Do’s and Don’ts When Moving Furniture

Moving heavy furniture is not for the faint of heart.

During a house move, you may decide that you don’t wish to part with some of the furniture items found in your home – pieces that you either find extremely useful and practical, or ones that have strong sentimental value for you. However, moving furniture is easier said than done, especially when those items are big and heavy.

Without a doubt, the easiest way to move heavy furniture between two homes is to hire one of the best furniture moving companies in the country. Furniture movers have the required experience and know-how to protect the delicate furniture pieces from start to finish and to make sure there is no property damage as a result of the move.

However, using furniture moving services may not be a viable option for you. In such a case, a successful furniture moving mission without professionals requires strategic planning and impeccable execution. You’re going to need to know what you should do and what you shouldn’t do when moving furniture.

Here are the do’s and don’ts when moving furniture to a new home

DO’S when moving furniture

Here are the things that you should do when moving furniture from one home to another:

• DO MAKE SURE that your furniture pieces are worth moving before you make up your mind to transport them to the new home. Since the moving cost is calculated based on the total weight of the shipment, moving furniture items that you don’t really need will result in unfortunate loss of money on your part.
• DO TAKE any valuable antique furniture with you to the new home. If a furniture piece happens to have a strong sentimental value for you, then it makes all the sense in the world to take that unit with you no matter the transportation cost. Antique furniture is often handed down from generation to generation, so you should definitely keep yours despite the higher moving costs. [Moving Antique Furniture]
• DO THINK twice before deciding to move any IKEA furniture or IKEA-like furniture to the new home. In general, pressboard furniture is designed to be assembled only once and rarely survives a house move due to its proverbial lack of strength and sturdiness. In most cases, moving large IKEA furniture will cost you more money than to purchase brand-new pieces after the move. [Moving IKEA Furniture]
• DO ASK your good friends to come help you move your heavy furniture items. Reach out to your pals as early as you can to minimize the inevitable disruption of their own plans. When asking for assistance, be honest with your friends about the fact that you’ll be needing their muscle power for moving furniture – after all, failure to mention that essential detail could annoy or even anger some of your pals. [Get Friends to Help You Move]
• DO GET a furniture dolly to help you move your bulky furniture units with zero risk of personal injuries or property damage of any sort. The use of proper moving equipment on Moving day is critical, so you should do yourself a favor by renting or purchasing a high-quality furniture dolly to make the furniture moving process easier and safer for everyone involved in it. [Moving Dolly]
• DO MEASURE UP the large furniture items before moving them out of the home. By knowing the dimensions of your biggest furniture pieces, you will be able to decide whether you should disassemble partially some of them. After all, you don’t want to get stuck when a huge furniture piece won’t fit through the door or can’t get around a tight corner.
• DO DISASSEMBLE partially the large furniture items which you have determined to be too big to fit safely through doorways and hallways. As a long as your pieces of furniture can be taken apart safely, you should seriously consider doing it in order to 1) reduce their overall dimensions, and 2) decrease their total weight. [Disassemble Furniture]
• DO REMOVE any loose items from inside the furniture pieces before moving them. By doing so, you will reduce the overall weight and will prevent possible damage to the things left inside. Thus said, you can still leave lightweight, non-breakable items inside furniture drawers such as clothes, shoes, and bedding.
• DO USE furniture sliders to either get a heavy furniture item a little distance off the wall or to slide that piece effortlessly across the room without any danger of causing costly floor damage. Furniture moving sliders are fairly inexpensive so you should definitely buy a set of four furniture moving pads to save your back and to prevent any type of property damage during the house move.
• DO GET the right type of furniture sliders for the job. For moving furniture on carpeted floors, always use furniture gliders that are made of hard materials (plastic or rubber). For moving furniture on hardwood floors, you should use furniture sliders that have soft materials (felt or sponge) on the top. [Furniture Sliders]
• DO PROTECT your furniture against damage by wrapping it up in specialized furniture blankets that will create a soft protective layer around the furniture piece to keep it safe. Furniture pads for moving provide an excellent level of protection for any furniture pieces found in the home but you can still use sheets of bubble wrap to safeguard particularly delicate and fragile areas of your furniture. [Protect Furniture]
• DO USE great caution when loading big and heavy furniture onto the dolly. In most cases, it’ll be enough to tilt slightly the furniture piece, slide the low and flat 4-wheel platform underneath it, and then tilt it back onto the dolly until it’s well centered and balanced. Furniture dollies are super useful on a flat and smooth terrain but cannot be used on stairs.
• DO USE the proper furniture lifting techniques to prevent bad injuries. Remember that moving heavy furniture can be dangerous for your health due to the possibility of getting hurt while you’re handling those heavy items. To make sure nothing bad happens to you, learn the right ways to lift heavy furniture when moving house. [Furniture Lifting Techniques]
• DO CONSIDER using shoulder straps to move heavy furniture out of your home. Depending on the weight of the furniture piece and its dimensions, you may choose to use furniture lifting straps (instead of a furniture dolly) to take your big furniture items out of the home and load them onto the truck. Shoulders straps can be used to move furniture up or down the stairs too. [Furniture Lifting Straps]
• DO HAVE a good plan of action before you start moving your big and heavy pieces of furniture. The very first thing to do is to clear all pathways along the exit paths to prevent accidents. Then, consult with your helpers and figure out the exact steps you’re going to take to ensure everyone’s safety and to safeguard your belongings all the way to the awaiting moving vehicle. [Moving Large Furniture]
• DO BE extremely careful when moving furniture up or down the stairs. Since you can’t use a furniture dolly onto stairs, basically you’ve got 3 options to move furniture up or down the stairs: 1) carry the pieces by hand (provided that they are light enough), 2) use shoulder straps to take the furniture over the stairs, and 3) use a hand truck (appliance dolly) to overcome the staircase obstacle. [Moving Furniture Up Stairs]
• DO RESORT to proven ways to get unstuck if you do get stuck while moving large furniture out of your home. If a furniture item won’t fit through a doorway, try different angles to go through the tight opening, including hooking the piece through the door. If you only need a few more inches of space, then consider removing the door frame temporarily to get that room. [Furniture Won’t Fit]
• DO TAKE personal safety seriously when moving bulky furniture on the move-out day. Wear comfortable closed-toe shoes with anti-slip rubber soles and excellent traction to avoid slipping incidents. Also, choose snug clothes that will not restrict your movements in any way and will not get caught on anything while you’re navigating big furniture pieces out of the place. [Moving Day Safety]
• DO USE the loading ramp to get the furniture inside when you reach the moving vehicle. Ensure that the ramp is well secured against the back of the truck and cannot move while you’re wheeling up the heavy load on it. Once inside, tie up the furniture pieces to the side of the vehicle using straps or pieces of rope. [Load a Moving Truck]
• DO KNOW your limitations when you’re moving furniture without hiring professional furniture movers. While it may feel good knowing that you won’t have to pay for furniture moving services, it’s also important to remember that sustaining a bad injury due to a moving day accident or ruining an expensive or valuable furniture piece due to insufficient padding or improper handling may cost you a lot more than the cost of a reliable furniture moving service. [Furniture Movers]

