With all this talk of the benefits of personal storage, you might be tempted to think that anything can be put into a storage container – or, perhaps, you won’t think about it at all. But of course there are restrictions – and the two words that underpin them are common sense.
Let’s start with a list of hand luggage restrictions at UK Airports – as a general principle, if you can’t take it on a plane, you can’t put it into storage:
- Blasting caps
- Detonators and fuses
- Imitation explosive devices (including replica or model guns)
- Mines, grenades, and other explosive military stores
- Fireworks and pyrotechnics
- Smoke canisters
- Smoke cartridges
- Dynamite
- Gunpowder
- Plastic explosives (including black powder and percussion caps)
- Flares
- Hand grenades
- Oxidisers and organic peroxides, including bleach and car body repair kits
- Acids and alkalis (for example spillable ‘wet’ batteries)
- Corrosives or bleaching agents (including mercury and chlorine)
- Vehicle batteries and fuel systems
- Self defence or disabling sprays (for example mace, pepper spray)
- Radioactive materials (including medicinal or commercial isotopes)
- Poisons or toxic substances (for example rat poison)
- Biological hazards (for example infected blood, bacteria, viruses)
- Materials that could spontaneously combust (burst into flames)
- Fire extinguishers
We’re fairly sure that no-one would try to put this kind of stuff into personal storage, so let’s build on that and look at some of the slightly less obvious things we should avoid…
Anything illegal
- Anything stolen – for obvious reasons
- Drugs and drug-related paraphernalia
Anything inherently dangerous
or that “could become unpleasant”
As a general rule, anything that is considered “inherently dangerous” should not be put into a storage container. Most of the list above is fairly obvious, but there are others too:
- Perishable foods and animal products. Canned food may be stored, but perishable food products such as meats, pet foods, dairy produce etc. shouldn’t be – they will quickly spoil and attract pests (quite apart from the smell!)
- Dead animals
- Plants (alive or dead)
And finally
There are some things that you could put into storage, but it would be inadvisable. For example, wet items (e.g. clothes that haven’t dried completely) could lead to mildew, mould and bacteria – which apart from anything else could quickly cause damage to your items. Similarly, scented items can attract pests and insects.
If you’re in doubt …
Ask! It’s as simple as that. As we say, it’s common sense really, but if you have any doubts at all then there’s probably a very good reason why … and we’ll be able to advise you accordingly.
If you’re interested in learning how we can help you please call us anytime, we have storage containers in Battersea, Chelsea and Kensington, Fulham and Victoria areas of London.
