Moving delicate items like antiques can be very tricky, and heirlooms tend to break down due to time.
Sometimes, heirlooms might break if the box falls down from the moving truck, and as most antiques are made from delicate materials like china, you can imagine the mayhem this will cause.
If you want your prized possessions to survive the move, then contact the best movers in Chicago from the H2H Movers company to handle your antiques. You can see the contact details from their website.
And if you want to see some tips and tricks on moving antiques, check out our brief guide below.
Packing Materials
In order to completely preserve your antiques, you have to use suitable packing materials. If you don’t have them available, our customers recommend the H2H-provided ones according to h2h movers reviews. Down below, we have a list of the best ones you can use.
- Microfiber cloth
- Packing paper
- Packing peanuts
- Bubble wrap
- Furniture pads
- Packing tape
These materials are absolutely mandatory in order to wrap your old grandma’s china and clock without them breaking into tiny pieces.
If you have a set budget, you can alternatively try the cheapest ways to pack, like shredded or crumpled newsprint, strips of cardboard, or even tissue paper.
Antique Furniture
Antique furniture is such a delicate matter to handle since wood can become very fragile with time. The first thing you should do is disassemble what you can because it makes it easier to pack and transport.
Once you break down all removable pieces from the furniture, it’s a good idea to wrap them with bubble wrap and blankets.
This way, the opportunity of the furniture bumping in transit can dramatically decrease, and your beautiful ornamented wardrobe will arrive completely fine.
For example, if you have a grandfather clock, you can just remove the hood, tie all chains or cables to prevent tangling, remove the pendulum and weights, remove the workings of your clock, wrap the parts in moving blankets, padding, or bubble wrap, and move all of it to the van.
Mirrors and Artwork
And when it comes to even more delicate pieces like mirrors and artwork, you need to find boxes that will keep them from moving around. You need to stuff the boxes with wrapping materials, so the mirrors won’t go around the whole box and break into pieces.
You must wrap any glass parts with Glassine (a smooth paper that is grease, water, and air resistant. It’s meant to protect glass but also fine print or art). Also, you should add corner protectors despite adding cushioning in the form of bubble wrap, for example.
Generally, we don’t recommend handling antique pieces on your own. Such items need to be handled by professionals since friends and family can do only so much.
Especially, jamming delicate items in car trunks and family vans is not a smart move.
We wish you a happy and safe move to your new home!