DON’TS when moving furniture

Here are the things that you shouldn’t do when moving furniture from one home to another.

• DON’T SPEND money on moving old furniture when you can buy brand-new furniture after the move. It’s never just about the money, is it? You’ll also lose plenty of precious time and will invest energy into doing something that won’t make any sense in the end. Think about whether you really need those furniture pieces in the new home.
• DON’T TRY to be a hero by proving you can move your large and heavy furniture pieces all by yourself. The job of moving furniture is a dangerous one and you’ll be much more prone to various types of move-related injuries (back injuries, muscle injuries, hernias, injuries to your hands, fingers, and toes, etc.) if you do make the wrong decision to move furniture entirely on your own. 
• DON’T BLAME any of your friends for not answering your call for help with moving large and heavy furniture. Just like you, your pals try to manage their busy schedules and have pre-arranged plans on their own, so you can’t expect all of them to rush to help you out on the day of the move. Show some understanding as you look for alternative solutions.
• DON’T RUSH to move large furniture without figuring out first whether those pieces will go safely through the door and around tight corners. All you need to do is measure the furniture unit, then measure the doorways and see if things will go smoothly or not. If you do rush the job, you could get stuck halfway and lose an insane amount of time trying to get unstuck.
• DON’T LEAVE breakable items inside the drawers or cabinets of the furniture items you’re moving. Yes, you’ll save time this way but those fragile items are very likely to get broken when they shift inside the closed spaces totally unprotected. Packing those delicate things separately will ensure their well-being throughout the house move.
• DON’T LEAVE any areas of furniture unprotected by thick furniture pads. Insufficient protection beds, couches, dressers, bookcases, china cabinets, desks, tables, chairs, and so on will increase the risk of damage, especially when those units will spend many days on the road. It’s a wrong tactic to simply hope that nothing bad will happen to your valuable furniture pieces – it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
• DON’T ASSUME you have an unlimited source of energy that will let you lift and carry heavy furniture items without ever getting tired. As Moving day drags on, your energy will start to diminish and you’ll then be forced to rely more on the proper moving equipment and the helpers you have by your side. Underestimating the situation is one of the leading causes of personal injuries when moving house.
• DON’T ASSUME property damage is something that won’t happen to you during your move. The thing is that scratched floors, chipped walls, and broken furniture can occur in the blink of an eye when you least expect it. Be proactive and take preventive measures such as using furniture sliders, using a moving dolly, wrapping your furniture pieces completely in thick blankets, and even taping sheets of thick cardboard over damage-prone areas such as doorways and wall corners. [Prevent Property Damage]
• DON’T UNDERESTIMATE the importance of safety when moving large and heavy furniture. Taking just a few precautionary measures will make a big difference in achieving a perfectly safe move for everyone. Keep young children and pets in a room that’s away from the packing and moving epicenter. If possible, ask somebody to look after them so that you can focus on the heavy tasks before you.
• DON’T FORGET that going up or down the stairs with huge and heavy pieces of furniture is the most dangerous aspect of moving furniture to another home. Unless you have several reliable helpers by your side and you’ve come up with a foolproof plan that minimizes any chances of bad accidents, you’re strongly advised to seek the help of professional furniture movers.

Keep in mind that your safety and the safety of the people around you should always be your number one priority during a move.

Get free quotes from the best furniture movers in your area to check how much they will charge you for the job.

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