How To Safely Move Your Appliances

Moving major appliances isn’t a task to be taken lightly – those things are heavy, after all! It doesn’t matter if you’re just relocating things for a remodel or moving to a new place, knowing how to properly handle your washer, your dryer, and your other big appliances ahead of time is going to take the stress out of dealing with them. With a plan and proper tools, you’ll get the job done faster and with a lot fewer damaged corners and scraped laminate floors. Keep reading to see our guide to safely moving your major appliances!

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The Basics Of Moving Your Appliances

If you’re serious about DIY moving your appliances, there are a few things you should have before you start. Preparedness won’t just save you time–it’ll keep you safer, too. So have these on hand before you get going:

1. A friend or two who can help. If you aren’t hiring professional movers, having someone else who can help you with those heavy appliances and spot for you as you move them is integral. Don’t move appliances on your own. You’ll risk damage to the appliances and injury to yourself
2. A tape measure. You’re going to want to measure the widths and heights of all your appliances and the widths and heights of all halls and doorways they will need to pass through to get out of your old place and into your new one. It’s even handy to have measurements on your small appliances. Knowing ahead of time whether something will need a door removed or won’t fit at all will save you a whole lot of time and stress when you do move.
3. An appliance dolly is a must for moving major appliances. It’ll make the process faster, and will better protect both your back and your floors. If you plan to buy one outright, go for a high quality dolly that’s specifically for appliances. Otherwise, you can usually rent a dolly from hardware stores and moving companies.
4. Appliance glides or sliding pads can all be used to help protect your floors while you move appliances. You don’t want to slide your appliance all the way out the front door on these, but you can at least use them for that first push from floor to dolly.
5. Appliance moving straps are a vital multitool for your move. They’ll secure your appliance both to the dolly and when it’s in the moving truck. Some straps can also be used to more safely lift and relocate appliances short distances.
6. Appliance blankets can be used to add some cushioning to your appliances, protecting them and your house’s walls and corners from potential damage. At least one blanket per appliance should be enough to keep them clean and dry. Appliances with glass doors, like ovens, could stand to be wrapped in two for extra padding.
7. Tape for your appliances’ doors. Opt for something that will hold lids and doors securely shut but won’t leave sticky residue when removed.
8. Zip ties or rubber bands – these will help you to keep your appliances’ wires out of the way.

How To Prepare Appliances For Moving

In general, you’ll want all of your appliances to be completely empty, completely dry, and taped shut before you begin. Empty and unplug your appliances and leave their doors open to dry out at least 24 to 48 hours ahead of time to prevent any water spills or mold or mildew growth during the move.

As we mentioned, pre-measure everything: your appliances and the halls and doors they will need to pass through to get to where they need to go. If turning the appliance at an angle won’t get it through a narrow space, you may still be able to remove a door or other component make it fit.

If you need to go up or down stairs to get your appliances anywhere, you should definitely be working with a buddy. To go up or down stairs, appliances will need to be tipped to an angle – this is easier with an appliance dolly – and guided one step at a time. Each person distributes the weight, and the person in the front will take the lead on guiding.

How To Use An Appliance Dolly

The safest way to relocate your appliances around the home or to a moving truck is with a dolly.

1. Use a spotter for safety. They’ll be able to help you if things go off balance, and can guide you as you move the appliance, sparing your house’s walls, corners, and floors from damage.
2. When loading an appliance onto the dolly, you want one of the smooth sides of the appliance resting against the dolly to avoid damage to any mechanical components, cords, or hook-ups.
3. For most appliances, getting the appliance onto the dolly is as simple as tipping the appliance back slightly, just enough to get the dolly underneath. Remember to lift with your legs, not your back! And take extreme care when tipping any appliance – they can be quite heavy. Have at least one other person there to help you.
4. Be sure to secure the appliance to the dolly. Most dollies come with a built-in strap for this purpose that can be tightened down.
5. Tilt the dolly back and be on your way!

Now that you’ve got a general idea of how to prep, let’s go over how to prep and move specific appliances.

