Can You Store Appliances Long-Term Without Risk?

—
August 25th, 2025

Climate-Controlled Storage for Home Appliances

When storing an appliance, it’s recommended to use a storage unit with a climate-controlled environment. Utilizing a climate-controlled storage unit will prevent moisture from causing long-term damage to your appliances. Appliances with electronic components should be stored in an environment that will prevent damage from moisture. High moisture can also cause damage to the metal, leaving you with a rusty appliance. Ensuring your appliances are in an air-conditioned long-term storage unit will reduce the chance of water damage and prevent mold from occurring inside the appliance housing. Even in a climate-controlled storage facility, you can place moisture absorbers inside chambers and drawers of the appliances as an additional layer to prevent moisture damage inside the equipment. It is also recommended to place appliances on wood pallets. Storing large appliances like a refrigerator or a dryer is doable if you follow some simple tips to keep them clean and from the housing or electronics from becoming damaged.

Long-Term Appliance Storage Tips

When moving appliances, it’s a good practice to secure any parts that move or have hinges. Secure any doors so they don’t swing unexpectedly, resulting in a injured person or damage to any equipment. Once the appliance is properly placed in the storage unit, the doors should be released and left ajar to ensure air is not trapped inside.

While storing your appliances, it’s a good practice to inspect them periodically to be certain there are no issues.

Checking for moisture buildup, mold, pests, or any visible rust will help prevent issues from growing and becoming big problems. Any sort of appliance that needs to be aired out should be checked to ensure no odors are forming. During these inspections, it’s a good idea to replace any moisture-absorbing solutions you have left inside the appliances. As long as your appliances are stored properly, you should have no issues with long-term storage.

Preparing Appliances for Storage

To properly store appliances in a storage unit, you first need to prepare the appliance. By taking proper steps to prepare the appliance, you will reduce the likelihood that it will become damaged or moldy. Cleaning out items like a refrigerator or a stove is extremely important before storing. Anything that can attract bugs and pests should be removed, including grease, spilled food, or uncleaned stains. Ignoring this step can result in mold, pungent odors, and potentially bugs. Awesome Possum regularly treats the facilities for pests, but we ask our tenants to ensure they’re doing their part to keep their stored items clean.

Both the exterior and interior of the appliances must be cleaned. After being thoroughly cleaned, they must be completely dry before storing. If your appliance has a water line, like a refrigerator or a washer, be sure to allow it to completely drain of water. Any removable parts should be removed and prepared to be stored separately. Lastly, before moving, protect the appliance with moving bubble wrap, thick towels, moving blankets, or any other protective material that will not trap moisture inside.

Transporting & Storing Appliances

Transporting appliances can be dangerous and taxing if done yourself. If you choose to move your large home appliances on your own, be sure to follow standard safety guidelines. Check with the manufacturer’s manual to see what precautions should be taken prior to moving the appliance. This could be locking certain mechanisms or removing certain parts that could get damaged during transportation. Carefully secure all moving parts of the appliance to minimize the potential for damage.

The manufacturer’s manual will likely have a guide on storage practices for your appliance. Make sure to follow the instructions closely, as well as the information we have provided to you. Clean your appliances thoroughly, removing all debris, food, stains, and moisture. Let the appliances dry completely to ensure no moisture gets trapped inside.

Using Self-Storage for Appliance Storage

Using a self-storage unit for storing appliances is a great long-term storage solution! It is vital that when planning to use self–storage to store your appliances, you follow the correct guidelines. Preparation includes looking at the manufacturer's instructions for moving and storing the appliance. Each appliance will require unique attention when cleaning to ensure they don’t attract pests, grow mold, or accrue rust damage from leftover moisture. Any parts that you can remove or disconnect should be stored separately to prevent breakage from occurring.

If you’re storing a dryer, oven, refrigerator, freezer, washer, or another large appliance, you’ll want to keep it in the best condition possible. Storing these appliances in a basement or an exposed environment like a garage or shed will likely result in at least one form of damage. Choosing an appropriate storage environment means you can rest assured knowing your appliances are protected 24/7.

What Appliances Are Allowed

Most standard household appliances are allowed in self-storage. There is no need to stress about storing a dishwasher, dryer, freezer, oven, refrigerator, stove, microwave, or grills. Be sure that none of these appliances have any water or gas lines that haven’t been purged, and never store gas, fuel, or propane. If you have questions about storing an unconventional appliance in our storage facility, please reach out to our offices to speak with an Awesome Possum Storage team member.

Choosing A Unit to Store Your Appliances

Awesome Possum provides a wide range of storage unit sizes with different amenities so you can choose the perfect storage unit for your needs. We offer storage units with indoor and outdoor access, so you can store small vehicles or precious memorabilia in the right storage unit.

If you need help finding the right storage unit size for your storage needs, look on our website for more information. We even provide a size guide to help you calculate what size storage unit will work best to store your home appliances and more. If you need further help, please contact our offices or stop by during our office hours to look at some available units in person.

Our climate-controlled facilities regulate the temperature and the humidity. Regardless of the time of year or the outside weather, your belongings will be protected in a climate-controlled storage unit. Electronic appliances should be stored indoors in a climate-controlled environment to avoid any issues with moisture buildup, mold, or even rust from occurring. By leasing an indoor unit from Awesome Possum Storage, your appliances will be kept safe.

Storing Appliances with Awesome Possum

Large appliances can be stored in the Awesome Possum Storage facility, where we provide a premium self-storage service. Our facilities have 24/7 access and have multiple security measures in place to ensure your items are safe. With our fenced-off facility and gated entrance, only those with access codes can enter the premises, and anyone entering will be on surveillance cameras.

If you plan on storing a dishwasher, dryer, washer, stove, refrigerator, or other appliance long-term, talk to one of the Awesome Possum Storage team members for any additional information you may need.