Apartment Self-Storage in Kamloops- Convenience May Cost You

Apartment Self-Storage in Kamloops- Convenience May Cost You

Many Kamloops apartment residents face space dilemmas and a lack of self-storage. It’s the reality of living in a small space. There are entire magazines and websites devoted to maximizing small spaces — providing tips for making your apartment more livable and more functional. One big problem for small spaces is the spill-over effect. A room, often a spare bedroom or small office becomes a catch-all for eyesores you don’t want in your main living space — particularly if your apartment storage is minimal or non-existent. Before you know it, these spaces become cluttered dumping grounds for seldom-used exercise equipment, boxes, old computer equipment, musical instruments, books, magazines, Christmas decorations and more.

It’s difficult to prevent spill over in a small apartment and the longer you live in your space, typically the worse it gets.  If you do have apartment storage, you may be tempted to jam it to the rafters, but, before you do, consider these facts about apartment self storage.

Apartment Storage is Not Secure

Most apartment storage isn’t secure. Often, the only thing standing between your things and a thief is a plywood door and a cheap padlock, both of which are easily overcome by a skilled thief. It takes just seconds to breach a locked doorknob and padlock. You may think your things are safe because “Who would break into a locker in an apartment full of people?”. Ask any police officer and they will quickly tell you “Many”. Unfortunately, this is a fact of life for most people these days, in big cities and even the smallest towns, we are all vulnerable to theft.

Of the Kamloops self-storage facilities, only Valleyview Mini Storage has indoor climate-controlled storage units with security cameras and secure pass card access.  These features differentiate us from every other Kamloops self-storage facility, and provide peace of mind for our customers.

Sub-ground Level Apartment Storage is Often Damp

If your self storage unit or locker for your Kamloops apartment is on a ground level or parkade level, dampness and coolness may cause mold or other damage. Textiles can take on a permanent mildew odour, papers, books, magazines, pictures, and art work, may discolour or experience “foxing” — a type of rust coloured growth thought to be caused by fungus or oxidation of minerals contained within paper pulp.

Not only is mold a common problem for basement or parkade-level storage, it gets worse over time. If at first one item is affected by mold, the airborne mold spores will quickly contaminate other items in storage. If not caught early, and it’s often not, anything you place in storage subsequently may “catch” the problem from another item.

Upper Floor Apartment Storage is Often Hot and Humid

The opposite problem exists for apartment storage on upper floors. Apartment upper floors, even in low rises, can be much hotter than lower floors. Where mold and mildew may be an issue in basement storage, damage from heat (particularly heat with humidity) is a concern for things stored in upper floor storage. Any apartment resident who has lived a few floors above ground level can tell you about heat. Even in the early part of the day, upper floor apartments can be hot, and by the end of the day, the temperature may rise by 10 degrees or more. Not only are upper floors unprotected by the shade provided by other structures, trees, etc, heat from lower floors rises throughout the day, further amplifying the heating effect.

If you are storing things made of wood (tables, guitars, woodwind instruments), you might want to reconsider. Humidity, and changes in temperature can warp and crack furniture and instruments constructed of wood. Ask any clarinetist or guitarist.

Although the convenience of apartment storage may be attractive, if you have valuable objects (either of monetary or sentimental value) you may want to consider climate-controlled and secure storage. For peace of mind at a reasonable cost, you can rest easy knowing that your valuables are safe from the effects of dampness, heat, humidity and theft.

The decision to use your apartment storage rather than our climate-controlled Kamloops storage facility can come at quite a cost if expensive or irreplaceable items are damaged or stolen.

At Valleyview Mini Storage, your things will be kept dry, and will not succumb to the effects of extreme temperatures, dryness, or humidity.

Contact Valleyview Mini-Storage for a Storage Unit Estimate

Considering storage for Kamloops apartment spill-over? Learn more by reading these storage tips and contact us for a self-storage consultation. We’ll guide you to the right storage unit choice.