Moving heavy furniture on your own can be a very risky
business, especially if you have no clear idea what it takes to achieve a
satisfactory level of moving day safety. In order to avoid moving injuries or
premature damage to your prized possessions when moving from one home to
another, you have to be familiar with the major safety guidelines.
Anyone who dares to disregard the common sense
safety tips when moving furniture could end up badly hurt by taking on too much
weight at the same time or by handling the furniture moving job the wrong way.
The good news is that you don’t have to be like any of those people who are
100% sure that safety when moving house is grossly overrated.
The best way to move heavy furniture, which
coincides with the easiest way to move furniture as well, is to let top-rated
movers do it for you. However, if professional moving assistance is just not
the right way for you, then the following hand-picked moving day safety tips
for moving furniture should keep you injury-free until you reach the protection
of your new home.
1. Disassemble your furniture pieces
It’s fair to say that your large furniture pieces
– king- and queen-size beds, dressers, wardrobes, cabinets, bookshelves,
sectional sofas, armchairs, desks, and tables – will give you the most troubles
on Moving day. In fact, furniture is regarded as one of the most difficult
items to move to another home due to its over sized dimensions, considerable
weight, often awkward shape, and occasional fragility and high value – antique
furniture, for example.
Safety is always a big concern when moving heavy
furniture by yourself, and that is exactly why the best course of action when
you do decide to take some or maybe all of your large and heavy pieces with you
is to hire experienced furniture movers who just know what to do.
However, in case you can’t afford professional
help or you know you can take control of your house move with a few trusted
friends, the next best thing is to disassembly your furniture before you take
it out of your home.
It’s important to remember that furniture
disassembly is one of the best safety tips for moving furniture. If you wonder
why you should do it, here are just a few examples of the difficulties you may
face on Moving day:
some of your furniture pieces will be just too big
to fit through standard door openings and narrow hallways unless they are
broken down safely to its main components; some pieces will be too heavy and awkwardly shaped
to be carried up or down any number of flight stairs; other furniture pieces you own will be too fragile
to be just taken out as they are – especially if they come with breakable glass
components and frail ornaments.
So, stay safe and protect your valuable
possessions by disassembling your big furniture as far as they can go. Measure
your furniture pieces first to see if they will fit through all door openings
and hallways. If you don’t know what to do or how to do it, ask a friend who
does, or even better – contact professional furniture movers.
2. Identify and eliminate furniture moving dangers
When moving heavy furniture by yourself, make sure
you have a safe exit strategy that will actually work.
Safety when moving furniture is of paramount
importance – disregard the major safety moving tips and you may find yourself
in a world of pain.
During the notoriously chaotic move-out and
move-in days, damaging your valuable furniture – as bad as it sounds – could
turn out to be the lesser of two evils. Unfortunately, personal injuries of all
kinds are also a genuine possibility so you must do all in your power to avoid
injuries when moving house.
Luckily, some safety tips for moving heavy
furniture are easier to follow than others – you only need to use your common
sense to make your moving experience pain- and trouble-free. Here’s a very easy
piece of safety advice to keep in mind when taking out the furniture out of
your house or apartment – just keep the exit paths and outdoor pathways clear
of potential dangers. Well, this task may sound easier than it actually is.
Take a slow walk along the intended exit path of
your furniture and identify any danger zones – areas, places or spots that can
be hazardous when heavy items are being carried or wheeled out of the
residence. Once you’ve identified the problematic areas, do your best to make them
safe.
Random obstacles, packed cardboard boxes or any
disorganized clutter in your home may easily jeopardize moving day safety. Keep
the pathways clear at all times. When you’re moving heavy furniture to the moving
vehicle, the outside zones can also lead to bad accidents so you must make sure
the outdoor paths are 100% free of dust, mud, snow, and especially ice. You can guarantee safety when moving house by
creating more unobstructed space for free movement and all the accompanying
unusual moves that come with Moving day.
3. Don’t form a one-man team
One of the best safety tips when moving furniture
is to never try to do it all by yourself. The burden of moving house is too
great for a single person, let alone handling super heavy and over sized pieces
of furniture. Remember that moving house is a team effort – it was never meant
to be a solo performance. After all, moving heavy furniture alone can be plain
dangerous so if you do try to be a hero on your moving day for one reason or
another, the results will probably be disastrous.
Think about what’s best for the wellbeing of your
prized furniture on one hand, and what’s best for your own safety, and that of
your family. If you can’t seem to afford to hire the services of a professionalmoving company, then you must make sure you will be able to get sufficient
manpower from your circle of friends. Your top priority, of course, is to ask
for that invaluable friendly assistance way in advance so that you don’t
disrupt unnecessarily your pals’ plans.
