Without a shadow of a doubt, bubble wrap provides the best possible protection for delicate, fragile, sensitive or just any easily breakable (oddly-shaped) items from scratches, dents, breakage, as well as any type of damage due to excessive vibrations or shocks during transport. Together with packing paper, bubble wrap should be the other major packing material you should rely on to keep your fragile items totally protected until they reach the safety of the new home.
Interestingly enough, it’s possible that you avoid the usage of bubble wrap while you’re packing your things for a move – see How to pack without bubble wrap. However, the big question here is, Why shouldn’t you use the air-filled plastic material when packing, especially when it offers so many indisputable advantages?
Read on to learn how to use bubble wrap when packing for a move – the correct way of using bubble wrap so that your fragile and breakable things remain perfectly safe and intact throughout the move.
5 things you may not know about bubble wrap
Here are a few interesting facts about bubble wrap that you may not be familiar with – the better you understand its mysteries, the more and more you may be willing to use it when packing up your prized possessions.
- Bubble wrap was created in the 1950s as a result of a failed attempt by two engineers to invent 3-D plastic wallpaper.
- The air bubbles inside the polyethylene film are not inflated in any special way – rather, they are formed when air is trapped between two plastic sheets during the production process.
- In the beginning, bubble wrap was used predominantly for protecting sensitive electronic equipment. Now, it’s widely used for safeguarding any types of fragile and easily breakable items.
- The bubble sizes can vary greatly – from 1/4’’ to around 1’’ in diameter. The most common bubble size 0.4’’.
- Did you know that there’s also heart-shaped bubble wrap? That’s right – the air-filled bubbles can be found in various shapes and patterns as well, not just in the well-familiar hemisphere pattern.
Pick the winner: Bubble wrap vs. Packing paper
Advantages of using bubble wrap
Is bubble wrap really that important when packing fragile items for a move? Yes, it is. And in some cases, it’s simply put indispensable.
Why is bubble wrap good for packaging? Here are some of the major advantages of bubble wrap during the packing process:
- Ultimate protection. The air that’s trapped between the plastic sheets offers outstanding cushioning qualities that help isolate super-fragile and sensitive items from any types of harmful effects during a house move – from shocks, vibrations, and accidental hits to moisture, dust, and dirt.
- Easy to use. Bubble wrap is really easy to use – you just wrap it around the item that needs to be protected and tape in place. Thanks to the flexibility of the plastic material, the air bubbles will cover snugly fragile surfaces, thus creating tight protective bundles.
- Almost weightless. Bubble wrap is very light, almost weightless – a distinctive bonus in a sense that it will not increase the weight of your boxes. As you know, the moving price is calculated on the basis of the total weight of your shipment.
- Environmentally friendly. Whenever possible, use a bio-degradable type of bubble wrap during your move – for instance, Enviro-Bubble. Also, make sure you re-use old sheets of bubble wrap that have not been damaged too much during previous uses.
Must-read: How to pack fragile items for moving
Which side of bubble wrap should you use?
Before we go on to explain how to pack using bubble wrap, here’s the answer to a question that may start puzzling you soon enough: which side of bubble wrap to use when protecting your delicate things?
Apparently, bubble wrap has two sides: a bubble side and a flat side. So, should the air bubbles be facing inward or outward?
As a rule, wrap your delicate items with the bubbles facing inward because
- the bubble side will grip and hold the item better;
- the air-filled bubble side will protect the delicate item against excessive exterior pressure and strong impacts such as accidental hits;
- the flat side will be easier to write on in case you want to label the ready bundle directly over it;
- the flat side will better hold the tape in place.
Find below the top fragile items that you’ll have to bubble wrap in order to keep them protected throughout the move. Learn the correct way or using bubble wrap during the home packing task.
Read also: Mistakes that are OK to make when packing for a move
How to pack CHINA PLATES with bubble wrap
As a rule of thumb, you should use soft packing paper to pack your regular china plates – click below to access our detailed guide on how to pack kitchen plates for a move. However, if you own very valuable or sentimental china sets, then you should definitely add the unmatched protection of bubble wrap to the equation.
