Threats To Wood Furniture In Long-Term Storage

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Wood furniture may look strong and impregnable in normal usage, but they are quite fragile when stored for long periods of time. Damage can come from many quarters, but there are a few specific threats you ought to be worried about. Here are four such threats:

Temperature

Just like many solids, wood expands when heated and contracts when cooled. The effect may not be noticeable or worrisome for small changes in temperature, but it can lead to serious damage if the temperature fluctuations are too wide. For example, the wood can crack or bend if it is stored in such a manner that it doesn't have room for expansion; for example, if you stack different pieces of furniture.

Moisture

Together with temperature, moisture is another factor in the expansion and contraction of wood, but this isn't its worst form of damage to wood. Mold and mildew thrive in moist conditions, and these are things that wreak irrevocable damage to wood. Store your wood in a damp place and you will come back to a rotten piece of furniture after some time.

Bugs

Bugs, such as termites and beetles, can also cause severe damage to your poorly-stored furniture. One of the worst things about bugs is that their damage can go for a long time without you noticing anything amiss. This is because some of them dig tiny holes through which they can enter the wood, and then feed and burrow in the soft parts of the wood inside. By the time you realize that your furniture is bug-infested, the damage shall be done. A good example of such a bug is the powderpost beetle, which feeds on the sugar, starch, and starch found in wood.

Physical Stress

Lastly, you should not underestimate the effect of physical stress on wood. Many people make the mistake of stacking pieces of furniture to the extent that the lower pieces cannot hold the weight of the upper ones. The damage may not be instant, but you may find cracks on your furniture when you come back to collect them. Wood that does not crack easily may be bent out of shape. This is especially likely if you don't disassemble your furniture, and all the weight bears down on their arms and legs.

What all these means is that you should be very careful when choosing where to store your wood furniture. Instead of stacking them in your basement, you should choose a good storage facility where they won't face the risks described above. It's especially useful to choose a climate-controlled facility so that temperature or humidity doesn't destroy your furniture. Contact a company like LoDo Self Storage & Moving Center for more information. 

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29 August 2015

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