Once you have your friends around, coordinate your
actions with the helpers so that everyone is on the same page before it’s time
to lift and carry heavy pieces of furniture. Don’t forget to always take
advantage of the right moving equipment /see Safety moving tip #4/ and to use
the proper lifting techniques /see Safety moving advice #5/ to avoid injuries
or property damage when you move.
Read also: Top 5 self-moving mistakes to avoid
4. Get the right equipment to move heavy furniture
Don’t turn your back on the safety tips when
moving house! To prevent accidents and injury during a move, get yourself the
right type of tools for to move heavy furniture as the latter has the tendency
to become heavier, bigger and trickier to transport than initially estimated.
Rent or purchase the following furniture moving
equipment to make your move easier and safer than ever:
It’s no coincidence that the wheel is considered
the most important invention ever. Is there a good reason why you shouldn’t use
the wheel to make your move much easier and safer?
A furniture dolly. Often regarded as a mover’s
best friend, a furniture dolly is an L-shaped two-wheeled handcart that still
remains unrivaled as far as usefulness, efficiency and safety are concerned.
It’s amazing how simple yet effective and indispensable a moving dolly can be
for lifting and moving heavy objects during a move. And one thing you can be
absolutely sure of is that there will be no shortage of heavy and bulky items
to transport on your moving day. Rent a sturdy utility dolly from a local
moving company or even consider purchasing one – it’s an investment that should
pay off tenfold because even if you never have to leave your new home, you can
still use it around your new residence for transporting all types of
heavyweight stuff.
Furniture slides. You may need to slide a piece of
furniture a short distance or all the way across a room – and to do that
safely, you will need furniture sliders. A slider is a piece of durable plastic
on one side and hard rubber on the other that will help you slide heavy
furniture with ease. Just position a slider under each leg or corner of a piece
of furniture and marvel the magic of frictionless sliding.
Moving straps. Straps can help move heavy
furniture by redirecting the weight from a person’s back to a stronger muscle
group. Moving straps are almost exclusively used by professional furniture
movers so it’s probably best if you stick to using a good quality furniture
dolly.
5. Use proper lifting techniques
One of the best safety tips for moving heavy
objects – a piece of advice that you must use to stay protected – is to use the
proper lifting techniques that are accepted as universal. It’s important to
understand that you will be forced to do tons of awkward and uncommon movements
which your body has not been accustomed to – bending, pushing, pulling,
twisting, and of course, lifting heavy furniture. As a consequence, you or one
of your helpers could actually end up with an injury of some sort.
If you’re still not sure how to move heavy
furniture by yourself, here are a number of professional moving tips to avoid
injury (aka safe lifting techniques):
Spare your back by always lifting heavy furniture
with your legs. Bend at your knees, keep your back straight and use the unquestionable
strength of your lower limbs. Whenever applicable, push heavy furniture pieces
(not before having furniture sliders underneath the, of course) instead of pull
them. Whenever you have to turn sideways or around while
holding big and heavy furniture, do so with your legs, never with your hips. Keep the pieces of furniture that you’re wearing
as close to you as possible and in the relative center of your body. Some common moving injuries come as a result of
wrong footing, and as you can imagine – tripping over while holding a piece of
furniture will have bad consequences. Stay safe by only making slow and smooth
movements, and by only making small steps as well. Keep your eyes focused in front of you when moving
heavy furniture by yourself. Moving safety advice: Moving day mistakes? Err
another day!
6. Wear proper clothing and footwear
By know you should know perfectly well that safety
when moving house is your top priority. The last safety advice for moving
furniture will show you how personal injuries and property damage can really
ruin your moving day from something as (seemingly) trivial as what you wear
during the day of the move.
Wearing flip-flops when moving heavy furniture
seems like a really bad idea.
Amidst hundreds of genuine worries on Moving day,
appropriate clothing and footwear can easily get overlooked. Only, you don’t want
to make that mistake because your conscious decision to wear proper clothes and
shoes can help you achieve the level of safety you seek.
Opt for your most comfortable change of clothes
you can find in your dresser. Ideally, the moving day garments will be made of
flexible and breathable material that will let you move freely. Don’t choose clothes you will be sorry to see
dirty or even ruined – anything can happen during the most demanding day in a
household move. Don’t wear baggy clothes as they can get hooked on
a piece of furniture, which in turn could lead to nothing good. Your shoes should be of the closed-toe type, with
rubber soles that provide excellent friction (anti-slip soles). Footwear with
good ankle-support is preferable as well – most often, you will quickly realize
that a good pair of sports shoes should be your best choice.
Oh, and don’t forget to use high quality work
gloves that will improve your grip and protect your hands at the same time.
