How To Be A Responsible Patron Of Self-Storage Facilities

Self-storage facilities certainly come in handy. They offer a great service to the public, giving you a place to stash things you don't currently need rather than throwing them away or allowing them to take up essential space in your already crowded home. However, if you want self storage facilities to remain viable and useful, it's important to act with respect as a customer. Some of the ways to be respectful as a self-storage customer may not be readily apparent, especially if you are new to using storage. As such, these rules for responsible patronage are outlined below.

1. Don't store food.

Self-storage facilities go to great lengths to keep insects and rodents at bay. But their efforts can the thwarted if a customer decides to store food in their unit, and that food attracts pests. You might figure storing just a couple of bags of chips or a few basic baking supplies for the summer is no big deal, but it is. Donate unneeded food items to a food pantry, or give them away to friends; it's just not worth it to keep them in a storage unit.

2. Clean your appliances before putting them in storage.

When you're moving and putting things into storage, schedules get packed. In your rush, it is easy to neglect cleaning appliances before storing them away. But you really do need to make this a priority. A dirty stove or refrigerator can attract bugs — and not just into your storage unit, but also into neighboring ones.

3. Don't give others the combination or key.

You are the storage facility's customer, which means only you should have the information that allows you to access the facility, whether that is a key code or a physical key. Do not copy the key or give out the code to friends so they can access your unit. Doing so makes the storage facility less secure for everyone else who rents space there. You might figure your friend would never do any harm, and they may well not, but you don't know who they might pass the access information onto.

4. Don't block the roadways.

When you go to unload your items or pick them up, pay attention to how you park your moving truck. Make sure it is not blocking access to any of the other storage units. If there is no way to park the truck without blocking other units or roadways, make sure that you or someone else who is with you stays right by the truck at all times, so you can move it if someone else needs to get through.

Storage facilities are great places to keep things for a few months or years. If you follow these respect guidelines, your favorite storage facility will remain that way.