Most people sign a storage lease without reading the prohibited-items section. It’s at the back of the contract, in small type, sandwiched between insurance language and the late-fee schedule. Easy to skip.
And usually, that’s fine. Most of what you’d want to store, you can. Furniture, clothes, boxes of books, holiday décor, a mattress, a snowblower, a kayak. All standard.
But there’s a short list of things that genuinely don’t belong in any storage unit, anywhere. Some are about state and federal law. Some are about safety. A couple are about protecting your stuff and the stuff of every other renter on the property. Worth knowing before you pack the truck.
Here are the eight you should leave out, along with the actual reason for each.
Gasoline cans, propane tanks, kerosene, paint, paint thinner, fertilizer, pool chemicals, fireworks, lighter fluid. Anything that can ignite, leak fumes, or react badly with heat.
The reason is straightforward. Storage units share walls. A leaking gas can or a propane tank that gets too warm becomes a fire risk for every unit on the property. Massachusetts fire code and most storage facility leases prohibit these items, full stop.
One important exception worth knowing about: snowblowers, lawn mowers, generators, and other gas-powered equipment are allowed in our drive-up units with their fuel tanks intact. Plenty of contractors and homeowners store seasonal equipment with us and pull it in and out as they need it. The rule is about loose containers of fuel and chemicals, not about properly stored equipment.
As for the loose containers themselves, most hardware stores will recycle leftover paint and motor oil. The Fall River transfer station handles household hazardous waste on scheduled drop-off days.
If you’re prepping seasonal equipment for storage and not sure what counts, you can view our units or call the office at 774-855-6100 with questions before you pack.
Massachusetts has some of the strictest firearm storage laws in the country. State law requires firearms to be stored in a locked container or with a tamper-resistant safety device, and unauthorized access carries serious legal consequences.
A self-storage unit, no matter how secure, is not legally considered a proper firearm storage location under Massachusetts law. Most storage facility leases, ours included, prohibit firearms and ammunition outright. Ammunition is also a fire hazard.
If you own firearms and need a storage solution, a licensed gun safe at home, a bank safety deposit box, or a licensed firearms dealer with secure storage are the right answers.
Animals, plants, anything alive. This sounds obvious, and yet facility managers occasionally find a houseplant tucked into a moving box, or worse, a hamster cage.
Pets are an animal-welfare issue and, in many states, including Massachusetts, a criminal one.
The boring version of this rule also covers things like aquariums with fish, beehives, terrariums, and the occasional optimistic attempt to store seedlings between growing seasons. If it needs air, water, or sunlight to live, it needs a home, not a storage unit.
If you’re storing something that needs careful handling (antique furniture, electronics, documents), a climate-controlled unit makes a real difference. You can see climate-controlled sizes on our rental page.
Stolen property. Counterfeit goods. Unregistered weapons. Anything you couldn’t legally have in your own home.
This category also includes drugs of any kind. Not just illegal drugs, but legal prescription medications too. We don’t allow drugs, prescription or otherwise, to be stored in units or even brought in while you’re moving things in or organizing. There are safer, more appropriate places to keep medications at home or in a personal lockbox.
This isn’t a moral lecture. It’s just a reminder that a storage unit doesn’t give you immunity. If something illegal is found in your unit during a lien sale, a routine inspection, or any number of other circumstances, the facility is legally required to report it. Storage facilities cooperate with law enforcement when asked.
If you’re not sure whether something is legal in Massachusetts, that’s a sign you should leave it out.
Medical waste, asbestos, radioactive material, lead paint, biological samples, anything regulated by EPA or state environmental rules. Used motor oil counts here too if it’s not in a sealed, EPA-approved container.
There are specific licensed facilities and pickup services in Massachusetts for each of these. A self-storage unit isn’t one of them. Storing this kind of material puts every other renter on the property at risk and exposes you to significant legal liability.
If you’ve inherited a property and you’re not sure what’s in the basement boxes, or you’re cleaning out a workshop with mystery containers, it’s worth taking thirty minutes to figure out what each thing actually is before you box it up.
A lot of facilities won’t take a vehicle unless it’s registered, insured, and able to drive itself in. We’re a little different.
At Tower Mill Self Storage, you can store a car, motorcycle, boat trailer, or other vehicle even if it’s not currently registered or insured. The vehicle doesn’t have to be in working condition either. We have customers storing project cars, classic vehicles being restored, and trailers that haven’t moved in a season. All fine.
What we do need before storage starts: a title, a registration, or a photo of the VIN, along with the year, make, and model. That’s so we have what we need on file if a unit ever has to be auctioned off, and so we can verify the vehicle isn’t reported stolen or carrying a lien.
