Tips and Tools:

Home Appliance Storage

Even if you don’t have a reason to use that second refrigerator or washer and drier, don’t think that your only options are to throw it away or to sell it to someone who doesn’t want to pay what it is worth. It may be more cost effective to store that appliance for a son that is going off to college next year or a daughter who may be purchasing her first home.
If you choose to temporarily store your appliance in a self-storage unit, make sure to store it correctly. If you don’t, you could easily ruin the appliance that you went to so much trouble to save.
These tips will help you correctly store appliances.

• Clean and wrap any lose parts, such as shelving, cups or glass panels. Wrap them separately in bubble wrap and brown paper and mark them as “fragile.”
• Clean out the appliance carefully, especially if it is an appliance like a refrigerator or oven that is used for food. You want to make sure to get every bit of food out of the appliance so that the appliance does not attract bugs while it is in storage. In addition, check with your potential storage company about their pest treatment procedures. Look for a storage company that does not have a bug problem.
• If the appliance is a dishwasher, washing machine or beverage maker, run it through a complete cycle using white vinegar. This will ensure that your appliance is clean.
• Drain any liquid from the appliance and make sure the appliance is completely dry. You do not want the appliance to mildew or rot while in storage. Make sure to dry all rubber seals, crevices, drawers, and tubing.
• Clean all vents and filters.
• Ensure that the appliance is turned off.
• Clean the appliance on the outside, as well as the inside.
• Once the appliance is completely clean and dry, temporarily tape any doors closed and pad and wrap the appliance for moving. Make sure to transport all appliances in their upright positions.
• Appliances need to be stored in dry units at moderate temperatures. Ask your storage representative whether you need to put your appliance in a climate-controlled environment.
• When you arrive at your location, unload your appliances first, and place them in the back of the unit. Unwrap the appliance, remove the tape, slightly open the appliance doors so it can breathe, place an open box of banking soda inside the appliance to keep it fresh and cover it with white canvas or a tarp in order to keep dust out of it.

Make sure to leave space between the appliance and both the walls and the other objects that you have in the storage unit.

Even better? We have locations all over Illinois, so your belongings are never far from home.