How to store furniture so it survives months in storage

Furniture doesn't always come out of storage the way it went in. Over a few months, heat, damp and the weight of whatever's stacked on top do their quiet work. The good news is that nearly all of it is preventable with an afternoon of prep before it goes in.

Clean everything first

Dust holds moisture and crumbs bring pests, so don't store anything grubby. Wipe down the hard surfaces, give the upholstery a vacuum, and let it all dry properly. Anything that goes in even slightly damp can come out wearing mould in a sealed space, and that's a smell you don't get back.

Take apart what you can

Bed frames, table legs, flat-pack units. Pulling them down saves space, stops joints carrying odd loads for months on end, and makes the whole lot far easier to shift. Bag the screws and tape the bag to the underside of the piece they came off, because loose hardware always, always goes walkabout.

Cover it the right way

• Use moving blankets or breathable covers on timber and leather, never plastic. Plastic traps condensation and can lift or cloud a finish.
• Stand mattresses flat if there's room. If they have to go upright, prop them against a wall with some support so they don't slowly bow.
• Slip a bit of cardboard or felt between anything that's touching, so nothing rubs a mark over the months.

Get it off the floor

Pallets, a couple of planks, even a base layer of sturdy boxes will do. A concrete slab sweats when the temperature swings, and that moisture wicks straight up into the legs of whatever's sitting on it. This one habit alone heads off most of the water damage we hear about.

Stack with your head, not just your back

Heaviest and toughest on the bottom, light and fragile up top. Never balance a load on the arms or back of a lounge. And leave a small gap between your stacks and the walls so a bit of air can move through.

Storing for more than a few months, with anything timber, leather, electronic or sentimental in the mix? Pay the bit extra for a climate-controlled unit, and ask the facility straight out about humidity control before you commit, not after.