From vintage furniture to porcelain and heirloom dishware, antiques require special care and treatment. This is of particular importance when it comes to their moving and storage. After all, most of these items are not subject to restoration. They are priceless, so is your peace of mind. For this reason, if you want to safely relocate your precious possessions, it is always better to hire a reliable fine art shipping company with extensive experience in antique moving, packing, and storage.
One more reason to order professional antique moving services is lack of time. Let’s face it, you may simply have no time to learn how to properly care for your treasures and provide them with the highest level of protection during the move. If you want this job to be done in the same fashion as a museum would, to hire an experienced antique moving company is the only right solution. However, there are still several things you should keep in mind to preserve your precious collection for years to come.
- Avoid excessive handling
To avoid excessive handling is actually one of the best ways to keep antiques and other fragile items in top shape, so it is better not to move them unless it is absolutely necessary.
- Clean wisely
Just like excessive handling, excessive cleaning is also a bad approach, especially with regard to fine furniture and vintage metal items. Sometimes the layers of age make antiques much more valuable.
- Control the temperature level
Whether it comes to antique moving or storage, always control the temperature level, as extreme fluctuations in temperature can easily damage your treasured possessions.
- Control the humidity level
The same applies to the right humidity balance, which is also of utmost importance for the safety of most antiques and fine art pieces.
- Avoid light
Since direct sunlight can damage art and antiques, especially those made of organic materials like most types of paper and wood, you should create appropriate moving and storage conditions for your collection.
- Proper packing
Finally, safe and secure antique moving and storage are impossible without proper packaging, so consider ordering professional packing and crating services from a specialized company.
The above rules of antique moving and storage can be applied to most items made from paper, wood, ceramic materials, glass, and metal. However, sometimes they are not enough to protect art and antiques, so it is always better to hire a trustworthy company or, at least, consult an antique moving professional.