Outdoor furniture needs cleaning, complete drying, and partial disassembly before it goes on a truck, and drying is the step that matters most. Patio pieces hold moisture in ways indoor furniture does not, and a damp cushion sealed in a truck for a day arrives smelling like a basement. Our reliable packing services wrap and pad every piece that goes on board, though wrapping something wet only traps the problem. Start the prep several days before your date so everything has time to dry properly, because a rushed morning of hosing off a patio set is a morning you spend paying a crew to wait.
Clean Everything, Then Let It Dry Completely
Outdoor pieces carry dirt, pollen, sap, and in Salt Lake City, Utah a season’s worth of dust off the valley. All of it transfers to the pads and wrap used to protect the furniture, and from there to whatever sits next to it in the truck.
Wash frames with mild soap and water, then rinse and leave them somewhere they can dry fully. Metal frames need particular attention at joints and welds, since water sitting in a hollow tube leads to rust that shows up weeks later at the new house. Tip pieces on their side to let trapped water drain rather than assuming a wipe-down is enough.
Cushions and umbrellas take the longest, and they cannot be rushed. Fabric that feels dry on the surface often holds moisture in the foam underneath, so give them full days rather than hours in the sun. Once dry, bag cushions separately rather than stacking them against frames, and store the bags somewhere they will not be reopened before the truck arrives.
Take Apart What Comes Apart
Disassembly saves space on the truck and reduces the number of vulnerable points during handling. Table tops separate from bases on most patio sets. Umbrellas come out of tables and collapse. Chair arms and legs frequently unbolt on modular pieces.
Glass table tops are the item that most often gets damaged on a move, and they should always travel separately from the base. Glass needs to be wrapped, padded, and carried upright rather than flat, since a flat pane flexes under its own weight and breaks at the slightest impact. Tell your crew at quote time if you have one so it gets the right handling.
Keep hardware where you will find it. Bag the bolts for each piece, label the bag with which piece it belongs to, and tape it to the largest component of that item. Reassembly on the other end goes from an afternoon to twenty minutes when the hardware is attached to the thing it came from.
Got a glass tabletop or anything unusually heavy in your patio set? Give us a call at (801) 871-5221, and we’ll tell you what handling and materials it needs before move day.
Grills, Fire Pits, and Anything That Burns
Propane tanks cannot travel on a moving truck. Neither can charcoal, lighter fluid, or any other flammable. This is a legal restriction rather than a company policy, and it applies to every licensed mover you might hire.
Disconnect and remove the propane tank from a gas grill, then either transport it yourself in an upright, secured position in a well-ventilated vehicle, or give it away and buy a new one at the other end. Most people find the second option easier than it sounds.
Clean the grill itself before it moves. Grease is the part people skip, and a greasy firebox transfers to pads and to anything it touches. Empty the drip tray entirely. Fire pits need the same treatment, which means removing ash and any remaining fuel and washing out what is left behind.
Patio sets take longer to prep than people plan for. Give us a week of notice, and we will tell you what to have dried and disassembled before the crew arrives.
Plants, Pots, and What Comes With Them
Potted plants are a category of their own, mostly because of what lives in the soil. Insects, larvae, and mold travel with a pot, and a truck is a closed space where they have several hours to relocate into your boxes.
Heavy ceramic and concrete planters are worth a separate decision. They are extremely heavy for their size; they crack easily, and replacing them frequently costs less than moving them. If you are keeping them, empty the soil first so the weight and the fragility are not being handled together.
Live plants generally travel best in your own vehicle, where temperature is controlled, and they are not stacked. That matters in both directions in Utah, since a truck interior in July and a truck interior in January are both hostile to houseplants and patio greenery. Deciding what makes the trip is worth doing early, and our guide on clearing excess furniture before a move applies to patio pieces as much as indoor ones.
What to Have Ready on Move Day
By the time the crew arrives, outdoor items should be in the same state as everything else in the house, which means fully prepped and staged. Have these done:
- Frames washed, dried, and disassembled where possible
- Cushions and umbrella fabric bagged after drying completely
- Hardware bagged, labeled, and taped to its parent piece
- Propane tanks removed and set aside for personal transport
- Glass tops flagged for the crew and staged separately
- Pots emptied of soil, plants set aside for your own vehicle
Staging outdoor items near the garage or the driveway rather than leaving them scattered across a yard or deck shortens the load considerably. A crew walking a lawn to collect six chairs takes several times longer than a crew loading six chairs stacked by the truck.
Coverage for Pieces That Live Outside
Outdoor furniture sits in an awkward spot on valuation, because its condition is already weathered and its replacement value is often higher than people assume. A teak set or a powder-coated aluminum suite runs into real money.
We review protection and valuation service with every customer before the truck is loaded, with three tiers available so you choose the level that fits what you are moving. Make that decision with the patio set in mind rather than only the indoor furniture. Larger and more awkward pieces have their own handling considerations, covered in our look at moving and storage for large items.
Tell us about your outdoor pieces when you request an estimate, including anything with glass or unusual weight. Call (801) 871-5221 so the crew arrives with the right materials and enough hands.
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