Having wrapped an expensive china plate in packing paper, make sure you add an extra layer of bubble wrap over the kitchenware piece – it’s best if you use small size bubble wrap for the purpose. Once you’ve covered the plate with bubble wrap as the second layer, tape the protective material in place, then transfer the wrapped-up fragile items into a pre-line dish box and arrange it on its side, do not stack it.
When you pack all your valuable plates like that, fill in any gaps in the box with extra paper, place one final sheet of bubble wrap on top of the box, close the container and label it as FRAGILE.
See also: How to pack plates for moving
How to pack WINE GLASSES with bubble wrap
Again, when it comes to regular glasses, they are best protected using soft white packing paper through the creating of thick paper bundles. However, wines glasses are a different matter – they are very fragile due to their long and thin stems.
The best way to pack wine glasses is to wrap each stem with a sheet of bubble wrap along the entire stem length, all the way to the glass bowl. When you’re ready, tape the protected stem to keep the plastic wrap in place, then tuck soft paper inside the bowl of the wine glass and finally, wrap the entire glass with packing paper for extra protection.
Transfer each wrapped-up wine glass into a pre-lined box, then place it with its mouth facing down in order to absorb better the vibrations and shocks on the road.
Read also: How to pack glasses for moving
How to pack GLASS OBJECTS with bubble wrap
Any glass elements that you have in your home – usually glass furniture parts such as glass tabletops, glass shelves, glass doors, glass panels, and such, should be well-protected against accidental damage. Don’t forget about the large mirrors in your home too.
Use several sheets of bubble wrap to protect those glass objects but make sure the air-filled plastic is the second layer of protection, not the first. Before anything else, wrap those furniture elements with packing paper first, then use bubble wrap on top of it. This is necessary because the air pockets are known to leave unsightly marks if used directly over sensitive surfaces, including glass ones.
In those cases, it’s best to use large-size bubble wrap. After the bubble wrap protection, use thick furniture blankets as the final layer of protection for the large glass objects in your home.
Good to know: How to pack large mirrors for moving
How to pack VASES with bubble wrap
Most of the vases you have in your home will definitely be valuable and regardless of what material they are made of – crystal, ceramic, or porcelain – they will be extremely fragile. And of course, you should use the great protection of bubble wrap to keep them intact during the move.
Again, use packing paper as the first line of defense, then set a vase gently on its side over a large sheet of bubble wrap and start rolling it until it’s completely covered. Make sure no part of the vase is left uncovered, then use packing tape to secure the bubble wrap bundle.
You may need to find specialty boxes that can accommodate the tall and elongated shapes of your vases. Once you place the fragile item inside the cardboard container, fill in any empty spaces with paper or pieces of bubble wrap to prevent the vase from shifting during transit. Label the box as FRAGILE.
Packing advice: How to pack vases for moving
How to pack ELECTRONICS with bubble wrap
Electronic equipment, including most electronic components, are rather fragile pressure and vibrations, and susceptible to damage from static electricity. So, when moving electronic equipment from one home to another, be sure to protect it with non-static bubble wrap (usually pink in color).
Wrap securely your electronic devices in small-size bubble wrap, then transfer them into their original boxes, if possible. If you don’t keep those factory boxes, then you can substitute them for strong cardboard boxes of similar size and shape.
Useful info: How to pack electronics when moving
There are no set rules about how many layers of bubble wrap you should use to protect your fragile items against damage. In most cases, two layers of small-bubble sheets should be enough but only when you have another protective layer of soft packing paper as well. Bubble wrap is not cheap but you shouldn’t start skimping on it simply because finding several of your expensive items damaged due to insufficient protection will prove to be the pricier option of the two.
Ultimately, bubble wrap is a very versatile packing material and should be also used for lining the cardboard boxes that will hold super-fragile items, as well as for filling up empty spaces inside cardboard containers – a good option when you have many small, torn or partly-damaged sheets of bubble wrap that is not good enough for its intended purpose.
Check this out: 10 Things to do with bubble wrap after the move
