What Every Chicagoan Should Know: How to Pack a TV for Moving Without Damaging Its Flat-Screen

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When you start preparing for relocation within Chicago, you will face many challenges. Finding a house you love will probably be the most demanding, but don’t underestimate other tasks such as packing delicate electronics. Do you know how to pack a TV for moving? If you don’t, you will need to set aside some time and learn this, as it’s pretty important. Luckily, we are here to help you with essential tips on this topic. 

How do you pack a flat-screen TV for moving? TVs are pretty expensive, everybody knows that. If you have recently bought yours, we believe you wouldn’t want to buy another one after an exhausting relocation just because you haven’t packed your device correctly. However, you won’t be put in that position if you follow our guidelines on how to pack a television for moving. Let’s get started, shall we? 

How to Pack a TV for Moving Like a Pro – It’s Easy If You Know the Right Tips

Wrapping fragile items before your move with professional movers in Chicago will undoubtedly give you a lot of relocation stress. However, that’s something you can fight, and the best way to do that is packing electronics so perfectly that you won’t even worry about bumps on the road to your new home or a storage facility. With adequate supplies and proper wrapping techniques, you will be able to move basically anything without getting a single scratch on the item in question. 

How Do Moving Companies Move TVs? 

Professional packers and movers have no problem with this task. Mastering how to pack TVs for moving is something they do daily, just like wrapping computers – the two are pretty similar and part of an everyday job for our skilled team. If you want to see how they do it, we suggest you contact us and book relocation services for your upcoming local move. 

Which Packing Supplies Should You Use if You Don’t Have an Original Packaging?

Preferably, you should have the original box that you have bought the TV in. Most people just throw that carton in the garbage – that is a common mistake. Original boxes are designed to protect the device in the best way possible, considering that the manufacturer knows what to pay attention to when transporting their products. But, if you don’t have the package in question, don’t worry. You can use other supplies instead that will provide reasonable protection for your beloved TV and won’t significantly affect your relocation expenses checklist. Here’s what you need to buy before you get to wrapping:

  • TV kit,
  • Bubble wrap (or plastic one, if you prefer it),
  • Padding materials (furniture pads or styrofoam peanuts),
  • Tape
  • Twist ties,
  • Plastic bag.

Although not necessary, buying a TV kit has become a pretty standard approach. What is that exactly? It’s a special kit that contains a double-walled box perfectly made to carry television and prevent damage. Also, you get additional required supplies. We advise you to get to the supply store and buy yourself this kit, but also keep in mind that it isn’t enough – you should use other things from our list as well. 

Bubble packaging on the wooden table
Bubble packaging is one of the supplies you will surely require for successful wrapping

Before You Pack the Flat-Screen, Prepare It for Transportation to Your New Chicago Home

If you want to have an efficient move to your soon-to-be home in the best neighborhood in Chicago, you will have to successfully bring your TV to that place (or to the storage unit, whichever you have in mind). However, you can’t do that if you skip this short but necessary preparation. It’s nothing complex – you don’t have to worry.

The First Step Is Unplugging the Cords From the Device

Television isn’t amongst the most commonly forgotten things to pack, but unplugging cables before you place a TV in the carton is something you might overlook. Before you separate cables and the device, we suggest you apply one of the usual relocation hacks – take a picture of the whole set so you know how to reassemble everything once you start unpacking after the move. Then, remove the cords, and secure them with twist ties. Use a plastic bag to store them, and make sure you keep that bag somewhere close to the device. 

Don’t Wrap Your Flat-Screen With Its Base or Legs Attached

You shouldn’t get too carried away thinking about your house in the best Chicago suburb that you forget to remove the base of the TV – or legs, depending on the model you own. Not only would it be less safe for your electronic device to be moved with those parts attached, but you would also make things more complex for yourself – and you want to move safely, don’t you? So, the next task on your to-do list is finding a screwdriver to detach the parts mentioned above. If you don’t know how to do this, consult the product manual – you had probably found it when you were decluttering the house and getting rid of items movers won’t move. Once you’re finished, find another plastic bag to store the screws. Keep that bag next to the one with the cords.

Clean Your TV Before You Move It

You might think there’s no reason to waste time on cleaning a TV when you have so much to do – you haven’t even packed books or furniture yet. But, that’s not quite the case. We encourage you to do this now – after you have moved to your safe neighborhood in Chicago, you will be too exhausted even to enjoy the benefits of relocating, let alone clean devices. Besides, if you’re planning to move a TV to the storage, you won’t have the chance to clean it any time soon. Now is the right time to figure out how to properly clean a TV. If you want to see how it’s done, check out the video below for an explanation. 

Here’s How to Correctly Wrap This Fragile Device

So, it’s finally time to do this. Although it might be more stressful than packing dishes, look on the bright side – it will take a lot less time to handle a TV than pots and pans. However, if you don’t do this correctly, the damage will be significantly more extensive than some poorly packed plates broken during transport. So, be sure you pay your full attention to the job ahead.

