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Need Help With Moving Furniture? Check Out This Guide

Furniture moving involves a lot of planning and heavy lifting. Whether you’re preparing to relocate or engaging in a little in-home furniture rearranging, you’re going to need a helping hand to ensure you don’t damage your valuables.

That’s where this article comes in.

If you need a little help with moving furniture, use the tips in this article to do it as safely and securely as a professional moving furniture company would do it.

Tip No. 1 – Use the High and Low Method for Tall Items

The tallest items in your home are often the most difficult to move. Even if they’re not heavy, they’re usually cumbersome. It’s difficult to negotiate this type of furniture around corners and through doorways, which can lead to collisions that damage your property. Furthermore, tall items are often difficult to carry, which can lead to back and wrist injuries if you don’t use the proper technique.

The high and low method helps you to move tall items safely.

You need two people for this technique. Stand the item up and tip it back so the top end moves toward one of the lifters. The first lifter supports the top of the item while the second lifts it from the bottom. This technique centers the furniture’s weight, giving the lifters full control over it. What’s more, the tilted angle makes it easier to move the item up and down stairs. Note that you may need to adjust your angles when moving tall furniture through doorways.

Tip No. 2 – Measure Everything

Are you unsure whether an item will fit through your doorway?

Don’t engage in guesswork. Grab some measuring tape and measure both the item and any tight points you’ll need to squeeze it through. Furniture moving is all about figuring out the most efficient way to get items from Point A to Point B. When you measure before moving, you ensure you don’t waste time trying to fit oversized items through doors and hallways that aren’t big enough.

Measure the length, height, and width of each large piece of furniture you intend to move. Do the same for any doors or hallways that you feel may be a touch too short or narrow for the item. If the measurements don’t add up, you may need to disassemble the item before moving it. If that isn’t an option, consult a team of house furniture movers to handle the furniture for you.

Tip No. 3 – Buy Appropriate Packing and Moving Supplies

While your oversized and heavy furniture presents the biggest challenges during relocation or in-home moving, the bulk of your time will be spent on transporting smaller items. Of course, you don’t want to move every single book, CD, or piece of kitchenware individually. You need boxes and appropriate packing materials.

Start with your packing materials. You’ll need boxes, bubble wrap, and plastic stretch wrap to keep your small items secure. From there, switch your focus to protection. Buy some moving blankets that you can place throughout the property. These blankets ensure you don’t make your floors dirty when moving in and out of the property. It’s also worth buying sofa and mattress covers for the same purpose.

Finally, invest in furniture sliders. Furniture moving services will usually come with them. But if you’re moving your furniture yourself, sliders protect floors from the scratches and damage that can occur when moving heavy furniture or items with sharp edges.

Tip No. 4 – Clean Your Furniture Before Moving It

There are two reasons why you should clean your furniture before starting your move.

First, dust and debris can cause damage during the moving process. For example, loose objects with sharp tips, such as pens, can scratch leather upholstery or mark up mirrors. By cleaning everything before your move, you eliminate anything that could cause issues.

Second, cleaning before the move means you don’t have to clean afterward. Furniture moving is a tiring job. When you’re done, the last thing you’ll want to do is spend a few more hours cleaning your furniture. Doing so before the move means you can start using your furniture again as soon as it’s in place.

Tip No. 5 – Get Rid of Anything You’re Not Going to Need

Whether you’re moving yourself or using home furniture movers, you need to think about the cost of the move. When working with a professional company, the more time spent on furniture moving leads to a higher price for the service. If you’re doing it yourself, the time cost can result in you spending days, instead of hours, on the job.

One of the best ways to reduce these costs is to have a clear-out before you start moving.

Go through everything that you intend to move and separate the furniture that you’re not going to bring with you. Maybe you have an old dining room set that isn’t going to suit your new property? Sell or donate it so you don’t have to waste time moving it. The same goes for anything else that you don’t want to take to your new home. There are plenty of places that will accept your unwanted items, including pawn shops and charity stores. You could even hold a garage sale or advertise the items on Facebook Marketplace. Both of which allow you to raise some money that could go toward the fee you pay for your home furniture movers.

Tip No. 6 – Rent a Dolly

Dollies are clever devices that allow you to transport heavy furniture easily. They’re also easy to use. Place the item onto the dolly’s flat surface, tilt the dolly back, and pull. You’ll be able to roll your heavy items along using the dolly’s wheels.

All heavy furniture movers use dollies to transport heavy appliances. If you’re handling the move yourself, you can usually rent a dolly for the day for between $20 and $50. That small fee pales in comparison to the hundreds of dollars you might pay if you drop an expensive appliance. Shoulder dollies serve a similar function. They strap onto your shoulders and allow you to lift heavy items without having to rely almost solely on your arm strength.

