As one of the top rated moving companies in Fresno, we want to share some tips on things you will NOT want to move inside a moving truck. A good rule of thumb when wondering if an item can be moved or not is: if that item can’t be thrown away in the normal trash or recycling, moving it in a moving truck will likely not be a good option. So, what types of items can’t be moved?
- Paint
- Motor Oil
- Anti-Freeze
- Solvents
- Pool Chemicals
- Pesticides & weed killer
- Cleaning Supplies
- Bleach
- Guns & Ammunition
- Ammonia
- Acids
- Fire Extinguisher
- Nail polish remover
- Car batteries
- Poisons
- Lamp oil
- Chemistry sets
- Matches
- Darkroom chemicals
- Sterno
- Fertilizer
- Nail polish
- Gasoline
- Propane Tanks
- Paint Thinner
- Aerosoles
- Lighter Fluid
- Charcoal
- Kerosene
- Fireworks
- SCUBA Tanks
- Muriatic Acid
- Nitric Acid
- Batteries With Acid
- Living Plants
- Perishable Food
- Pets
- Cash
- Jewelry
- Checkbooks
- Financial statements
- Keys
- Personal Documents (birth certs, pink slips, anything with your social security #)
- Medicine
- Laptops
- Tablets
- Cell Phones
- Medical Records
- Airline Tickets
- High-Value Collectibles
Hazardous Household Items
When hiring Olympic Move & Transport to move your home, it’s a good time to rid your garage of certain household chemicals and hazardous materials. Check your neighborhoods hazardous material dump days and take the items you don’t need there. If these items are important to you, and you’re moving locally, you can transport any needed items in your own car, but, DO NOT transport these items in your car in closed boxes. If you must transport them yourself, keep the box lids open and in a secure location in your car and drive safely.
Flammables & Explosives
This one kind of goes without saying. As the best moving company Fresno has, we won’t take anything that is flammable. Safety is ALWAYS #1 with Olympic Move & Transport! It is extremely dangerous if liquids or fumes spill and ignite. Believe it or not, every year a few people who are moving themselves make this mistake and create disastrous situations that lead to fatalities.
Living Plants
It is illegal to move living plants more than 150 miles without a license. This is because pests can hitch a ride on your house plant and allow those pests to be introduced into a new area. Fake plants are ok.
Perishable Food
It’s not a good idea to move food, especially if you’re moving into storage. Consider donating your food to a local food bank and throw away any expired perishable items.
Pets
We also cannot take any pets onto our moving trucks. You need to either bring your pets with you in your car or on the plane or hire a dedicated pet relocation company. Most pet owners will want to take care of their animals in the comfort of their own transportation, but if you’re considering putting your loved pet in a moving truck, it is definitely not safe for them to travel this way.
Personal Items & Valuables
Before we show up, you need to collect all of your personal items and items of extreme value. In fact, some movers will make you sign off on liability of these items before they walk in the door. We take pride in knowing you hired a dependable and trustworthy company to help you move. Taking your most valuable items with you is not only smart, but we encourage it.
Why Moving Companies Won’t Move These Certain Items
The main reason we we won’t move these items is for safety. You must understand that safety is the most important factor when moving items. Each professional moving company will have their own version of a non-allowable list of prohibited items – (a detailed list of non-transportable goods) which you shouldn’t bother packing or preparing for packing simply because the moving company you choose to hire will not pack or move them for you.
Some of those items that movers can’t move are also illegal to move, so it’s not only about moving companies being too cautious – it’s also about professional moving companies abiding by the law.
After safety & law comes liability. When it comes to your personal items, movers don’t want to have liability if something small turns up missing. It happens more often than you think. With so many people coming in and out of your home before the move (prospective buyers, home inspectors, repair companies etc.) movers often take the blame when items go missing. Make sure you pack and move anything personal and of high value yourself before the movers arrive.
Items That Can Be Moved But Need Preparation
Below are a few items that movers can move but you need to prepare them before the movers put them in their trucks.
Lawnmower, chainsaw, weedwhacker and other items with gasoline and oil must be drained of all flammable liquids before moving.
Barbeques that have a propane tank must be removed from the barbeque. Movers will not put a propane tank in the moving truck so you either have to give it away or move it in your car yourself if you are moving locally.
Refrigerators should be emptied and prepared before moving. You should empty, unplug, and clean your refrigerator 24 hours before the movers show up. Also, make sure you clean the coils behind the refrigerator in order to keep it in good energy-efficient running condition.
Dust Furniture & Clean Your Sofa. Your movers likely won’t want to breathe in all your accumulated dust from your furniture or have to deal with crumbs in the sofa. Make sure you do a quick clean and dusting of all your furniture and vacuum your sofa.
Moving Company Fresno Olympic Move & Transport
When moving a short distance you should be able to take more of these items with you since you have the ability to make multiple trips in your own car. If you want to hold onto all of your paints and garage items, or items like the propane tank or fire extinguisher, you can always move those items in your own car.
However, it’s very important to take caution when moving the items in your own car. Consider taking the side streets if you can or not taking all the flammable items at once. Use a lot of caution when moving hazardous materials in your own car.