Moving safely during the COVID-19 pandemic
Moving is always stressful. This year, due to the COVID-19 situation, the stress factor is even greater. To protect your health and that of your loved ones, the secret lies in how well you prepare. Here are some tips on how to do it.
In the context of the pandemic, you would ideally enlist the services of a moving company that can prove that it follows all the prevention guidelines. However, if you ask your friends and family for help, you must limit the number of people as much as possible and make sure they follow the rules.
Here are some directives to follow before, during and after you move.
Before you move
If you have any symptoms, stay away
If you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms on the day you were scheduled to move, ask someone else to coordinate the operations, and isolate.
Call your new landlord to inquire about the health of the previous occupants.
Take all the required hygiene measures
Make sure that every participant agrees to follow basic health guidelines:
- Wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds or use an alcohol-based disinfectant
- Stay 2 metres away from others
- Wear a face covering where the 2-metre distance cannot be maintained
- Sneeze and cough in your sleeve
Schedule your day in great detail
Avoid having your movers cross paths with other movers. Please plan accordingly:
- Contact the previous and future tenants to arrange your respective schedules
- Find out from neighbours and landlords if other people from your building are moving that day
- To account for potential delays, agree to leave some time between the end of a move and the beginning of another.
- Schedule your loved ones’ arrival and departure times. If need be, find a place for them to go wait until the end of the move
Organize your travels
Plan your team’s transportation, as well as that of your loved ones and pets: only people living under the same roof should share a car. If this is not possible, make sure all passengers wear a face covering and use an alcohol-based sanitizer.
Clean the most frequently touched surfaces
Clean the bathroom and the most frequently touched surfaces in your current dwelling unit, namely:
- light switches
- thermostats
- door knobs
- faucets
- ramps
- kitchen counters and cabinets
- appliances
Also try to have access ahead of time to your new dwelling, so you can clean it the same way.
Near each sink, place a sufficient quantity of the following:
- soap and disposable cloths
- household cleaning products
Place alcohol-based sanitizer at the entrance of every dwelling unit.
Clean the most frequently touched surfaces in every vehicle used, such as the steering wheel and door knob.
Manage your boxes properly and don’t cut corners when packing
In order to avoid having people walk around between rooms, place your boxes at the entrance of every room.
Make sure you minimize direct contact with your items. This will help you avoid coronavirus, but also bedbugs. For instance:
- Pack up and cover your items as diligently as possible. This includes clothing, pillows, etc.
- Seal your boxes with broad tape.
Find more tips at bedbug prevention.
During the move
Follow hygiene and distancing guidelines
Remind your team of the basic health rules. Designate someone to “supervise” compliance with the rules.
At all times, limit the number of people present in the same room, hallway or common areas such as elevators. If possible, open the windows for proper ventilation.
Open the doors to rooms and closets and turn on the lights.
Wait for the people leaving your new dwelling unit to be completely finished with their move before you enter the premises.
Clean as soon as possible, then clean again regularly
As soon as you enter your new dwelling, start by cleaning the most frequently touched surfaces, as well as the bathroom. Continue to clean regularly throughout your move.
After the move
Grab a bite outside
If you would like to thank those who came to help and give them strength, do so without sharing food or eating indoors. This year, opt for individual menus that you can enjoy while keeping a safe distance, outdoors.
If you do not have a yard, head out to one of your neighborhood’s numerous parks. If it rains, take a raincheck.
Clean thoroughly
As soon as you enter your new dwelling, a thorough cleaning is required. Focus particularly and the most frequently touched surfaces, as well as on bathrooms.
How to get rid of furniture
To dispose of furniture or bulky items in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the city encourages you to avoid ecocentres as much as possible, and to opt for the bulky item collection services scheduled before your move:
- upholstered furniture (armchairs, mattresses, sofas): household waste collection
- non upholstered furniture and construction debris: collection of bulky items
If you have a bed bug problem, make sure all infested upholstered furniture is destroyed so it cannot be reused. We recommend that you cut through the fabric and wrap the items in plastic.
Manage your hazardous waste properly
If you have remaining paint cans or other toxic household products (solvants, electronics, batteries, etc.), DO NOT dispose of them in the trash can.
Hazardous household waste collections are resuming gradually. You may also drop them off at various locations. Find out more.
Discover your new collection schedule
To find the collection schedule in your neighbourhood, go to Info-collectes.