Rain reaches a move through four openings: the cardboard, the furniture finish, the truck bed, and the floors inside both homes. Seattle's wet season runs from October into April, so a move booked in that window should plan for water rather than hope for a dry day. Plan for water in the packing, the wrapping, and the load, and the day stays manageable.
How water reaches your belongings
Corrugated cardboard takes on water quickly. A box that sits on a wet walkway for a few minutes starts to soften along the bottom edge, and a softened box loses the strength that holds up the stack above it. Moisture also passes through the cardboard to whatever is inside.
Furniture fails in a different way. Water on a finished tabletop lifts the grain and leaves a ring, and upholstery that gets damp in the truck can grow mildew before it reaches the new house. Electronics are the least forgiving. Moisture trapped inside a device that gets switched on can short a board and turn a working television into a loss.
The floors take damage too. Wet boots and wet boxes carry grit across hardwood and laminate, and a load that goes out in the rain tracks water up the ramp and along the truck bed.
Packing boxes for wet weather
Protect what cannot get wet
Cardboard is fine for most of a house as long as it stays dry. Books, paperwork, photographs, and electronics need more. Line the box with a plastic bag before anything goes in, fold the liner over the top, and pack those items in a plastic bin when you have one.
Seal every seam
Tape the bottom seams as well as the top. Water runs down a stack and finds the gaps, and the bottom of a box is where a wet step does the most damage. Heavy boxes get a second strip of tape along the base.
Keep boxes off the ground
While the crew loads, boxes belong on a dolly or a pallet rather than the driveway, the lawn, or a wet porch. Ask where the staging area will be before the truck arrives. A garage, a covered entry, or the truck itself works better than the curb.
Protecting furniture during a move
Moving blankets absorb water. That makes them good at cushioning and poor as a rain layer, because a wet blanket holds moisture against the finish it is meant to protect. The order that works is wrap first, blanket second, and an outer layer for anything that rides in damp air: stretch wrap against the piece, a blanket over the wrap, then plastic sheeting around the blanket.
Wipe furniture dry before it gets wrapped. Plastic over a damp surface traps moisture for the whole trip, and the finish pays for it.
The wraps worth having on hand:
Stretch wrap for drawers, doors, and legs that want to swing open in transit.
Shrink wrap or plastic sheeting as the rain layer over blankets.
Mattress bags, which keep fabric, dust, and road spray off the one item that soaks up all three.
Furniture pads over the wrap for anything with a hard edge.
Cushions, pillows, and throws come off and go into plastic bags. Anything already damp dries indoors before it is wrapped or loaded.
Electronics and anything that cannot get wet
The original box is still the best case for a television, monitor, or computer, and the foam inserts matter as much as the cardboard. Without the box, a TV travels upright, padded on all four edges, with nothing stacked against the screen.
Cables, remotes, and small devices go in sealed bags with the hardware they belong to, so nothing goes missing and nothing gets damp. A desiccant packet in a closed box absorbs the humidity that builds up over a rainy day on the truck.
If a device does get wet, do not switch it on to see whether it works. Photograph the damage, let it dry completely, and keep the photos for a claim.
What a crew does differently on a rainy load day
A crew that works in Seattle all year has a routine for wet weather. Floor runners go down inside both homes before the first box moves, and a mat or towel sits at every doorway the crew crosses. The ramp gets a dry surface, and the load is staged as close to the truck as the property allows, so items spend as little time in the rain as possible.
Three questions will tell you whether a company is ready for a wet day: whether the crew carries floor protection, whether the truck can back in close enough to shorten the carry, and how the crew handles items that get wet on the way out. The answers separate a company that plans for rain from one that meets it for the first time at your door.
Ask whether the crew can load from a covered position as well. A truck backed into a carport or garage opening keeps the load dry in a way that no amount of wrapping replaces.
Time matters too. Loading takes longer in the rain, and a crew that starts earlier finishes before the heaviest weather and before the light goes. Our guide to hiring movers for a Seattle winter covers the rest of what a cold, wet season asks of a crew.
Floors, doorways, and building rules
Hardwood and laminate scratch when grit rides in on wet boots, and a wet box dragged across a floor does the same damage in one motion. Floor runners and a mat at the door solve most of it, and a towel at each threshold handles the rest.
Buildings add their own conditions. A Seattle apartment or condo often requires an elevator reservation, padding in the cab, a loading dock time window, and a certificate of insurance from the moving company. Give those requirements to the mover when you book rather than on the morning of the move, because a crew turned away at the dock costs you the day.
If you are moving within the north end, the areas we serve lists the cities our crews work in most often, including the streets where parking is tightest.
If something gets wet anyway
Open wet boxes on arrival instead of letting them sit. Cardboard that stays damp against books or photographs for a week does more damage than the rain did in an hour.
For anything damaged, photograph it before you move it again, note it on the delivery paperwork, and file a written claim with the moving company. An interstate move gives you nine months from delivery to file. A move inside Washington follows the company's agreement and the UTC tariff, so check which deadline applies to your job.
Then dry the room. Furniture pulled away from the walls, a fan moving air, and a dehumidifier running for a day stop mildew from starting in upholstery, rugs, and boxed paper.
Timing a move around Seattle rain
You cannot pick a dry week in November, but you can plan around the worst of a wet day. Check the forecast three days out and again on the morning of the move. Ask the company what it does if the forecast changes. Adding wrap and moving the load time earlier is a better answer than postponing the job.
Most of what helps happens the night before: boxes stacked indoors rather than in a garage, wrap and bags within reach, a clear path from the door to where the truck will park, and a towel at each doorway.
Book a crew that expects rain
Seattle movers work in wet weather for half the year, and it shows in what the crew brings and how the day is planned. Ask about floor protection, wrap, staging, and the plan for a wet load before you compare price.
A Perfect Mover moves homes across Seattle and the north end in every season, and the quote for your address covers the crew, the truck, and the protection your move needs. You can request a moving estimate or read about professional packing services that keep boxes and furniture dry on the way to your new home.
