.

1. Animals and People

Storage units to do not have the HVAC systems or insulation required for animals or people to live there. Never treat your storage unit like a kennel, apartment, or secondary retail location.

Additionally, fish and game you hunt cannot be stored in these units due to the lack of options for refrigeration and preservation. Your bait and tackle box is welcome in your unit, but you should leave the cleaning, storage, and cooking of your prizes for your private property.

2. Corrosive Chemicals

As a general rule, any chemical that could cause damage if it leaked or spilled is not allowed in self-storage units. This rule protects your belongings as well as the facility structures and the items in the units on each side of yours.

Corrosive chemicals (or objects that contain them) like paint thinner, bleach, pesticides and herbicides, and automotive batteries must be stored elsewhere.

3. Explosives and Combustibles

Like corrosives, explosives and combustibles must stay out of your self-storage unit to reduce the possibility of accidental damage to your property or someone else’s. These items include obvious explosives like fireworks, but also household combustibles like aerosol cans.

High fire risk items like vehicle tires are often considered non-allowable combustibles as well.

4. Firearms and Ammunition

Firearms and ammunition require a higher level of storage security than boxes of seasonal clothes and dinnerware. Even if you place these items inside a gun safe before you put them in your storage unit, you may still be violating facility policy or state law by keeping your guns on property that doesn’t belong to you.

These restrictions reduce the risk of theft, violent crime at storage facilities, and accidental firings during loading and unloading.

5. Food Storage

Even if you only plan to keep your storage unit for a short period of time, perishables are not allowed. In addition to the obvious non-allowable food items such as frozen foods, you also cannot put long-term food storage in your unit.

Food smells can attract insects and rodents, which in turn cause damage to the items around the food source. Unattended food may rot and cause unpleasant odors and irreparable property damage.

In addition to foods you and your family would eat, pet foods cannot stay in your storage unit. Many facilities restrict all forms of food storage, including canned goods.

6. Gaseous Chemicals

Because self-storage units do not have the same forms of HVAC as residential and commercial buildings, these units cannot siphon away toxic gases as easily as other buildings. To protect yourself, anyone else who may access your unit, and anyone who may access adjoining units, you must store gaseous chemicals elsewhere.

These chemicals include any item that produces strong fumes such as paint and industrial cleaning solvents.

7. High-Value Items

Many self-storage facilities work hard to provide a high level of security for their patrons. However, even the most secure self-storage facility is not an appropriate storage location for particularly valuable items.

If you choose to place expensive jewelry, fine art, or antiques in a storage unit, you increase the risk of damage to the item as well as the likelihood of theft.

8. House Plants

Like animals and humans, house plants can’t live in your storage unit. Not only does the windowless nature of a storage unit make the space unsuitable for the majority of plants, but placing a live plant in your unit encourages insect activity and may cause moisture damage to nearby items when the plant is watered.

Additionally, you should not store any plant matter in your unit that is not in an airtight container. For example, if you dry your own herbs, you must seal them in canning bottles if you plan to place them in storage.

If you have non-allowables that you need to store, your storage provider or mover if you’re working with one may have suggestions. In many cases, these non-allowables require specialized storage. For example, pets can be put up at professional kennels and high-value items can go in security deposit boxes at banks.

Keep the items listed above out of your storage unit to ensure that you stay in compliance and avoid any damage to your property. For self-storage solutions for your other possessions, trust Sentry Mini-Storage Inc.