When moving, it’s important to know that there are a number of items that cannot be packed and loaded onto the moving truck. You may be surprised by the various common household items that are considered hazardous, and are on the list.
We recommend you give away these items to family and friends or dispose of them responsibility, to protect the environment, by contacting your City or County to learn where these items can be disposed.
I hope you find these tips helpful.
Lou Decibus, Owner
Princeton Van Service
Below is a list of “non-allowables” – an industry term for items that professional movers will not or can not transport.
Our list includes items you would expect such as ammunition and gasoline, but there are also many items that you may not realize cannot be transported by professional movers; these include items like nail polish, paints, pesticides, perishable items such as foods, sentimental items and plants.
Please read our lists carefully so you can separate and manage these non-allowable items prior to packing. If you have any questions regarding an item that is questionable, please contact us to confirm before the move date.
Perishables:
Movers generally will not allow food items on long-distance moves because it will deteriorate and cause odors as well as attract rats and other pests which can, in turn, damage your property.
There are exceptions, however; if your items will be picked up and delivered within 24 hours, Princeton Van Service may allow perishables to be transported as long as they are properly packed. Contact us for details prior to your move date.
Perishable item examples:
- Perishable foods:
Whether frozen, refrigerated, or in opened containers; movers won’t move anything that will spoil. Consume what you can before-hand and either move these items yourself, give to relatives, or discard them. - Plants (indoor or garden):
It is illegal to transport any plants more than 150 miles without a special license as pests and predators, can go unnoticed on your plant and be introduced into a new area.
Hazardous material:
While you may be surprised at some of the items listed as hazardous, there are usually good reasons to have them included. Of course, we cannot move anything that may explode, and for obvious reasons. Flammable items are considered hazardous materials; use them up, give them away or discard responsibility before your move.
Below is a list of common items that moving companies consider non-allowable:
- Acids
- Aerosol cans
- Ammonia
- Ammunition
- Batteries or other items with acid.
- Black powder
- Car batteries
- Charcoal
- Charcoal lighter fluid
- Chemistry Sets
- Cleaning solvents
- Darkroom chemicals
- Fertilizer
- Fire extinguisher
- Fireworks
- Gasoline
- Household Batteries
- Hover boards
- Kerosene
- Lamp oil
- Liquid bleach
- Loaded guns
- Matches
- Motor Oil
- Nail polish
- Nail polish remover
- Paint remover
- Paint thinners
- Paints
- Pesticides
- Poisons
- Pool chemicals
- Primers
- Propane tanks
- Propellants
- Reloading supplies
- Rubbing alcohol
- Scuba tanks
- Sterno fuel
- Souvenir explosives
- Varnishes
- Weed killer
Personal or sentimental items:
Most Professional movers don’t like to transport these items because of the potential risk of them becoming lost or damaged. It is also in your best interest to keep these items secure and under your control; especially items that cannot be replaced.
Below is a list of items Princeton Van Service considers personal or sentimental:
- Address book(s)
- Airline tickets
- Car keys
- Car titles
- Cash
- CDs
- Cell phones, ipads
- Certificates of Deposit
- Checkbooks
- Collections (coins, etc.)
- Computer discs
- Financial documents
- Insurance policies
- IRAs. Deeds, tax records
- Jewelry
- Keys to safe, home, furniture, etc.
- Laptop computers (they may be damaged by the extreme temperatures in a moving van)
- Medical or dental records
- Medicines
- Pagers
- Personal video tapes, DVDs
- Photographs, photo albums
- Pets of any kind
- Professional files
- Research projects
- School records
- Sterling silver
- Stocks or bonds
- Video consoles and games
- Wedding albums
Specialty items:
These items include power equipment with fuel still in the tank, including lawn mowers, weedwackers, motorcycles, quads, gas leaf blowers, propane heaters, etc.
In order for us to move these items, they must be completely drained of fuel 24 hours before the move. You can run the fuel out of the item or manually drain the fuel; it doesn’t matter as long as the tank is dry.
If there are any questionable items, contact us before your move; we will need to approve such items before the move.
