Founded in 1890, Hansen Bros. Moving & Storage the parent company of Portabox has successfully weathered many history-changing events including the Great Seattle Fire, WWI, the Spanish Flu of 1918, the Great Depression, WWII, the 2008 recession, and 9/11 among many other public crises. We are taking the current COVID-19 threat very seriously and will promptly adhere to any and all directives from local, state and federal government officials. Hansen Bros. and Portabox have been categorized as an essential industry business (moving & relocation) within the current mandate established by Washington State Governor Jay Inslee.

As essential services, we will maintain normal operations until such time as either company management determines we must close our offices or we are directed to do so by a governmental authority. We are taking extensive precautionary measures including the adoption of all CDC guidelines and the establishment of our own policies intended to minimize health risks for all customers, employees, contractors, vendors, and community stakeholders. We are proud to be able to support the needs of our customers during this crucial time but are prepared to quickly change course as required.

Stay safe together with Hansen Bros. and Portabox

The COVID-19 crisis is fluid and there are many uncertainties and factors outside of our control that may, with little or no advance notice, impact our delivery of moving & storage services. Please be aware the current crisis could potentially result in small inconveniences such as a delayed project start time or significant inconveniences such as the complete rescheduling of services.

Although there are many unknowns to be navigated, you can be certain that Hansen Bros. and Portabox will be timely and transparent in our communications regarding servicing your moving & storage needs, and our professional relocation consultants will work diligently to offer creative solutions in the event your project is impacted by the current health crisis.

Steps We're Taking:

  • Company-wide Implementation of all precautionary measures recommended by the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
  • Office staff and crews are being monitored daily for symptoms and/or known exposure by management and asked to go home, contact their healthcare provider, and self-quarantine as directed. Staff that experience symptoms and/or aware of exposure when not at work have been directed to stay home and notify their supervisor.
  • Office staff and crews are receiving daily briefings on precautionary measures and have been directed to follow them on and off the job.
  • Office staff and crews are being instructed to maintain appropriate “social distance” of 6 feet minimum between one another, customers, and all other people.
  • Office staff and crews are being provided with appropriate hand sanitizer and surface disinfecting supplies. They have been directed to disinfect truck cabs and moving equipment between each move to the best of their ability. These supplies will continue to be replenished as we are able, based on availability from retailers.
  • We are limiting visitation to our branch offices. If you wish to purchase moving boxes or supplies, please simply call in your order and we will happily deliver to your vehicle outside.

We are all in this together.  The team at Hansen Bros. and Portabox is proud to continue offering our services in accordance with the necessary precautions outlined above. We are here to make the process of storing belongings seamless & safe for you.

Tips for storing antique items long-term

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Finding storage for stuff that we don’t use on a daily basis is always a good idea. But what happens when the things that you want to store require more care and attention? For instance, storing antique items long-term is not as easy as storing your seasonal clothing. The same goes for old, fine china pieces; relocating them pretty much anywhere can be quite risky, which is why a lot of additional care is required. Don’t worry, though – PortaBox Storage offers excellent facilities for even your most delicate items – and we’ve got some advice on how you should store them as well! 

Disassembling Antiques

Before you look for mobile storage containers Seattle offers and decide on transporting and storing antique items long-term; you need to carefully think about all of the details of this process. Obviously, furniture requires a decent level of care and attentiveness while you store or transport it; otherwise, you risk it sustaining damage. But considering that is true for ordinary furniture; you can imagine just how much effort goes into doing the same with antique items.

Simultaneously, you need to be both careful and brave. For instance, many people would be scared at the thought of disassembling antique furniture. However, this is very much a necessity. Just like any other furniture, it can be quite bulky. And while you may think that you’re preserving it when you transport and store it assembled; you’re just increasing the chances of something going wrong and the furniture losing value due to damage.

Old radios arranged on wooden shelves.
When you plan on storing antique items long-term, you must absolutely avoid stacking them! Make sure they’ve each got enough room.

In reality, you need to disassemble it before storage to ensure that there’s minimal pressure on all of the joints; that way, you’re taking the fragility of the furniture into account. Plenty of chairs and tables (even antiques) allow disassembly, as long as you know what you’re doing. If not, contact a specialist for furniture disassembly who can do the job for you. At the end of the day, wood will simply last longer if you do this properly. Just make sure that you put all of the hardware and screws in a single bag, and clearly mark it so you know what the parts are for. 

Treating wood properly

So, you’ve decided on storing antique items long-term properly. In that case, disassembling your furniture pieces won’t be enough to ensure their protection. If you’ve got any antique pieces with metal, leather, or wooden materials; you will need to treat them properly before you store them. Even if you store them in perfect conditions, chances are that they will start deteriorating if you don’t provide them with ample coating.

An old hourglass in front of an antique clock.
Always bear in mind how fragile antique items are, and how much care they require!

As such – if we’re talking about wooden pieces, you will probably need to find a great polish. Treating wood with the right polishing finish creates a protective film on its surface, preventing any cracking after a while. Also, when it comes to leather; you will have to find the proper conditioner, which will keep the leather from becoming dry after being in the same closed storage unit for a long time. Finally – metal furniture is prone to rust and oxidization.

Luckily, there are polishers and metal cleaners that you can use to stop damaging residue from forming and tarnishing your precious antique. Before you find self storage Lynnwood WA offers and put your items there – you will need to make sure your antiques are prepared for that.

Avoid stacking

Naturally, storage units are never as spacious as we’d like them to be; especially when we start filling them with all of our stuff. At some point, you need to get creative with how you place all of the items; for instance, you might need to stack boxes or furniture pieces on top of each other to make the most of the free space. However – if you want to preserve antique furniture, you must absolutely never do this. It’s quite easy for this stacking to put too much pressure on the furniture joints – and the fabrics and finishes will also suffer over time. For instance, if you’ve got tabletops, make sure to lay them on one of their sides – that should free up some space. But stacking is still out of the question. 

Other storage advice

In the end, if you’re truly interested in storing antique items long-term without damaging them; you can see that the process requires quite a lot of forethought. And there are quite a few things you can do here – like wrapping them with proper fabrics to provide ample protection. You can use moving blankets if you’ve still got any leftover from a relocation; in the absence of those, ordinary blankets or quilts will do just fine. Not only will this protect the antiques from abrasion – but it will also reduce moisture as much as possible. 

Antique paintings in a museum.
Antique items must be kept away from moisture at all costs!

And while we’re on the subject of wrapping – you must never use plastic wrapping to cover antique furniture pieces. This will inevitably lead to mildew and mold, and that’s definitely something that you don’t want! Also, once you’ve covered them; ideally, you should find some wooden pallets, and use these in the storage unit.

Once that’s done, place the antiques on the pallets instead of the floor itself; this will provide some air circulation at the bottom, ensuring that you’ve got less moisture there as well. Plus, it’s a great way to protect any antique furniture in case of spillage or flooding. If you do all of this stuff on time, you can be sure that your antiques will last you for generations to come! 

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