Wednesday 25 March 2015

How to Safely Store Your Electronic Equipment

When you spend a hefty sum on your electronics, it becomes your priority to take good care of them. Even when you're not actively using them, you want to make sure your investment is safe. Knowing the proper way to pack and store electronics will ensure they have long functioning lives.

Before storing electronics, make sure you remove any extra components, such as batteries, CDs, DVDs, storage discs and cords. For items like computers, back up any data on your hard drive.

As you prepare to put your electronics into long term storage, make sure you have the appropriate packing materials. Original boxes and cartons are best, but boxes of similar size will also work well. Whether you use boxes or not, wrap the electronics for extra padding and to avoid dust buildup. Bubble wrap is okay, but avoid wrapping your electronics in plastic. It will trap moisture and result in mold and mildew. Consider using canvas tarps or old towels instead.

When choosing your storage unit, make sure it's climate controlled. Heat and humidity can do serious damage to electronics. If you live in a hot climate, or you're planning on storing them during seasonably hot weather, this is a necessary step to keeping your electronics safe.

Once you have your unit picked out, use risers or pallets to keep the electronics elevated. You never know when there might be leaks or flooding. Keeping them off the floor will protect them from possible water damage.

Another important step is to label everything. Staying organized in your unit will ease the process of reassembling your electronics when it's time to pull them back out. All those extra components you detached from your electronics need a home now. Cords can be coiled and secured with zip ties, and then color coded or tagged with hand written labels. If you have several sets of cords, it would be wise to coil and label them as you're packing, so you'll know for certain which device they go to. Keep any extra batteries at home to prevent leakage of battery acid.

If you decide to keep digital storage discs in your unit, make sure you backup the data and keep a second copy elsewhere. If something happens, you don't want those to be the only copies.

Storing electronics is not as simple as storing furniture or other knick knacks, so it's important that you take the necessary care and precaution to preserve your electronics and keep them functioning. Often your storage manager can help you make the best choices, so if you have other questions, visit this website.

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