Tag: storage insurance

5 Family Dogs

When it comes to a family dog, there are many important things to look at. Some examples are dog size, training, and personality. Personality is the biggest one. Within a family, no one wants an aggressive dog that could cause harm to themselves or their kids. This is a list of 5 family dogs. There is no order in this list.

  1. Retrievers      

When it comes to Retrievers, all the different breeds are known to be gentle. The American Kennel Club says Golden Retrievers are friendly and devoted. The U.S. Service Animals say that Gold Retrievers are great leaders. An example of how these dogs are gentle, is by how they grab things. It doesn’t matter if they are working or around children, these dogs do not bite. They will pick up the items with their teeth, gently. Labrador Retrievers are another popular dog. The American Kennel Clubs says that Labrador Retrievers are one of the most popular breeds, in America. These dogs are patient and easygoing, but athletic. These dogs are good for energetic people. This is because Labrador retrievers can stay busy for hours, without getting tired.

  • Beagles

If you want a dog for protection, beagles are not the way to go. They are known to be extremely friendly. Instead of protecting, they would try to make a new friend. Beagles were bred to hunt in packs. This causes them to enjoy being around other dogs. But Beagles are not low maintenance. They are in constant curiosity, this causes them to get into trouble. It is said that their antics are more entertaining and enjoyable than bothering some.

  • Collie

Collies’ personalities are sweet and gentle. They have a great personality, but doesn’t mean these dogs don’t have some flaws. One of the biggest one is that they are stubborn. So training is important. This isn’t a problem because Collies are known to be easy to train. Since these dogs are bred to herd, they are likely to try and herd your kids. This could be because they created a connection with the children, wanting to protect them. There are a few varieties of collies that one could get.

  •  Newfoundland

These dogs might be giant, but are very gentle. They are loyal dogs that will protect their loved ones. These would be great dogs to have around your children. This is because they will protect your children and not cause harm to them. You can’t go wrong with this breed. Newfoundland’s can be found inside, cuddling. But these dogs do contain different amount of energies, requiring different amounts of exercise.

  • Bulldog  

Look wise these dogs are muscular and big. But their hearts are even bigger. They are known to be mellow and friendly. When it comes to protecting, they are very protective of the family. These dogs are loyal and good-natured, but they can have a stubborn streak.

Resources:

https://www.treehugger.com/worlds-most-gentle-dog-breeds-4869367

Storing Responsibly with Dino’s Storage.

The managers at Dino’s Storage take great pride in providing our customers with a wonderful facility to store their belongings.  We walk our properties daily to ensure every unit is locked properly, all the lights are functioning, we provide routine landscape care and pest control and we keep our isles, hallways, elevators,  loading areas, offices and outside property tidy.  Through all of our diligent efforts to provide a safe and secure home for your items, it is also up to the customer to ensure they are not storing items that would attract pest or bring harm to the facility and other customers.

Here in the Midwest we experience an array of different weather types and just like you or I, certain pests would rather harbor in luxury than brave the humidity or below zero temperatures.  We have every customer initial stating that they will not be storing flammable, explosive, hazardous, perishable, living, illegal or contraband items in their unit but it is up to every customer to honestly follow this rule and it is hard for managers to sort out a violator once the customer has moved in and locked the unit door.

I would like to share a few helpful tips that will help you to have a pleasant storage experience:

We do not allow customers to smoke on the property but occasionally someone will drive up to their unit with a lit cigarette in hand, thus the reason we ask that you do not store anything flammable, explosive or tires.   This reminds me of a facility in Arizona a few years ago, someone decided to toss a lit cigarette and it set a spark to a unit, the unit was full of tires (which are highly flammable) and shortly after the whole facility was engulfed in flames.  As you can imagine this was a very devastating time for not only the property owners but all the innocent storage customers as well, all due to the negligence of a couple of customers that didn’t follow the rules to help ensure the safety of the whole property.

  • We ask that should you need to put items like lawnmowers, ATVs or any items requiring gasoline into storage, please drain the gas out as much as possible.
  • Do not store new or used tires in the unit unless they are attached to a vehicle.
  • Items such as spray paint, gallons of paint or flammable cleaning products should also not be placed in the storage unit.
  • And most importantly, DO NOT SMOKE on the property and put the whole facility in danger.

Many customers will pack up their whole home and move it into storage during times of transition, and when I say whole home, I mean they store not only clothes, beds and furniture but they also will clean out their kitchen cupboards and place food inside the unit.  A lot of time people will not stop to think about the perishable items and the potential mayhem it could cause inside their unit.

  • Please do not store food inside your unit as it could cause a potential outbreak of cockroaches or even attract mice into your unit.  Again, no matter how diligent management is in providing pest control, it is up to the customer to store smart.  As we all know, cockroaches and mice breed quickly and both are hard to control once an outbreak occurs.**If you have food items to remove from your home during a move, consider donating them to a food bank, neighbor or friend but please do not place them into storage during your transition**
  • Even if you are in a hurry to move, please take time to wash your clothes and pack them away in plastic totes.  This way you will have fresh clothing when you pull them out of storage and you also reduce the risk of bringing in any type of bugs that could have possibly been attracted to your clothes/bedding before the move.  Storing material items in plastic totes will also prevent mice from chewing through your boxes and bags to snuggle up next to your favorite sweater.
  • Often people will relax in their favorite chair or sofa with a bowl or popcorn or other snack while watching a movie and there is the potential of little crumbs falling between the cushion.  Please take the time to vacuum your furniture before bringing it to storage as these little crumbs could also attract unwanted pests.  This goes for mattresses as well.  Most Dino’s Storage locations sell mattress bags and sofa/chair covers and we recommend you wrap your items in plastic not only to detract pests but to also reduce dust collecting on your items over a long period of time.
  • If you are storing your items in bags or boxes, you might also consider lining the unit floor with pallets and then start moving your items into storage.  You could also take extra precaution by placing mouse traps or cockroach bait around your unit, to provide a little extra safety of your belongings.
  • If you are able, visit your storage unit monthly to look for signs or unwanted pests…chances are good that your items are just how you left them but it never hurts to check in.

