Packing Electronics for a Desert Move

Electronics are usually the most valuable things per pound in a household, they are poorly protected by the way people pack them, and in this climate they face a risk that has nothing to do with handling.

Just-In-Time Moving packs and moves across St. George and Washington County. We are licensed in Utah and carry general liability insurance.

Photograph before you unplug

The most useful thirty seconds of the whole process. Photograph the back of the television, the computer and the entertainment system before anything is disconnected.

It saves a genuinely frustrating hour at the other end, and it doubles as a record of condition and serial numbers if a claim ever matters.

Then label the cables in pairs as you remove them, and put all of them in one bag that you can find.

Original boxes if you have them

They were designed for this and nothing improvised matches them. If you kept the television box, use it.

If not, a purpose-made television carton is worth buying for a large screen. The failure mode for a flat panel is flexing, so what matters is a rigid box that holds it firmly rather than thick padding.

Screens travel on edge, upright

Never flat, and never with anything on top. A panel laid flat is unsupported across its area and that is how they crack.

Mark the box clearly on both sides and tell the crew. This is the single most commonly damaged expensive item in a move.

Remove drives and batteries

Take discs out of drives and consoles. Remove batteries from anything portable, since a leaking cell in a hot truck ruins the device around it.

Back up computers before the move, verified, and keep the backup with you rather than on the truck.

The heat problem

This is where a St. George move differs. A closed truck standing in summer sun gets considerably hotter than the outside air, and extended heat is genuinely bad for electronics and very bad for batteries, which degrade and can swell.

The practical answer is simple: laptops, tablets, cameras, game consoles and anything with a battery travel in your own air-conditioned vehicle. That is one box and it removes the risk entirely.

Large televisions usually have to go on the truck. Load them last, unload them first, and do not let a loaded truck stand in the sun longer than necessary.

At the far end

Let equipment come to room temperature before switching it on rather than powering up something that has just come out of a hot truck.

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