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Stay Out of Trouble -
Here's a List of Problems to Avoid
It's illegal to pack dangerous items for transport by Common Carrier:
Items such as:
• Aerosol spray cans:
- Paint;
- Insecticides;
• Ammunition
• Compressed flammable gases, like propane or acetylene
• Corrosives, like bleach, or muriatic acid
• Explosives (fireworks, or black powder)
• Gasoline:
- Drain and blow dry the fuel tanks on all power tools;
- Small quantities of gasoline can be highly explosive in a packed moving truck;
• Motor oil:
- Drain the crankcase of all power tools;
- While new motor oil is scarcely flammable, used motor oil can have a lot of gasoline dissolved in it. It can be a bit flammable;
- Tag the equipment to remind yourself to refill the crank before use;
• Pesticides
Solvents
Packing the above items in a moving truck is not only illegal-it is genuinely dangerous for the movers and for their truck.
Avoid packing pantry items which are likely to cause messes.
We have our own list of stuff we don't think ought to be moved long distance because of potential spillage problems.
All the stuff below is entirely legal to move. But we've seen enough problems with it to feel it's not worth the risk.
• Cans of water based paint
• Large glass jars of:
- Any food item;
- Liquid cleaners;
- Cooking oil;
- Vinegar;
• Open packages of:
- Flour;
- Salt;
- Laundry detergent;
- Large containers of pepper and chili powder;
The mess these low value items can make if they happen to spill is absolutely amazing. They're really not worth moving.
Avoid moving other restricted items.
A few other items are restricted on interstate moves. Moving these across state lines may violate either state or federal laws:
• Unregistered guns;
• House plants;
• Fresh fruit;
• Some types of pornography.
The static electricity problem.
Many of the input terminals on pieces of electronic equipment are designed to operate at less than one volt.
Handling bubble wrap or dry clothing can generate 5,000 volts or more of static electricity. This amount of voltage can destroy some of the small transistors.
To protect electronics, every piece should be wrapped in antistatic material:
• Dirty clothing may do a passable job;
• Paper isn't too bad;
• We recommend antistatic bubble wrap or antistatic bags;
• Never, ever use plain, clear bubble wrap directly against electronics.
The fragile problem.
Inexpensive electronics can be wrapped in pink bubble and simply packed in with the blankets:
- This isn't great packing, but it will probably work OK;
- Expensive items ought to be double boxed.
Flat items like computers and stereo components can be packed this way:
• Pack each item in a 20x20x7 inch box (which we happen to stock):
- Wrap the item in pink bubble wrap;
- Pack it firmly in the box using more bubble wrap or newspaper.
• Two 20x20x7 boxes can be over packed in a single TV / Microwave / Computer moving box:
- Put some padding in the bottom of the TV / Microwave / Computer box;
- Stack the 20x20x7 boxes in the TV / Microwave / Computer box, one directly on top of the other;
- Place padding all around between the inner and outer boxes;
- No padding is needed between the 2 inner boxes;
- Just between the inner boxes and the outer box.
Its OK to use clothing or bedding as padding between the inner and outer boxes to save money.
Most monitors and many TV's box up nicely in a medium moving box (18x18x16) over packing in an extra large cube (22x22x21.)
We stock a number of sizes of boxes for larger items. Measure the items before talking to us.
Hint for those handy with computers... . If a computer doesn't work properly after a move, open it and check to be sure all the cards are fully inserted.
The ink/toner cartridge problem.
• Its possible for toner(or ink) to spill during a move.
• Remove the toner(or ink) cartridge before packing if it can be removed.
• Bag the cartridge tightly and pack it with the unit.
• A nice touch is to clean the cartridge and the unit with rubbing alcohol when you unpack them.
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