There's nothing more gorgeous in your living room than an elegant white sofa embroidering the look of your entire home with its simple style and spectacular façade. But what happens when you decide to take a year off to go sightseeing around the world? Self storage is an excellent way to keep your furniture safe when you're not using it—provided you prepare and pack it properly, so that it retains its shape and finish when you're ready to use it again. Here are some ideal steps to prepare your majestic white sofa for secure self storage.

Clean Thoroughly

Proper preparation is the key to ensuring that your white sofa remains spotless during its time in storage. A white fabric sofa should be cleaned as properly as possible to prevent mould, mildew and stains from setting in during storage. Ideally, you may want to get it professionally cleaned to remove any possible stains before placing it in the storage unit. Alternatively, wipe down the sofa with antimicrobial fabric cleaner that's used specially for sofa material and let it dry completely. Polish any metal or wooden sofa parts to keep them in the best possible condition during storage. Cleaning ensures that there isn't any residual germs that could damage your sofa while it is placed in storage.

Remove All Detachable Items

Remove all detachable metal or wooden legs and arms and place them in a cardboard box. If there is a chance that the box will get moved around in the self storage unit, it's best to wrap each item individually in bubble wrap before placing them in the box. Place every cushion or pillow from the sofa in a vacuum plastic bag.

Wrap the Sofa

Drape a large cotton cloth or canvas over the sofa to cover every inch of it. If you want to be extra careful, you can invest in commercial bags that are specially designed to cover sofas for storage—these commercial bags should be available at your local home improvement store. Once you've covered the entire sofa with a soft cotton cloth, cover all the wooden and vulnerable corners with cardboard or bubble wrap, so that they don't get damaged while moving.  

Set the Sofa in the Storage Unit

Cover the storage unit floor with a thick plastic sheet or tarp to prevent dust from the ground touching the sofa. Place the sofa gently atop the plastic sheet and make sure that it's not in direct contact with the walls or other objects that could damage or stain your white sofa.

White sofas are magnificent when unblemished—follow these storage steps to help them stay that way. For more information, contact your storage complex (such as Self Storage 2000).