Rochester, NY: Top Things to Know About Storage
Preserving Antiques
Not everyone is lucky enough to inherit a family heirloom or acquire a pricey antique. However, many of the residents of Rochester do fall into that category. There are dozens of antique shops all around the city from which you can buy and sell precious antiques. You can commonly find things like antique jewelry, watches, paintings/fine art, coin collections, pottery, rugs, old military items (such as medals, swords, etc.), clocks, and a number of other things. As you can see, these are all very delicate items, and because they are old, they need to be handled with even more care. The value of any antique is actually based on how well you preserve it, so if you inherited your grandmother’s old vase and want it to stay the way it was when you got it, you’ll have to take some steps to ensure its safety.
Rochester is somewhat of a tricky place to store antiques given the severe variations in temperature. The summer’s heat and humidity in particular are enough to destroy anything delicate that you have left lying around. The first step you should take to store your antiques is to get a climate controlled unit. We recommend finding a facility that has a dehumidifier as well, in case the objects that you are storing are very sensitive to this climate. Next, you need to eliminate the potential for any damage that can be done during transportation. Find a facility in which you can have drive up access to a unit so you’re not carrying your items very far. The longer you have to carry something, the more likely it is for accidents to occur. We’re sure your grandmother would be pretty disappointed if she gave you her great grandmother’s vase and you dropped it on your way to your storage unit.
Whether or not you’re carrying your antiques very far, we advise you to wrap your things in bubble wrap or blankets, and then place them in boxes. This will help to ensure safety of your items during transport and while they are stored in your unit. If you’re looking to store a piece of antique furniture, first be sure to spray any wood with furniture polish for extra protection. For leather, use leather conditioner, and wipe down any metals with some oil to avoid rust. Also make sure to disassemble any heavy pieces to make it easier to transport and store them.
Lastly, and probably most importantly, get insurance for your belongings! Before you put your items into your storage unit, get them priced and take pictures of them so it’s easier for you to make claims to your insurance company in case of damage or theft. If you’re going through all of this trouble to store your precious antiques, make sure you have insurance on them so you’re not at a complete loss if something happens to them.
Fine Wine
There are dozens of wineries in and around Rochester, and several hundred more in western New York. With all of its antiques and wines, Rochester seems to be a pretty fancy city if you ask us. Finger Lakes Wine Country, Casa Larga Vineyards, and Belhurst Castle Winery are some of the more famous wineries in the area that you can buy some wine from to add to your collection.
If you’re big on wine and are looking for a place to store it, you’re definitely living in the right city. With high demand for wine comes high demand for storage. DNT Express is a great place for you to store your wine. For years, their primary objective was to transport wine for distributors. However, they have recently created a new wine storage facility based on popular demand. We recommend that you seriously consider storing your wine with them, especially if you have a lot of it. They have been in the business for a very long time and know how to keep your wine at its best. Storing wine can be kind of tricky, so we suggest that you leave it to the experts. If this facility is not close enough to you, we can give you some basic things to look for when trying to find a facility that best suits your needs.
Wine is a little high maintenance if you ask us. The optimal temperature at which you should store it is about 55 degrees, and you need to make sure that the temperature stays consistent. Needless to say, you have to have a climate controlled unit. You also need to be careful with humidity, especially in a place like Rochester. Humidity tends to get very intense during the summer, which is a recipe for disaster for your wine. For wine to thrive, it needs to have the perfect level of humidity—between 65%-75% to be exact. Too much humidity can spoil the wine, while too little humidity will cause the cork to shrink and will allow air into the bottle, which will oxidize and ruin the wine. If you don't have complete control of humidity in the unit (and even if you do), be sure to keep your bottles sideways so that the cork remains moist and doesn’t shrink. However, given the temperature and humidity in Rochester, you’re not likely to have issues with this. Finally, keep the bottles in the dark because constant light can ruin the flavor of the wine. If you take all of these precautions, your wine will stay safe and delicious, just the way you like it.
