Moving Spotlight: When It All Falls Down — What To Do When Your Items Are Damaged in StorageJuly 3, 2026 | Haul of Fame Movers LLC

Today started with a love story and ended with a lesson in storage insurance. Somewhere in between, there was insulation raining down on our arms at 98 degrees. Welcome to moving season.

The Love Story

Our clients today are a couple who decided to turn a long-distance relationship into a life together. First apartment. First shared address. First time their belongings would exist under the same roof. They chose Springfield, Massachusetts as home base, and Haul of Fame Movers was trusted with the job of pulling everything out of a storage unit in Springfield and delivering it to their new place — also in Springfield.

A short drive. A simple job. A beautiful beginning.

The items had been packed into the storage unit by another moving company about three months ago. Our job was the unload and delivery. Open the unit, load the truck, drive across town, set up the apartment. Three hours estimated.

The First Red Flag

We rolled up the storage unit door and immediately saw the problem. Nothing was wrapped. Not the couches. Not the dressers. Not a single piece of furniture had shrink wrap on it. The mattresses had no bags. Everything was sitting exposed in a storage unit for three months with zero protection.

This is one of the most important things we tell every client: wrapping your furniture before storage is not optional. Especially in older storage facilities. Shrink wrap protects upholstery from dust, moisture, insects, and — as today proved — whatever happens to fall from the ceiling. Mattress bags keep your sleeping surface clean and sealed. When the previous movers skipped this step, they set these clients up for exactly what happened next.

The Insulation

We started pulling boxes and furniture out of the unit. Then we noticed the flakes. Small, beige-colored particles all over everything — the tops of boxes, the surfaces of the couches, the floor of the unit. We were sweating in 98-degree heat, working hard, and then both of us felt it at the same time.

Burning. Itching. On our arms, our necks, our uniforms.

Fiberglass insulation. It had been falling from the ceiling of the storage unit — slowly, over three months — and had settled on everything our clients owned. Every box. Every piece of furniture. Every fabric surface. And now it was on us.

If you've never had fiberglass insulation on your skin, count yourself lucky. The tiny glass fibers embed in your pores and create a burning, itching sensation that doesn't go away until you shower with cold water and scrub. In 98-degree heat, with sweat opening every pore, it was miserable.

But we had a job to do.

The Mattresses

When we got to the mattresses — unbagged, sitting exposed for three months — they were covered in insulation. Not a light dusting. Covered. These mattresses were not safe to sleep on.

We pulled the clients aside and gave them an honest assessment: do not bring these mattresses into your new home. Fiberglass insulation embedded in mattress fabric cannot be vacuumed out, cannot be washed out, and will continue to release fibers every time someone lies on them. Sleeping on a mattress contaminated with fiberglass is a health risk.

This isn't the news anyone wants to hear on the day they're moving into their first apartment together. But we would rather be honest than deliver a health hazard into someone's bedroom.

The Silver Lining — Storage Insurance

Here's where something actually went right. Most storage facilities require you to purchase insurance when you rent a unit. Our clients had done exactly that. They contacted the storage facility manager, who was on site, and he was more than willing to help. He directed us to bring the contaminated mattresses to the on-site dumpster for disposal, and the clients were able to fill out an insurance claim on the spot.

That insurance policy — which probably cost them $10 to $20 per month — is now covering the cost of replacing their mattresses. Without it, they would have been out hundreds of dollars on top of an already stressful day.

The Lesson: What To Do When Your Items Are Damaged in Storage

If you open your storage unit and find damage, here's what to do:

Document everything immediately. Take photos and videos of the damage before moving anything. Show the condition of the items, the source of the damage if visible (like the ceiling insulation), and the overall state of the unit.

Contact the facility manager while you're still on site. Report the damage in person. Ask them to document it on their end as well. Most managers are cooperative because they want to avoid liability escalation.

File your insurance claim the same day. If you purchased storage insurance — and you should always purchase storage insurance — file the claim as soon as possible with photos and a written description of the damage.

Do not take contaminated items into your new home. Fiberglass insulation, mold, mildew, pest contamination — if it's on your belongings, it will transfer to your new space. Dispose of items that cannot be safely decontaminated, especially mattresses and upholstered furniture.

Contact the previous movers if applicable. If another company packed the unit without wrapping or protecting your items, that lack of preparation may have contributed to the damage. Document what was and wasn't wrapped.

What This Means for Our Clients

Despite the insulation, the heat, and the mattress loss — our clients handled it with grace. They mentioned they had an air mattress at home, which would carry them until the insurance claim processed and they could replace the mattresses. Not the first night they imagined in their new apartment together, but a first night nonetheless.

And here's the part we're proud of: this job was estimated at 3 hours. Despite the 98-degree heat, the insulation discovery, the mattress disposal, the insurance paperwork, and the emotional weight of watching your belongings come out of storage covered in fiberglass — we finished in three hours. On the dot.

Because that's what this couple deserved. They were starting a new chapter together. The least we could do was make sure the moving part of that chapter went exactly as planned, even when the storage part didn't.

Protect Your Belongings in Storage

If you're putting items in storage — whether for three months or three years — protect them properly:

Always use shrink wrap on all upholstered furniture including couches, chairs, and recliners. Always use mattress bags on every mattress and box spring. Cover wood furniture with moving blankets or furniture pads. Use plastic bins instead of cardboard boxes when possible since they resist moisture and pests. Never stack items directly against the walls of the unit since you want air circulation. Visit your unit periodically to check for leaks, pests, or falling debris. And always purchase the storage facility's insurance policy. It's typically $10 to $20 per month and it can save you thousands.

If your previous movers didn't wrap your items before storage, call Haul of Fame Movers. We'll do it right.

Haul of Fame Movers LLC | USDOT 3487445 | MC-1146649 | DPU 31976 | (413) 345-2019 |

Moving Spotlight is a series by Haul of Fame Movers highlighting the real stories behind the work we do