Top Tips for Moving Appliances to a New Home

Moving appliances to a new home is a preparation game: the fridge needs a day to defrost, the front-load washer needs its shipping bolts back in, and a gas range or dryer needs a qualified technician before anyone pulls it away from the wall. Each machine has one rule that prevents most of the damage, and this guide goes appliance by appliance. If you would rather not wrestle a refrigerator down the stairs at all, dedicated heavy item movers do exactly this job.

How Do You Move Appliances to a New Home?

Move appliances to a new home in three stages: prepare each machine a day or more ahead (defrost the fridge, lock the washer drum, disconnect water, power, and gas safely); wrap them in moving blankets and move them upright on an appliance dolly; and load them first in the truck, strapped tight, with nothing stacked on top.

The table sums up what each appliance needs before moving day, so you can plan the timing.

What Equipment Do You Need to Move Appliances?

Four tools do most of the work: an appliance dolly (taller and stronger than a regular hand truck, with a strap built in), moving straps, furniture sliders for hard floors, and moving blankets with stretch wrap to hold them. Wrap over the blanket, never tape on the appliance’s finish. Add zip-top bags for cords, hoses, and hardware, labeled per machine, plus a bucket and towels for draining hoses. Gathering and prepping is half the job, which is why professional packing covers the prep work most people dread along with the boxes.

How to Move a Refrigerator

Start the day before: empty it, unplug it, and let the freezer defrost with the doors open and towels on the floor. If it has an ice maker or water dispenser, close the water supply valve, disconnect the line, and empty the ice bin. Bag the shelves and drawers or tape them in place, coil the power cord, and strap the doors closed with rope or stretch wrap, not tape on the finish.

Keep the fridge upright the entire way. LG and other manufacturers warn that laying a refrigerator down can shift compressor oil and stress the refrigerant lines. A brief tilt to get through a doorway is fine; riding on its side in the truck is not. Strap it to the truck wall so it can’t rock.

At the new home, how long you wait before plugging in depends on how it traveled. If it stayed upright, most manufacturers allow plugging it in soon after it is set in place; Whirlpool lists 15 minutes for models with R-134a refrigerant. If it had to lie down, LG asks for 24 hours upright before you plug it in. When in doubt, check the manual and give it a few hours.

How Do You Transport a Washer and Dryer?

The washer has one make-or-break step: shipping bolts, also called transit bolts. On front-load washers they lock the drum so it can’t swing in transport. Samsung, for example, tells owners to keep the bolts after installation because they are needed again for a move, and its models use three, four, or seven bolts depending on the line. If you lost yours, order the correct set for your model number; a drum bouncing loose can damage the suspension. Top-load washers usually don’t use shipping bolts, so follow the manual for securing the tub.

To prepare a washer for moving:

1. Run a short empty rinse or drain cycle, then unplug it.
2. Shut off the hot and cold water valves.
3. Disconnect the fill hoses and the drain hose over a bucket and let them drain.
4. Reinstall the shipping bolts (front-load) and tape the door or lid shut.
5. Bag the hoses, bolts, and cord together and tape the bag to the machine.

Dryers are simpler: clean the lint trap, unplug it, and disconnect and bag the vent hose. If it’s a gas dryer, treat the gas line the same as a gas stove: professional disconnect only. Electric dryer outlets are not all the same, so check whether the new laundry room has a 3-prong or 4-prong outlet and buy the matching cord before moving day. In the truck, a washer and dryer ride upright on a dolly and get strapped to the wall, never stacked, even if they were a stacked pair at home. Movers move washers and dryers routinely; tell the crew in advance so they bring the right dolly.

How to Move a Stove or Oven

Electric ranges are a clean-unplug-wrap job: degrease the whole unit first (food residue attracts pests in transit), remove and wrap the racks and grates separately, and put the knobs in a labeled bag. Tape the oven door shut and protect a glass cooktop with a sheet of cardboard under the blanket.

Gas is different: a qualified gas technician should shut the supply, disconnect the line, cap it, and later reconnect and leak-test it at the new home. This is not a DIY step. Older flexible connectors are a specific risk when an appliance is pulled from the wall, which is covered below. Transport stoves upright whenever possible, because laying a range on its back puts weight on the cooktop, controls, and door.

