It’s a solution to so many problems. You’re moving, renovating, decluttering, storing off-season equipment, adding space for your business’ inventory, protecting your car for the winter, or a thousand other possibilities, but whatever your project, self storage offers an economical solution.
But then, what type of self storage works best for your project? Will an outdoor, drive-up unit suffice? Will a mobile storage container be most convenient? Or do your storage items require a climate-controlled unit? What exactly is a climate-controlled unit for anyways?
At Storage For Your Life, we want to make sure your storage project is met with the appropriate type of storage unit, so we’ve put together the following details on unit types, and what they’re best used for. We then dive a little deeper into climate-controlled units, to be sure you’re informed properly about the storage options available for your project.
Types of units
The three main types of self storage units are outdoor, drive-up units, indoor, climate-controlled units, and mobile storage containers. Each has their own advantage, and are suitable for particular projects.
Outdoor, drive-up units
Outdoor, drive-up units are the classic type of self storage unit. These are accessed directly from the facility’s driveway, allowing one to pull straight up to the unit to load/unload. The accessibility of these types of units is excellent for those who will be requiring access to their storage items on a regular basis.
Drive-up units are great for businesses, such as interior decorators, landscapers, and contractors. Likewise, if you are in the process of moving between homes or renovating your house, slowly arranging the new space, then these are excellent for daily trips to collect the next round of contents. For general storage needs, this is usually the right unit.
Mobile storage containers
Mobile storage containers are a newer type of self storage unit. Taking the accessibility of the outdoor, drive-up unit to the next level, these units will move to you, saving you the ‘load-the-truck-to-unload-into-the-storage-unit’ process: load the mobile container once, and leave it. These units cut out the middleman of a truck rental.
They also allow you to take more time with loading. Renting a truck to move your items to a storage facility will give you the small window with the truck rental, but with a mobile storage container, they can be dropped on your property at any time, allowing you to take more time loading it (essentially, as long as you’d like). And if you have the space for it on your property, and want the most accessible unit possible, then let it remain on your property.
These units are best for renovations and long-distance moving. They are also great for small businesses wanting extra storage space on their property, such as contractors on a construction site or real estate agents modelling a home for sale.
Climate-controlled units
Climate-controlled units are the most advanced self storage units available. Positioned inside, these units keep a consistent temperature, protecting your storage belongings from extreme temperatures and humidity/condensation.
While the protection level is at its maximum with climate-controlled units, they are the least accessible of the unit types, requiring you to move your items indoors. This though is a small price to pay to keep more sensitive items safe from elements that could damage them. These self storage units are perfect for those sensitive types of items, such as antiques and artwork.
Significance and benefits of climate-controlled self storage units
While climate-controlled units are a bit less accessible than an outdoor, drive-up unit, they are a necessity for protecting items that can be affected by fluctuations in temperature and/or humidity.
Heating keeps the unit warm in the winter and air conditioning keeps the unit cool in the summer.
While your bedframe, box spring, and mattress are perfectly suitable for an outdoor unit, the china cabinet that has been passed down through generations of your family will require the additional protection that a climate-controlled unit provides.
What for?
Fluctuating temperatures and humidity can damage sensitive items, which include…
-Antique/wood furniture,
-Fine fabrics,
-Artworks,
-Electronics,
-Musical instruments
-Paper/files/documents/books,
-Leather items, and
-Vinyl records.
If you are storing any of these items, then we strongly recommend you rent a climate-controlled unit to keep them properly protected. Retrieving items from your self storage unit only to find them in much worse condition than when you stored them is the last thing we want you to experience.
Without the climate being controlled
Without a climate-controlled self storage unit, moisture can warp, crack, and damage wood furniture, vinyl records, paintings, musical instruments, leather, and collectibles. It can also fade colours on fabrics or corrode internal components of televisions, audio equipment, and other electronics.
Storage For Your Life is intent on taking care of all of your storage belongings, and that often means we need to be sure you are as informed as possible about how to make your self storage project a success. Speak with your Storage For Your Life agent today to be certain that you are as informed as we can make you.