Two firm rules apply to every vehicle, no matter what:
First, no leaks. A car with a slow drip of oil, a boat trailer that’s spotting transmission fluid, a motorcycle with a small fuel leak. Fluid leaks damage the unit, can spread to neighboring units, and create cleanup and liability problems. If something is leaking, it has to be fixed before it comes in.
Second, no work on vehicles inside our units or anywhere on our property. That includes our parking lot, plaza, and outdoor areas. The drive-up unit is for storage only, not as a workshop. If you’ve got a project car and you need to work on it, you’ll need to take it home, to a friend’s garage, or to a shop for the work, then bring it back to storage when the work is done. Same rules for boats and trailers.
For project cars, boats, motorcycles, or seasonal vehicles you want to keep out of the weather, take a look at our drive-up unit sizes.
Patio cushions still wet from the morning rain. A tent that came back from a camping trip without being dried out. Rugs that were just cleaned. Towels, sleeping bags, anything that went into a moving box damp.
Nothing on this list is technically against the rules. But it’s the one renters regret most often, because by August, that damp item has done real damage.
Mildew and mold get into fabric within days in a closed space. The smell doesn’t come out. Worse, that mildew spreads to surrounding items, which means the box of off-season clothes you carefully packed next to it might come out of storage in much worse shape than it went in.
This matters more in Fall River than in a lot of places. South Coast humidity in July and August is no joke, and even a climate-controlled unit can only do so much against something that came in wet. Dry everything completely before it goes in. If you’re not sure, give it another day.
For items you want extra protection for in a humid New England summer, climate-controlled units stay 60 to 80 degrees year-round. See available climate-controlled units.
Food and drinks are an absolute no. Not in the units, not in the buildings, not even during move-in or while you’re organizing your unit.
The reason is simple and not particularly negotiable: pests. A forgotten granola bar, a half-empty water bottle left behind during a long move-in day, a can of soup that didn’t make it back into the box. Any of it is enough to attract mice, ants, or worse. Once pests get into a storage facility, they don’t stay in one unit. They spread, and they’re hard to get rid of without disrupting every other renter on the property.
This includes pantry goods, canned food, pet food (especially pet food, which mice find from impressive distances), spices, baking supplies, drink mixes, anything in a sealed container that was once food, and anything in a cooler. If it was ever edible by humans, animals, or insects, it doesn’t come in.
If you’re moving and packing in stages, eat your snacks before you walk through the gate. If you’re cleaning out a kitchen, separate the food from everything else before it gets to us and donate or dispose of it through a food bank or your regular trash service. Once it’s in a moving box headed to storage, it’s almost always forgotten.
Most of what you want to store, you can. The list of things you can’t is shorter than you’d guess. Hazardous materials and loose chemicals, weapons, living things, anything illegal, drugs of any kind, biological waste, leaking vehicles, wet items, and food or drinks.
When in doubt, the easiest thing is to ask. Call us at 774-855-6100 before you pack something you’re unsure about. It’s a thirty-second conversation, and it’s better than finding out at the gate.
If you’re getting organized for summer, downsizing, renovating, or just need a place for the things that don’t quite fit at home, you can view available units. You can reserve a unit online in about five minutes, or call 774-855-6100 if you’d rather talk it through.
Can I store an unregistered or non-running vehicle at Tower Mill Self Storage?
Yes. The vehicle doesn’t need to be registered, insured, or in working condition. Before storage starts, we need a title, registration, or a photo of the VIN, along with the year, make, and model. The only firm rules are no leaks, and no working on the vehicle inside the unit or anywhere on our property.
Can I store a boat or kayak at Tower Mill Self Storage?
Small boats and kayaks fit in our drive-up units. Larger boats and RVs are not permitted. The same vehicle rules apply: leaks have to be fixed before storage, and you can’t work on the boat or trailer on our property. Call us at 774-855-6100 to check what fits.
What happens if I accidentally store something I’m not supposed to?
If we notice during a routine inspection, we’ll reach out and ask you to remove it. Hazardous materials, biological waste, drugs, or anything illegal is a different conversation, and in some cases, facilities are legally required to report it. When in doubt, ask before you store.
Can I store firearms at any storage facility in Massachusetts?
No. Massachusetts firearm storage laws require firearms to be stored in a locked container or with a tamper-resistant safety device, and most self-storage facilities prohibit firearms outright. A licensed gun safe at home is the right answer.
How do I know what unit size I need?
The simplest way is to check live availability and unit sizes on our rental page, which shows what fits in each size. If you’d like a hand picking the right one, call us at 774-855-6100.
About Tower Mill Self Storage
At Tower Mill Self Storage, we’re a locally owned facility in Fall River, MA, helping renters, homeowners, students, and small businesses find a place to put what they can’t fit at home. Our rental page lists current unit availability, pricing, promotions, office hours, and online reservation options.
Tower Mill Self Storage. Storage with Heart. Service with Soul. Proudly Independent, Always in Control.
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