How to Pack Small Appliances and a Dishwasher for Moving

Run the dishwasher empty, then leave the door cracked for a day so it dries inside; trapped water means mildew on arrival. Shut the valve, disconnect the supply and drain hoses, and bag them. A built-in dishwasher is usually attached to the counter with brackets, and some are hardwired, in which case a plumber or electrician should disconnect it.

Small appliances (microwave, air fryer, coffee maker, stand mixer, toaster) travel best in their original boxes if you kept them. Otherwise:

• Clean and dry each one so crumbs and water don’t travel.
• Remove glass turntables, carafes, and blades and wrap them separately in packing paper.
• Coil the cord and tape it to the unit.
• Box heavy items like mixers alone in small boxes; group light ones in a medium box.
• Fill every gap with paper so nothing rattles, and label the box “kitchen appliances.”

How to Move Appliances Without Scratching the Floor

To move appliances without scratching the floor, never let metal feet touch the surface in motion: tip the machine onto sliders on hard floors, or walk it onto an appliance dolly over a laid-down path of cardboard or hardboard. Whirlpool’s own moving guidance says to cover the floor and pull a fridge straight out instead of “walking” it side to side. Appliance-weight loads concentrate damage into small wheel lines, so protect the route, not just the spot.

Can You Move Heavy Appliances by Yourself?

You can move small appliances by yourself, but not a refrigerator, washer, range, or freezer. Plan on two people minimum for anything bigger than a microwave: one steering the dolly, one spotting doorways and stairs. Stairs are the riskiest part of the route, so there the stronger person stays below the load and the dolly goes one step at a time. If the route has tight turns, a long staircase, or a narrow door, measure the appliance and the openings before moving day, and take doors off their hinges if you need the extra inches.

For anything you can’t move safely, local movers with appliance dollies are usually the cheaper option compared with a damaged floor or a cracked cooling line.

Loading, Unloading, and Setup at the New Home

In the truck, appliances load first, upright, against the cab wall: their weight up front keeps the truck stable, and strapping each one to the wall keeps them off each other. Nothing stacks on top of an appliance.

At the new home, level each machine before first use, give the fridge its upright time, remove the washer’s shipping bolts and run it empty once to check the connections, and book the gas technician before the stove or dryer goes back into service. If you have a gas appliance, read the Consumer Product Safety Commission warning on old brass connectors: it advises having connectors inspected by a professional, because moving an appliance even slightly can make a weakened uncoated brass connector fail. Loading the rest of the truck follows the same logic: the same wrap-and-load rules apply to your furniture, from the dresser to the dining table.

Should You Take Your Appliances When You Move?

Take an appliance when it is fairly new, fits the new space, and matches the hookups there; sell or leave it when any of those fail. Before you decide:

• Check the sale contract. In many home sales, built-in appliances and sometimes the fridge are listed as staying with the house. Ask your agent what conveys on both ends.
• Measure. Check the width, height, and depth of the new fridge and laundry spaces, and the doorways on the way in.
• Match the utilities. A gas range needs a gas line; an electric dryer needs the right outlet; a fridge with an ice maker needs a water line.
• Weigh the cost. For a long-distance move, compare the cost of moving an older appliance with buying a new one delivered and installed at the new address.

If you are between homes, appliances can also wait in storage: clean and dry them completely, and leave fridge and freezer doors propped open so mold can’t grow.

Moving Appliances to a New Home Comes Down to the Prep

Every appliance survives the move on the strength of what you did the day before: the defrosted fridge, the bolted washer drum, the capped gas line, the protected floor. Do the prep, and moving day is just careful carrying. Or hand the whole thing over: Spyder Moving and Storage is a licensed and bonded mover with its own crews and trucks, moving kitchens and laundry rooms from offices in Oxford, Hattiesburg, Memphis, Denver, and Colorado Springs, and our crews bring the dollies, the straps, and the experience. Get a free quote and let the heavy part of moving your appliances be our part.