Shipping a sofa can be a daunting task. It’s unlike shipping smaller household items that you just wrap with padding, place in a box and send via the USPS. Shipping a bulky item such as a sofa requires planning, more effort, and some common sense. Here are a few tips on how to package and ship your sofa so that it arrives in its new destination safely and undamaged.
Before anything else, vacuum the entire sofa, along with its cushions, before packing. Cleaning the sofa will not make its transport any easier. The point is to not bring the dust and gunk the couch has collected to its new destination.
If possible, take out the legs of the sofa by tipping the sofa onto its back. Some sofa legs simply thread into the bottom of the furniture like a screw. Others are attached to plates and require a screwdriver to remove them. If the legs are permanently attached, leave them as is.
Collect all the legs, wrap each one in bubble wrap or newspaper and place into a plastic bag. Tape the bag shut with the packaging tape and insert it between the sofa’s cushions to avoid getting lost while in transit.
Wrap the sofa with the plastic sheeting until it is covered entirely. Plastic sheeting is available from most shipping supplies stores. Start wrapping at one end and make your way around the sofa in a lengthwise manner, like you are wrapping plastic around a tube. When you get to the end of the sofa, double back and cover the ends with plastic. Use packaging tape to secure the sheeting.
You can either take the sofa to your trusted shipping company yourself or have it picked up which is more convenient. If you are taking it yourself, make sure to secure the sofa in the vehicle by placing ratchet straps over the top of the sofa (front to back) and connecting the straps to any “tie-down” locations on the truck or van. The straps will push down on the sofa and prevent it from sliding during transport.