Moving Tips for Different Types of Appliances

How to Move a Refrigerator

1. Make sure your refrigerator is totally empty. You need to remove any food and all shelves and bins. Don’t forget to dump the ice bin, too! Unless you can get your food to a proper refrigerator in under two hours, you’ll probably need to cook and eat or dispose of any perishables you might have. So, plan for that, too! Be sure to properly pack your refrigerator’s shelves and drawers. If your refrigerator has an ice maker, you’ll probably want to remove the ice bin, too, unless it locks into place.
2. At least 24 hours before the move, unplug your refrigerator and disconnect the water lines, then defrost and dry out your refrigerator. This step is especially important if you plan on moving your appliances to storage, even temporarily. Leaving moisture in your refrigerator could allow mold and mildew to bloom. Completely disconnect the water line from the back of the fridge. You can reinstall it later. If you have a dispenser on your fridge, after you’ve disconnected the water line, run it until no more water comes through. You want to make sure the water tank is empty. Once your fridge is empty and unplugged, put some towels in the compartments and leave the doors open to collect water as the appliance defrosts.
3. Make sure the doors are securely shut and the power cord is bundled up. You can tape them closed, but that won’t be enough. Use bungee cords, appliance straps, or cling wrap to ensure the fridge’s doors won’t open during the move.
4. If at all possible, don’t turn the refrigerator on its side during the move. This could damage the compressor or allow oil to leak out. If the fridge was turned on its side during the move, allow it to stand upright for 24 hours at its new location before plugging it back in again.

How to Move a Range/Oven

1. Clean it first. If there’s any grease, it could make it harder to get a firm grip on the appliance. Gunk is also going to get everywhere when you move, dirtying the moving van and your new home.
2. Remove any racks or pans from the interior of the oven and any grates, drip pans, and burner caps from the cooktop. Store them all safely so they don’t get lost in the move.
3. Know what you need to do to disconnect the range, and hire a professional if you aren’t positive you can do it yourself. Whether gas or electric, disconnecting your range involves more than just unplugging it. Having someone from your utility company come out to disconnect your gas appliances and cap the lines ahead of time will incur a small fee, but it will ensure your safety.
4. Wrap it up, both to protect the appliance and your house’s walls. Tape the doors shut. Bundle up any wires, secure them, and then tape them to the side of the range. Wrap the range in a couple of layers of moving blankets. This way, your oven’s door glass is better protected.
5. Don’t forget to schedule a professional to come in and reconnect things at your new place if you aren’t comfortable doing it yourself.

How to Move a Clothes Washer

1. About 24 – 48 hours beforehand, shut off the water supply and disconnect the water lines, drain hose, and power. Leave the washer lid or door open during this time to ensure it dries completely.
2. You need to secure the tub to prevent damage to the suspension system, so consult your washer’s manual for specific instructions. Each washer will have different guidelines on how to do this. Many washers rely on shipping bolts, which are installed in sets of 3 or 4 into the back of the washer to hold the tub steady while the washer is moved. You can also put some styrofoam boards or a few towels in the washer drum to further reduce vibration.
3. Wrap it all up! Bundle up your power cord and tape it to the side of the washer. Wrap the appliance in a moving blanket and secure it with a bungee cord, packing tape, or appliance straps.

How to Move a Dryer

1. If you have a gas dryer, the gas valve will need to be shut off and the line capped. As we mentioned before, it’s best to have a professional do this for you if you do not have experience doing it yourself.
2. Disconnect the dryer from power and its exhaust vents. Bundle up the wires and tape them to the side of the dryer.
3. Clean the lint trap and any immediately visible lint around the exhaust.
4. Tape the lid down and wrap it in an appliance blanket. You’re good to go from there.

Wrapping Up

Whether you’re just moving the laundry room to a new spot in the house or to a whole new house altogether, we hope this moving tips guide has helped you to get your laundry and kitchen appliances to their new home in one piece. Once you’re set up, why not come back our way to see how else we can help? AppliancePartsPros.com has tips, tutorials, and genuine replacement parts to meet all your DIY appliance repair needs, and our friendly staff is happy to help you fix your appliances yourself!