Many people own a few dozen or even more books that need to be packed and stored during a move. Packing your books the right way helps to protect them from getting warped or bent and reduces the risk of insect and moisture damage.
Three Ways to Protect Your Books in Storage
Many people own a collection of books, such as cookbooks, reference materials, novels and children’s stories. All of these books could represent a significant amount of the weight and volume of your belongings. In order to protect books while they are in storage in Las Vegas, you will need to use these three tips.
Properly Arranging Books
Books should be placed flat in the boxes. If you stand books up vertically, this could damage the spine of each book. Books are not made to be stored on their spines for long periods of time. Arrange the books flat on the bottom of the box, taking care to choose books that are generally the same size and shape to make your stacks.
Carefully Packing the Boxes
Books are heavy. When packing boxes of books, choose small and strong boxes. Plastic bins are another good choice. To avoid injuries, be sure to keep boxes at a weight of no more than 20 to 25 pounds. After you put 10 to 20 books in a box, fill up the rest of the box with lighter materials that are not fragile. Shifting contents could crush fragile items with the weight of the books. Some good choices of things to pack with books include blankets, towels and clothing.
Reducing Moisture and Insects
The pages of books can be damaged by moisture and insects. To reduce the risk of mold and mildew growth, put silica packets into each box of books. The silica packets absorb moisture while the books are in storage. To keep pests out of the boxes of books, make sure that the boxes are tightly sealed. You might even consider lining the boxes with plastic as an additional safeguard. When you open the boxes, shake out each book to check for bugs.