Rust and decoration items / bedside table, plus cleaning products

[BananaFace]

Having read about taking cars to NZ, and in particular the rust treatment aspect of it, itÂ’s suddenly downed on me that we may have an issue with four household items which have been upcycled / recycled such as a metal cabinet 78F0529C-8A43-4F69-8A95-927A05CE585B.jpg and a couple of wall shelves934B0976-1460-43AA-84B9-8C523F328AA4.jpg. I am concerned about the whole rust issue...?

Also, we have a king size bed made of EPAL marked pallets by myself (which, just for the record, was a back-breaking piece of DIY) and...a yearÂ’s supply of soap nuts that I use for laundry, washing all and house cleaning.

Am I right to assume that the removal company will pick up on anything (ok, maybe not the soap nuts) that will potentially create a problem at the other end? Any advice on how to check on the soap nuts...and random stuff such as a yearÂ’s supply of white vinegar?! (We didnÂ’t have a set date for the move when I decided to stock buy...).

[diallta]

I certainly can't speak from experience, but based on what I'd read about the possibility of importing my rusty car, it seems more like a road fitness or "safety" issue with the import process on the cars and not an environmental thing. But, someone else on here surely can give some first-hand input.

[JandM]

Rust on cars, and rust on household items, are two completely separate issues.

The WOF test (NZ equivalent of the MOT) won't pass a car which has ANY visible rust, even on a part of the vehicle which isn't structural, so anyone wanting to import a car to NZ and having to have it pass compliance has to deal with the rust as a matter of urgency. It's because of the regulations, NOT as a matter of cleanliness.

The cleaning of personal property being imported with you is because of passing bio-security rules. https://www.mpi.govt.nz/travel-and-r...sonal-effects/ What matters here is removing from any item any kind of dirt which can harbour life - so, mould or algae, earth/mud/dust because of viruses, or because seeds and spores can be stuck to it, cobwebs and other filaments because they can contain spider/insect eggs, pupae or live grubs, untreated wood in case of woodworm or other boring beetles, etc.. Go over everything that you have used out of doors (garden or maintenance equipment, fishing/boating gear, footwear with a deep tread), and anything from indoors which has dark corners inside or underneath not normally dusted off, and make sure you leave it looking clean and smelling clean and disinfected. Don't forget to go over the vacuum cleaner itself. The wood of your bed would need to have been checked and treated - if you can't show proof of this, they might require you to have it fumigated upon arrival, and charge you for doing it.

If you are intending importing a car, it, too, would have to be cleaned inside and out with an eye to bio-security - do a search on the threads for procedures.

You can bring in soap nut shells, see here. https://www.mpi.govt.nz/travel-and-r...cts/#soap-nuts

Food is also covered by regulations https://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/trav...-personal-use/ - basically, you aren't allowed to bring in fresh produce, or items that have been home-prepared. Anything commercially packed with the ingredients listed can be brought and declared, then the inspectors can readily check if it's allowed or not. Again, the point is that nothing should come in which can introduce plant diseases or pests to harm NZ crops or eco-system. Your vinegar should be fine.

[BananaFace]

Phew! Thank you ever so much

The cars are not coming as we don’t think it’s worth the hassle, so just relieved that we won’t have to leave items behind (imagine not being able to take my soap nuts with me!!)

[newarrival]

Just to add- I doubt that the removal company will pick up on items that aren't allowed in. From what we've experienced they pack whatever is in front of them.

[JandM]

I agree. The company is likely just to pack the contents. And some firms will take on the responsibility for listing the contents - but experience has shown that it's a good idea for the client to oversee things, because they will have to answer to NZ customs. Don't expect the packers to use brainpower, necessarily - some people have unfortunately found the contents of their kitchen bin from their home country when they unpacked their container in NZ!

[BananaFace]

No!! (ref one’s kitchen bin contents)

So, just to be clear: the key benefit of removal company packing vs self-packing is (potentiality) the standard of the packing itself and liability should items become damaged? I must say that having read a couple of other posts, I was very tempted to do the packing ourselves... (I somehow doubt my husband will be impressed). Anyway, two more surveys tomorrow!

As for the pallet bed (and I suddenly remembered the 18 wooden crates, all painstakingly sanded and painted by ‘moi’, which hold / display my beloved books) may not have been treated to the correct standard. I am happy to leave a number of things behind but these cost be hours and hours of planning and hard labour. Can somebody please advise how I can get them fumigated to ISPM15 standard? I suspect that the pallets were done (judging by the EPAL stamp on them, although I’d have to prove it, which for various reasons simply wouldn’t be possible), but I’d rather not take any chances.

Thank you very much all for the superb advice. Exciting times but as you know heaps to work to do!!!

[JandM]

Here https://www.enz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=13718 and here https://www.enz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=46981 are some old comments about packing up the home, which give the real flavour of people going through this experience.

Over the years, I've got a strong impression of how VERY fast and efficient professional packers are, and how they save the owners huge amounts of physical effort and TIME, which run out rapidly as you get towards your travel date. However, the owner really needs to get a grip of aspects of the organization (as seen on those threads).

You'll notice that people mention using a separate insurance company, not necessarily the removers' own insurance. Obviously, investigate the cost and what is covered, to be comparing like for like, but many ENZers speak well of this firm. https://www.lettonpercival.co.uk/ove...als-insurance/

I haven't heard of anyone getting their wooden items fumigated before travel, though I see by Googling that there are companies who advertise fumigating 'raw' wood intended for making crates etc., and you might be able to get one of them to do it. But it would probably be easier (on the pocket and on your nerves) to let NZ bio-security take action if they find it necessary - they're the experts and can tell quickly. This wouldn't be taking any chance with things you value - they won't get hurt in the process. Also, as you say your things were created from packing materials in the first place, I'm guessing there's a strong chance that they're already in the clear.

[newarrival]

No!! (ref one’s kitchen bin contents)

So, just to be clear: the key benefit of removal company packing vs self-packing is (potentiality) the standard of the packing itself and liability should items become damaged? I must say that having read a couple of other posts, I was very tempted to do the packing ourselves... (I somehow doubt my husband will be impressed). Anyway, two more surveys tomorrow!

As for the pallet bed (and I suddenly remembered the 18 wooden crates, all painstakingly sanded and painted by ‘moi’, which hold / display my beloved books) may not have been treated to the correct standard. I am happy to leave a number of things behind but these cost be hours and hours of planning and hard labour. Can somebody please advise how I can get them fumigated to ISPM15 standard? I suspect that the pallets were done (judging by the EPAL stamp on them, although I’d have to prove it, which for various reasons simply wouldn’t be possible), but I’d rather not take any chances.

Thank you very much all for the superb advice. Exciting times but as you know heaps to work to do!!!

Yep.., we had a little bathroom bin (with rubbish in it) in our box labelled 'bathroom' when we unpacked, plus I was just able to prevent one of the packers to wrap a big rock that was sitting in the bottom of a makeshift umbrella stand

Regarding having the house packed vs packing yourself- we packed all our clothes, books, non- breakables, but had the packers pack up the kitchen, china and glasses etc.plus all the furniture, and they packed the container. They won't be responsible for broken stuff if you do it yourself, as far as I know.

Wooden things- I think if you label your boxes/ packets properly, MPI will, as mentioned, decide what they would like to take a closer look at

[BananaFace]

That’s outrageous!!

Thank you very much for explaining how you approached your packing, and confirming the liability aspect - it seems the sensible approach, especially considering quite a few of the posts here about damage / breakages.