How to prepare musical instruments for storage

We use storage for a lot of things these days. Our apartments are getting smaller and our possesions more numerous. But how do you prepare storage for something that is a little bit more delicate than furniture sports equipment we no longer wish in the house. In other words, how should you prepare musical instruments for storage

First, start with the storage

Before you contact your piano movers NJ of choice, you need to know exactly how to prepare musical instruments for storage that will suit them best. To do this you will need to know what you have on offer. Well, storages can be simply divided into those which are outdoors and those which are indoors. In your case, both are pretty much the same. The main difference is access. 

However, you can also divide up storages based on a simple fact. Are climate controlled or not? If you are wondering should you invest in better storage, here are some things that storage should protect your items from.

• Moisture. Moisture is very dangerous if you are trying to prepare musical instruments for storage. Build up of moisture can damage most wooden instruments. Not to mention that it facilities the creation of mold.
• Mold. It is a danger in its own right, not just to your instruments but to your health! Be sure to call exterminators if you encounter mold. You might not be adequately prepared for the type of mold you find. Spores can damage your health!
• Rodents. Bane of your existence should you find one. Insects and rodents. Look for well-reviewed storage providers on Yelp if you wish to avoid such a calamity. These can be especially damaging to wooden instruments, though that is not to say that they are welcome in any other case. Inspect your storage regularly!
• Burglary. Most basic of foes, perhaps, but definitely a risk worth considering. You need a safe, 24/7 guarded storage.

Depending on your instrument type, some of these will present a greater danger than the others. No matter the instrument, however, these are never to be tolerated! Stay vigilant!

Clean thoroughly

Before you put your instrument into climate-controlled storage NJ of your choice, be sure to clean it as thoroughly as possible. No matter how well you do, dust will eventually conquer the surface of your instruments. However, while that is unavoidable, all kinds of other forms of uncleanliness can be damaging to your instrument long term.

Think about it this way. When you are trying to prepare musical instruments for storage, you are probably doing it for a long haul. This means that your instrument, brass, wooden or any other, will have to endure a lot of time without as much as being picked up from the case, let alone used. Inanimate things are not living beings, but they too suffer from atrophy, in away. They are not meant not to be used, musical instruments especially so. This is why you have to keep them in as clean and proper as possible. Having them being clean will provide as much defense possible against possible decay. It will also make for a good (temporary) goodbye to your instrument which you, no doubt, love. Furthermore, you will find that it is a good way of having the instruments undergo

Prepare musical instruments for storage in the original case

When you are moving valuable items, you want the box the be as specialized for the said items as possible. This is also true if you want these particular, valuable items to sit in storage. Storage units are big, but you will never have space for quite everything, meaning that something will probably have to go on top of something else. Then there is the tumbling of the move (which it will experience at least twice) and you have yourself a damaged good.

However, with musical instruments, you have a different situation. When you prepare musical instruments for storage, you are faced with an easy choice of the box. You don’t have to search for the right size, for crunched paper or foam, for the best way to protect it from outside elements, etc. If your instrument has a case, use it. It will protect the instrument while also holding it in place in the best possible way.

It really doesn’t get much better than the case that is custom-built for it. As we previously mentioned, be sure to clean it thoroughly, and then place it in the case, and then into storage. Try not to put anything heavy over the case, or to put it in a position in which it may fall down. Put it, if possible, horizontally on a shelf or the floor.

Case by case

However, as you know, instruments wary. A lot. Everything from size, to moving parts, to materials made. This presents its own challenges, as it prohibits general solutions. If you are, for example, moving to Europe from the USA with your guitar in hand, you will find it a lot easier than if you are trying to move your cello.

So, let us go over the types of instruments and the best way to prepare them for storage. Let us begin with woodwinds. Try to break them up in as many pieces as you can (a common team). Vacum the case and the instrument. Place lining between the bats. Brass instruments should also be broken up. Protect it from corrosion by polishing it. Vacum the case and the instrument. Furthermore, strings should be loosened up, rosin eliminated and bridge loosen up on violins and other similar instruments. Drums should be policied and oiled.

In summary

Having to prepare musical instruments for storage might seem challenging, but it really isn’t. It only takes some time to disassemble the instrument and clean it very thoroughly. If you stored it in its clean state and inside the original casing in a safe (preferably climate-controlled) storage unit – you have done very well!