This Method Will Ensure Your Television Doesn’t Get Damaged During the Ride on the Relocation Truck

These tips are proven to work – they are commonly used by our best local movers in Chicago. After thorough research, they have concluded that using the technique we’re about to explain is the most efficient way to move a TV. When you open your TV kit, you will notice that it contains four pieces of foam – they are corner protectors, which we’ll be using to ensure the corners stay intact and prevent the device from any movement inside the package during transport. 

After you put foam on, next up is using bubble wrap. The whole TV should be wrapped around with this protective material. Remember, those bubbles are your friends – the thicker the layer, the better. You should also tape bubble wrapping in a few places, so it can’t slide off the TV during transport. If you’re not a fan of this material for any reason, plastic wrapping is an excellent alternative (and it doesn’t require tape). 

TV hanging on a blue wall, shelf below it, and plants on both of its sides
Don’t worry, your TV will be decorating your living room in no time

The Best Way to Place Your TV in a Box

You are probably wondering – how many ways are there to put something in a package? How complicated can it really be? When talking about easily breakable items such as a TV, there are two ways to put them in boxes – the careless and the careful way. You see where we’re going with this, right? Even if you are planning a move in a hurry, you should handle this task slowly. Do your best not to drop the wrapped TV into the package – try to lower it down carefully. Keep in mind that screens get damaged easily if put in boxes incorrectly. 

Remember how long it took you to save money to move – do you want to start saving all over again, this time for a TV? We didn’t think so. After the TV is comfortably placed in the package, all you have left to do is fill every bit of residual space inside the package. This is crucial – no items can be protected from the bumps on the road if they can move inside their cardboard container. So, get styrofoam peanuts, crumpled papers, or some cushioning fabric (whichever you like better) – you don’t want to save on these materials, trust us.

Woman and a man watching TV after a local move with best Chicago movers
If your TV is packed correctly, you will be enjoying your favorite shows pretty soon

How to Move a Flat-Screen TV Without a Box?

Let’s say you forgot to buy a TV kit, or you wanted to save some money on supplies. Naturally, in that case, you would ask yourself – how can I move my TV without a box? Even if it seems impossible once you first think about it, it actually isn’t, and it can be done. Whether you want to risk it or not, that’s up to you, but we are here to offer you this option as well.

When applying this method, the TV should be wrapped in the same protective materials as usual. Considering that you don’t have a TV kit, you also don’t have foam pieces to cover the device’s corners. However, you can get them in any supply store, and we strongly advise that you do. Once the TV is wrapped, you want to cover it with moving blankets, more than one, just to be safe and secure it all with ropes or tape. And that’s pretty much it – after that, you have to load the device onto the truck and hope for the best. 

Man picking up a TV from the shelf in a room full of packages
What are you going to do if you don’t have a package for your TV?

How Do You Load the TV Onto the Truck?

We probably shouldn’t mention again that you have to be careful, right? Anyway, once you get the package onto the truck, it’s crucial that you put it in the proper position. The preferred way for placing it is upright, between some large, sturdy items such as packed furniture. Sofas, for example, are perfect for preventing the package from movement during transport. 

Can You Lay a TV Down When Moving?

Laying this delicate device down in the truck isn’t recommended. Whether you want to lay it on top of some package or directly to the floor of the vehicle, it is a bad idea. It leaves the device pretty vulnerable, and it would be way more prone to damage if placed this way than upright. One slight bump, and screens are gone. This is definitely something to avoid.

Cartons in a relocation van that's used by local movers in Chicago
What is the best way for placing a TV in the vehicle? To keep it upright, of course

If You Have an Old TV You Don’t Want to Move With You, Recycling Is the Way to Go

In case you have more than one TV, and you’re positive that one of them is too old to be useful to anybody, you should consider recycling the device – if it can’t be donated, it doesn’t mean that you should simply throw it in the trash. We can help you with the research on Chicago recycling centers. More than a few places in Chicago deal with this kind of waste, so check them out.

  • Household Chemicals and Computer Recycling Facility,
  • AVA E-Recycling Pick Up and Data Shredding,
  • Chicago E-Recycling Pick Up and Shredding,
  • MicroAnt Recycling.
Woman looking at the laptop, surrounded by packages, waiting for Chicago movers
If you have an old device, research where you can take it to get recycled

Our Chicago Movers Know How to Move a TV Effortlessly – Contact Us for Any Relocation Service You Might Need

When planning a residential move within Chicago, the most important thing is to have trustworthy and reputable local Chicago movers by your side. Our company can offer you exactly that – skilled and well-trained professionals who will do everything in their power to make sure that your relocation day goes smoothly and without any difficulties. If you still feel like wrapping a TV is something you’re not ready to do on your own, we have a solution for you – book our packers and movers

They can handle wrapping any household items you don’t have time for. Skip this tedious process, and focus your energy on throwing an amazing going-away party. Those who are relocating an office will undoubtedly benefit from our commercial relocation service. There are so many devices in an office – wrapping them is a challenge that is better left to pros. Lastly, if you are confident you can pull off a move on your own but you still require a little help to move stuff to your house or storage, our labor-only service is the one you’ve been looking for. Contact us today, and book the best local movers in Chicago who will make your move a pleasant experience.