Tip No. 7 – Hook Your Chairs

Hooking a chair doesn’t mean you shove a hook into it and then drag it along. Hooking is a technique that enables you to maneuver oversized chairs through doorways.

The process is simple.

Turn the chair onto its side so it looks like a large “L”. Move the chair back-first through the doorway. As the corner of the “L” reaches the opening, hook the rest of the chair around the door frame to allow it to slide through easily.

Tip No. 8 – Remove Doors

Often, it’s not the doorframe that gets in the way of you moving an awkward item. It’s the door itself. This is especially the case if the door doesn’t open fully. For example, your door may open directly onto a wall, which means the door causes you to lose a couple of inches of room that you could have otherwise used.

The simple solution to this problem is to remove the door from the equation.

Most doors are attached to their frames using hinges. With the right screwdriver, you can remove the hinges so you can move the door out of the way safely. Remember to re-attach the door when you’re done, especially if somebody else is going to move into your old property after you leave.

Tip No. 9 – Hold Fire on Wrapping Your Furniture

It’s a good idea to wrap furniture in bubble wrap or plastic wrap when moving it. Both options offer the furniture some protection against the bumps it will experience when being driven from one location to another. The problem with wrapping is that it can add an inch or two to the furniture’s length and width. If you already anticipate having a hard time fitting a piece through a narrow gap, wrapping it beforehand exacerbates the problem.

Only wrap your furniture once you’ve managed to squeeze it through any tight gaps that it needs to get through. Granted, this increases the risk of scratches. But it’s often the only way to get a large piece to fit through a small space.

Tip No. 10 – Hire a Company to Move Furniture

Moving furniture is strenuous work that can result in injuries to people who aren’t experienced with handling heavy and oversized items. Furthermore, it’s not just furniture moving that you have to worry about. You also need to hire a truck that’s large enough to hold your biggest items. Plus, you may need to invest in special equipment to protect your furniture and property during the move. Then, there’s the practical problem of getting enough people to help you with the task to consider. After all, you can’t handle the move on your own.

Add all of those issues to the stress that already comes with moving home and you may have a recipe for disaster.

The simplest way to solve this problem is to hire house furniture movers to do the work for you. These professionals already have the knowledge and equipment needed to do the job. Plus, they’ll likely get you moved into your new home a lot faster than you’d manage when relying on family and friends.

Unfortunately, finding a good moving company is not as simple as typing “help moving furniture near me” and selecting the first option. Any moving furniture company you work with should offer the following skills and traits before you trust them with the task.

Organizational Skills

An unorganized furniture moving company takes longer than it should to do the job. That’s a problem for you because most companies incorporate the amount of time a move takes into their estimates. Look for a moving company that incorporates all of the small details into the planning process. Moreover, ask about the company’s approach as this will let you know how efficient it is when it comes to loading trucks and handling your furniture.

Licenses and Insurance

Every moving company needs to have insurance that covers any damage caused during the move. Typically, this insurance only covers the moving process, meaning it doesn’t cover damage caused by packing items incorrectly. Make sure your chosen company’s insurance offers enough coverage for the total value of the furniture it needs to transport.

When it comes to licenses, ask the moving furniture company for its USDOT number. This number certifies that the business is registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. It’s required in many states, including Maryland. If the company doesn’t have a USDOT number, ask for any state licenses they hold. The lack of any sort of license suggests the company is not a good choice.

Fair Pricing

Some moving companies try to get your business by offering the lowest price possible. Others may charge more than your move should cost. The best way to ensure neither situation happens to you is to gather quotes from several furniture moving companies.

Compare the cost of service provided with each quote against the type of service the mover offers. It’s also a good idea to look for additional fees. Some moving companies charge extra for long carries or if they need to move items up and down stairs. Others build those costs into their quotes. Don’t be afraid to ask questions if the price seems off to you. A good company will explain how it reached its estimate so you understand exactly what you’re paying for.

Get Moving

Moving home is stressful enough without you having to worry about how you’re going to complete the move without damaging furniture or property. The tips provided in this article provide help with moving furniture safely. Take your time, get several people to help you, and use appropriate equipment when dealing with heavy items.

Of course, many furniture moving tasks are too troublesome for you to tackle yourself. Or, you may just want to get rid of the stress of the moving process entirely.

That’s where we come in.

At Baltimore MD Movers, we offer residential and commercial equipment and furniture moving services. Our team is reliable, organized, and will provide you with stellar service from the moment we start a job until all of your furniture is relocated and ready for you to use. If you’d like to find out how much your move might cost, get a quote online today. Alternatively, call us at 855-383-7134 to speak to a member of our team.

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