Knowing What you Can't Store

An interesting story was relayed to me the other day.

A client of another company had taken the self-storage option because he had a large number of things that he didn't need to move with him straight away. That makes perfect sense but the problem was that amongst the items were some gardening equipment, which included a hedge trimmer (the type run on gasoline).

When he moved his things into his storage space, one of the staff members at the facility lifted the hedge trimmer and heard some of the remaining gasoline sloshing around in the tank. "I'm sorry sir," he said, "but we can't accept this item. You'll have to remove all of the remaining gas inside."

He became a bit annoyed and argued that it was already inside the machine, and not in a can on the floor so it was perfectly safe. The staff member disagreed and the argument continued for quite sometime until finally the storage company called the police to calm the situation down.

The point to this story is that the staff member was completely within his rights to insist that the tank of the hedge trimmer be emptied. The simple fact is that it's against the law for storage companies - either self-storage facilities or the storage departments of moving companies - to store any type of flammable items. In fact, there is a lengthy list of illegal items, which I'll include at the end of his piece.

The reason is pretty simple: safety. It doesn't take much for an accident to happen. If the trimmer was to fall, or the fuel to leak then it could cause all kinds of problems, the least of which would be the smell of fuel all over your possessions. A fire could not only destroy your things, but also destroy or damage others' if the blaze should spread. It's simply too dangerous.

The list of items not permitted to be stored includes not just flammable liquids, but also acids and narcotics and radio-active substances (but I'm sure you won't have any of those!). In any case, here is a brief list:

Gasoline
Acid
Lighter fluid
Aerosols
Car batteries
Pesticides
Paint
Propane/Oxygen/Kerosene tanks
Ammunition/Weapons
Explosives
Toxic waste
Narcotics
Perishable food
and
Animals or plants

When you look at the list, it all makes logical sense but don't be surprised if a staff member of a moving and storage company tells you suddenly that something is amiss. Co-operate with them as it is the safety of your possessions as well as the facility itself that is at stake.