Life events happen and sometimes it’s a good thing to take your dance pole down and store it for a while before resuming a pole dancing workout.

Pregnancy is a very common reason to remove a dance pole for a while and store it.   While some women do pole dance while pregnant, each woman’s body is different so some woman will be able to pole dance for part of their pregnancy while others can’t do it for even one day – mainly due to things like morning sickness or inadequate fitness level prior to pregnancy.

Other reasons to take down your pole and store it for the long term might include other life events like making a big move to a different location, long term traveling, etc.   Whatever the reason, properly storing your dance pole for a long period of time will vary depending on the type of dance pole you have.

Long Term Storage Tips

All dance poles, regardless of brand will be sensitive to temperature fluctuations, humidity, and other environmental factors.   It’s VERY important to know what material your dance pole is made of before deciding where to store.

Common Dance Pole Materials & Environmental Factors

Chrome Plated Steel Dance Poles: Most dance poles are made of steel that is electroplated with a chrome finish.   Steel can rust and will rust, especially in humid environments.   The chrome plating does offer some protection against rusting, but if left in a humid environment for years, the rust can break through the chrome plating, especially if it is cheaper plating.

Not every company creates a dance pole with thick chrome electroplating like the XPert X-Pole or the PDF Pro Quality Dance Pole.   Producing dance poles with thin layers of chrome plating is a common way to lower dance pole production costs and produce a product that costs less for consumers.   The consequence of cheap chrome plating is a lack of resilience against rusting, chipping, and or peeling chrome.

Powder coated dance poles are a coating over the top of the steel or chrome plating.   Powder Coated dance poles have the same rusting risk that a chrome plated dance pole does.

Titanium Gold dance poles are also similar to chrome plating, the only difference is that is a gold colored plating over the top of steel instead of a silver chrome.

Brass & Stainless Steel dance poles stand up the best under humid conditions and have very little chance of rusting.   Good quality brass dance poles and good quality stainless steel dance poles are NOT plated like chrome, the whole pole is made of solid brass or stainless steel.

Best Way To Store A Dance Pole:

1. House Storage is best. Inside a temperature-controlled house is always the best way to prevent the steel inner parts of a dance pole from rusting.
2. Avoid Humidity at all costs. Make no mistake, humidity lurks everywhere.   Even colder dryer environments get humidity in the air when it snows.   Any moisture in the air will increase your chances of the steel parts of the dance pole rusting.   The more moisture there is, the faster it will rust.   I live in Florida, it’s very humid here with the addition of ocean salts in the air.   I have never had any issues with my PDF Pro Quality Dance Pole or my XPert X-Poles rusting when used indoors only.    I use my XPert X-Stage Lite at the beach a couple times a year and I already have rust showing up on the base.    If you have a brass or stainless steel dance pole, then you won’t need to worry about the humidity that much.   Those two metals don’t rust.
3. Don’t abuse the finish of your pole. Take extra care to avoid banging into something hard or dropping the pole part because it can chip, scratch or damage even the best chrome plating.   Once the plating is damaged, it’s easy for it to start rusting where it was damaged.   Consider wrapping your pole parts in bubble paper, or use a dance pole carrying bag when storing your pole.
4. Avoid extreme temperatures. Believe it or not, most dance poles can withstand extreme temperate changes just fine.  It’s just not recommended to store your dance pole in a place where extreme temperature changes happen frequently.   Pretty much everything on the plant can be compromised by extreme temperature changes, metals are no different.  Metals can contract and expand, making the joints of the pole stick together and it’s harder to get them apart.  The rubber on the domes and base parts will also be sensitive to extreme temp changes and sunlight.  Sunlight and extreme heat can degrade silicone rubber over long periods of time.
5. Keep the rubber/padding on the dome and base clean. Dirt and other debris reduce the softness and tackiness of the silicone rubber on the dome and base, which in turn can make the dome of the pole slip after installation.   The rubber (or TPE padding on some pole models) on the dome and base can be cleaned, however it’s best to not dirty it anymore than you have to.   Dust gets into everything and you really want to avoid getting it near the rubber or bearings of a dance pole.
6. Best storage spots: I have stored dance poles in my house and studio for years in many different locations due to extensive traveling.  My all-time favorite spots are under the bed and in a closet.  I store them under the bed when I don’t want to break them down into smaller pieces and in the closet (both with and without carrying bags).   I have never had a problem with rust : )

Preparing The Dance Pole For Storage

After reading through the tips above, you probably have a good idea of where you want to store it.   The next step is taking the pole down.   Here are some tips to make it easier:

1. Most, not all, removable dance poles will break down into smaller pieces making it easier to store. If you don’t have an un-installation video to use for you brand of dance pole, re-watching the manufacturer installation video will help you remember how it comes apart so you can get it down.   It’s best to leave as many pieces attached together as you can to avoid losing your various pole parts.
2. If you dance pole has been installed and used for a long time, it’s common for the joints to get a little stuck together sometimes. Enlisting the help of a guy or using your tacky pole dance gloves for a better grip to loosen stuck joints is the easiest way to get the piece apart for storage.
3. Leave any dance pole ceiling mounts on the ceiling (unless you’re moving). Yes, you can see it up there, but trust me, most people never look at the ceiling and they probably won’t ever know its up there : )
4. Additionally, most dance poles have a removable base and dome. I find it easier to leave the base attached while storing the dome separately.
5. Finally, place all hex keys, tiny screws, and any other installation tools in a zip lock baggy along with any paper instructions that came with the pole. Then tape the zip lock baggy to one of the pole parts to avoid losing it.   Trust me, so many people lose the smaller pieces of their pole and you will do yourself a huge favor by avoiding the pain of finding replacement parts.

I hope this article has helped.  Enjoy your down time and look forward to seeing you on the dance pole again in the future!

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