Let’s play a little word association game. When we say moving house, what are the first words that come to mind? If you thought something along the lines of “excitement” or “new home” that’s great. But if words like “stress” and “disruption” sprung to mind then we feel your pain.

From packing to signing contracts, the actual moving process can feel like one big chore – or about 100 small ones, whichever way you choose to look at it. To make your life just that little bit easier, we’ve put together some of our best advice to help you avoid any appliance mishaps in transit.

Top Tips for Moving Large Appliances

• Heavy appliances can scratch tiles, damage carpets and leave grooves in linoleum if they’re dragged along the floor. To keep your floors safe, pop appliance rollers with wheels under your machines. Failing that, a thick piece of cardboard or a carpet cut off placed underneath your oven, fridge or washing machine will help you can slide it out smoothly.
• Tie appliance doors firmly closed with strong parcel string or rope so they don’t swing open and get damaged. (You can tie bubble wrap to your glass oven door for extra protection.)
• Time to come clean, are your appliances sparkling right now? Give your machines a scrubbing before transportation. Otherwise, dust and dirt will stick to your greasy cooker hob or that sticky fabric conditioner spill on your washing machine you keep meaning to wipe off.
• Measure doorways and openings of your new place so you can work out the best way to get your appliances inside!

Fridge and Freezer Moving Tips

• Make sure to use up as much of your food as possible before you move. Some condiments may have to be sacrificed for the greater good.
• Defrost your freezer and the back of your fridge in advance. The alternative? Puddles in the back of the removals van and decidedly soggy furniture.
• Keep your fridge upright wherever possible and take care with the coils at the back of the appliance. If they get damaged or the coolant leaks into a part of your fridge it shouldn’t, that could be the chilling end for your appliance.

Washing Machines Moving Tips

• When moving a washing machine, the bumpy journey can cause damage to the drum. To stop this from happening, use transit bolts to keep it in place. They usually come with your washing machine when you buy a new one or you can get replacements to suit your machine if you don’t still have these.
• Be sure to remove these transit bolts before you start using your machine though, they could cause your washer to bounce around violently during the spin cycle, damaging your worktops and terrifying your pets. (And you just a little bit.)
• Plumbing in a washing machine is usually reasonably straightforward, so look into connecting your machine up yourself, before paying unnecessarily to hire someone in to do it. With our handy how-to guide, you’ll be tackling the laundry pile before you know it.

Oven Moving Tips

• Make sure the gas is turned off before disconnecting if you have a gas stove. When in doubt, call your gas company to ask for help with this process.
• Remove shelves, trays and other detachable sections and wrap them separately. Your appliance will be lighter and your trays will be protected – win-win!

Dishwasher Moving Tips

• When you have disconnected your appliance, remember to turn off the water supply and disconnect the water lines before removing.
• When you’ve successfully got to your new home, save yourself some cash by installing your dishwasher yourself using our helpful guide.

Top Tips for Moving Small Appliances

• If you’re the organised type now’s your time to shine. All those original boxes and pieces of packaging you kept religiously will come in handy now.
• No original boxes? No problem, wrap your toaster and microwave up in clean tea towels, bubble wrap or kitchen towel instead to stop them from getting scratched.
• If a cable is yanked or crushed in the hubbub of a house move it could affect the power supply to your appliance and stop it from working. Tie up cables with rubber bands and tape to your appliance to prevent cable mishaps. You’ve got the power!

Although moving can be a super stressful time, there’s light at the end of the tunnel. When you’re all settled into your brand new home with all of your appliances in perfect condition you can finally breathe a sigh of relief. But in the meantime here are some more handy house moving tips.

Tags: appliance tips, Moving House