Licensed and Insured Residential Movers
Cedar City, Utah

Most moving damage is mechanical. In a cold climate there is a second category that arrives quietly and is not discovered until you unpack, and it is entirely predictable.

Just-In-Time Moving works throughout Cedar City and Iron County. We are licensed in Utah and carry general liability insurance.

Anything with water in it

The main category, because water expands as it freezes and splits whatever contains it.

Liquids of any kind: cleaning products, drinks, paint, cosmetics, toiletries. These burst and then ruin whatever they were packed with, which is usually the worse outcome.

Appliances with water lines. Washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerators with ice makers and any coffee machine hold residual water. Drain them properly before the move rather than assuming they are empty. A cracked pump or valve is an expensive discovery.

Hoses, pressure washers and anything from the garden. Drain and coil.

Things that suffer without water involved

Electronics. Cold itself is survivable; the problem is condensation when a cold device is brought into a warm house and switched on. Let equipment reach room temperature before powering it up, which means hours rather than minutes.

Batteries. They lose capacity in cold and can be damaged by it.

Musical instruments. Wooden instruments respond badly to cold and to the rapid change on either side of it. Anything valuable travels in a heated vehicle.

Vinyl records, candles and photographs, which become brittle rather than melting.

Houseplants, which will not survive an unheated truck. These go in the car.

Leather and some furniture finishes, which can crack with sudden change.

Wine, which freezes and pushes the cork out.

The simple answer

A single box in your own heated vehicle covers nearly all of it: liquids you are keeping, electronics, medication, instruments, records and plants.

Beyond that, do not leave a loaded truck overnight in freezing conditions if it can be avoided, and do not leave anything in a parked car.

On a longer move or in storage

The list matters much more over days than over an afternoon. An unheated storage unit here goes below freezing repeatedly through the winter, so ask about climate control for anything on the list above.

What our cover addresses

Damage caused during handling. Freeze damage to items that should not have been on a truck is a different matter, which is exactly why this list is worth ten minutes beforehand.

Call (435) 862-3080 or email office@movingjustintime.com.