How To Take Extra Care of Rental Furniture

By Victoria Robertson on September 23, 2015

This article is brought to you by CORT, a subsidiary of Berkshire-Hathaway and the world’s largest furniture rental and relocation services company. To learn more about how we can help college students like you, click here.

When you move into your new apartment, you’re going to be overwhelmed by a sense of independence that you didn’t have in the dorms. For the most part, while living in a dorm, you aren’t accountable for everything that happens. Damaged desks, closet shelves, beds – that all typically falls on the school. But when you’re in an apartment, it’s a different story.

Putting down a deposit for your apartment usually means you won’t be getting it back, especially if you damage any of the furniture in a furnished apartment. Or, if the apartment doesn’t come furnished, the same goes for your rental furniture.

While it’s going to feel great to have your own couch to procrastinate from, treat it well, or you’ll end up paying for it in the end. So for those of you that have never rented a furnished apartment before (or rented furniture), here are some tips to help you take extra care of it.

1. Clean regularly

Nobody does this, but I’m going to throw it out there anyway. Cleaning your apartment regularly isn’t only good for your health, but it’s also good for your furniture.

If you never dust, vacuum or wipe down tabletops, by the end of the year, you’re going to find you have a disgusting mess.

About once a week, you should wipe down your furniture with a rag and clean up any cup rings, food residue or anything else that might be there. If you keep up with this as you use the furniture, you won’t have to panic at the end of the year when you realize everything is stained and you can’t get anything out because it’s been caked on the furniture for too long.

2. Don’t mistreat it

While it’s tempting to flop on the couch after a long day of classes, or to use the coffee table as a footstool, you’re going to find that as the year goes on, the furniture will begin to fall apart.

So use coasters on your end tables, sit properly on your couches and eat at the dinner table. I know it’s common sense, but it’s important too. The second you begin mistreating your furniture is when damage is done to it.

So long as you use the furniture properly and don’t do anything that would cause it to break, you shouldn’t have any problems in this regard.

3. Remember your money is on the line

Ultimately, when you go to return a piece of damaged furniture, or you move out of the furnished apartment and leave behind broken furniture, it’s your bank account that’s going to suffer.

A deposit typically covers the cost of this, but that means you won’t be getting that money back. And rentals are going to now cost you full price, and you’ll be the proud owner of that broken couch.

It’s a complete waste of money when it comes down to it, so if you remember that you are going to have to pay for everything, you’ll probably treat it a little differently.

4. Record previous damage

This is something many people forget to do, and even if the damage was on the furniture when you got it, if you don’t report this right away, you’ll end up paying for the damage at the end of the year.

So make sure you look at the new furniture thoroughly before you use it. Any scratch, scuff or loose nail is worth mentioning, and take pictures as well. You may treat your furniture perfectly all year long, but if there’s previous damage you didn’t record, that fee is going to fall on you, and you alone.

Plus, if you know that there’s a screw loose in the table, it’ll be fixed right away so that it doesn’t cause a problem for you later on. So better safe than sorry – record everything.

These are just a few tips to help you keep your money in your bank account and return the furniture in the condition in which it was given to you.

While it’s exciting to have a place to yourself and have your own furniture, it’s also a responsibility, even if it doesn’t feel like it.

So plain and simple: take care of your things throughout your school year and you’ll be just fine when it comes time to return everything and head back home for the summer.

Looking for a more convenient way to furnish your off-campus apartment? Rent stylish furniture from CORT and save time and money. For more information on furniture rental packages, click here.

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