A self-storage facility is a great place to store your personal and business inventory. Items such as antiques, appliances, books, clothes, collectables, furniture, and business documents can be all stored in your storage unit to keep your home and office clutter-free.
However, there are just some items that you should not store in your storage space. Most of these items are usually ‘banned’ from the storage facilities.
Do take some time to ensure that you follow this list and read your contract at the time of rental. Storing any of these items may result in you getting banned or even fined.
Here are some common items that are not allowed in your storage unit.
Flammable or Combustible Materials
All self-storage facilities in Singapore will not allow you to store any flammable or combustible materials. Even some household cleaners may fall onto this list if they are particularly flammable.
You may also be surprised that batteries fall under this combustible materials list. While batteries are usually safe, they may cause injury if they have design defects, are made of low-quality materials, are assembled incorrectly, or are damaged.
In Singapore alone, as many as twenty-seven fires were caused by power banks between 2018 to 2021. On top of this, in February 2018, the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission found that batteries were involved in over 25,000 overheating or fire incidents over just five years.
Radioactive, Hazardous, and Toxic Materials
Another item that all self-storage facilities in Singapore will not allow you to store is any radioactive, hazardous and toxic materials. These items are very dangerous and could easily cause a fire or chemical accident in the storage facility.
Do note that self-storage facilities are subjected to searches, so any illegal items will not be safer in storage facilities than in your home.
Plants and Living Items
Your storage unit is not your apartment, and plants cannot survive in an environment without sunlight, water and fresh air. Furthermore, plants may attract pests, potentially creating more problems for your belongings.
Likewise, your storage unit is also not the place to store any animals or pets. Not only is this strictly prohibited, but it would also endanger the animal’s life.
In Singapore, neglect of pets is considered animal cruelty, and those guilty can be fined up to $15,000 and/or jailed for up to 18 months for first-time offenders. Subsequent offenders can be fined up to $30,000 and/or imprisoned for up to 3 years.
Perishable Goods and Food
Most storage facilities in Singapore typically disallow perishable food items like processed meat/fish, as well as raw fruits and vegetables. If these items are left unattended for a prolonged period of time, they can attract pests that could destroy stored belongings in the entire facility.
Secondly, expired food will emit unwanted odours, creating unfavourable conditions for bacteria and moulds to grow and spread in your storage space.
Image Credits: Channel News Asia
Personal Mobility Devices (PMD)
PMDs are not allowed to be stored at storage facilities as they contain combustible batteries. In 2019, the number of fires involving PMDs hit a record high of 73 between January and September, causing one death and 36 others injured.