You may think that it is obviously not the best idea to store living items in a unit but I have seen it happen.  I have had to evict a tenant for attempting to reside in his unit and I have also had to extract a kitten from inside a unit.  Not only is it against the rules to storage yourself or any living creature in a unit but it is also inhumane and a cause of health concern to the whole facility.  Real plants are also not proper to store in a unit as they do not obtain proper sunshine or water and die which leads to dead foliage and bugs.

This brings me to the final point; illegal or contraband items.  Not only is it illegal to be in possession of these items outside a storage facility but we do not want this type of activity inside our facilities either.  The first facility that I ever managed was in Tucson, AZ just off the highway to Mexico.  It was a nice new facility but I was involved with the city drug task force and had drug sniffing dogs come through the facility at random to check the property.  Placing a gun in a storage unit is also not allowed.  Should you forfeit your unit to an auction or in the possible rare instance your unit is broken into, you risk your registered firearm being in the possession of another person, so please keep them in a locked safe and not in storage.

Please also remember that your storage facility is not responsible for the safety and security of your property, you are.  We do offer optional insurance coverage if you do not have your own.  Hopefully this post has given you insight to helpful storage tips and the reasoning behind our rules as we want  you have the most pleasant storage experience possible!!

DISC LOCK OR PAD LOCK?

                                       

“What is the difference between a pad lock and a disc lock…”.  While I don’t require a specific type of lock be used at my facility, I generally recommend the disc lock (and so do most other self storage facilities).  Even at the best storage facilities with the best security, there are no guarantees and theft is still a concern; same as it is at your home or with your automobile.  A disc lock is stainless steel vs. most pad locks are laminated steel; and because the disc lock has a shorter shank it can not be cut with a bolt cutter like most pad locks can; thus it is more secure.

“But I don’t have anything of value in my storage unit…”. I still recommend the disc lock. Thieves only know what’s in a unit after they break into it and riffle through all your stuff. Usually leaving it a damaged, mangled, mess.  To cut off a disc lock you need a metal grinder and it takes a while; unlike being able to snip off a pad lock which takes only seconds.  As a storage facility manager, I’m experienced at cutting locks and it can still take me a good 15 minutes to cut through a disc lock; most thieves don’t have that kind of time to stand in front of a storage unit without raising suspicion.  Most thieves breaking into a storage facility are hitting multiple units; so they want to break in to units they can access quickly and easily. If you have a disc lock it can act as a deterrent in that type of situation and they usually pass your unit by; which means no mangled mess for you to reorganize.

“If someone really wants to break in to a unit, they are going to break in regardless of what type of lock is on it….”.   Yes that is true.  But in the event you run into a really determined thief that does take the time to grind through a disc lock; having a disc lock vs. pad lock can still be beneficial in the claim process.  Some insurance carriers (including Bader, the company we work with) will waive the deductible on an insurance claim if the tenant was using a disc lock on the unit.  If you secure the unit with a pad lock, you pay the deductible on the claim.

The cost of a pad lock at my facility is $12 dollars and the cost of a disc lock is only $15.  So even though the disc lock is a little more expensive when you are already talking about the loss of having your unit broken into; $5 dollars can at least save you the further loss of having to pay a deductible to replace those items.

IS MY STUFF INSURED?

This is a question I get occasionally while helping people with their storage needs.  Or some people don’t even think to ask about insurance coverage; they’ve never used storage before and it doesn’t occur to them to ask.

And most are surprised when I say the answer is No, ANY storage facility will tell you they do not insure the items you put in the building.  In no way, shape, or form can we be responsible for the items in the facility.  In the event of a tornado, fire, flood, storm damage, theft, etc, etc.;  the proper insurance coverage is the responsiblity of the tenant. It’s similar to renting a home, apartment, or business space. Your landlord doesn’t insure your belonging in your apartment and a storage facility can’t insure your belongings in your storage space.

I always tell my new tenants if you have homeowner’s insurance don’t just assume your things are covered while in storage; every policy is different and some only cover contents that are in the actual home.  So when you move those contents out the home and into a storage unit; you may have 10% of your policy coverage for those items; or worse yet, no coverage at all!!  I advise calling your agent and asking about something called “off premise policies”.  Tell them “these items are going into a storage facility, do I have my FULL policy coverage?”.  Depending on your individual policy, you may need to add some sort of renter’s rider or additional coverage.

A general renter’s policy will most times be sufficient to cover your belongs in storage, but again, every policy is different.  So if you haven’t, it is still a good idea to call your agent and make sure you have proper coverage.

While Dino’s Storage itself doesn’t insure your belongings; we do work with a company that does.  Bader Company is a storage insurance company that offers month to month policies, same as your storage lease.  If you don’t have existing coverage for your storage unit, don’t want to shop a policy on your own, or simply want additional coverage; ask your manager; it’s simple and the premium can be added to your monthly storage rent.  If it’s worth storing, it’s worth insuring!!

Contact Kerri at Center St for current specials this month, 402-504-4600 or Centerst@dinosstorage.com