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Getting Appliances Ready for the Movers

Carrying a washer or a range is one job and unhooking it is another. What has to be disconnected, drained or shut off before moving day, and by whom.

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· by Michael Blair, Nashville's Mover

Large appliances are heavy, awkward and full of water, gas fittings or loose parts that do damage if they shift in the truck. Carrying one and disconnecting one are different jobs, moving companies draw that line in different places, and the time to ask is when you book. On a local move billed by the hour, a crew that finds a washer still plumbed in or a range still on its gas line either waits on the clock or leaves it behind. Most of the preparation is simple. Some of it is not yours or the crew’s to do, and all of it needs finishing before the truck arrives.

First, which appliances are actually going

In a sale, the purchase agreement decides which appliances stay with the house. Built-in pieces such as a dishwasher, a wall oven or an over-the-range microwave can be written in as staying, and so can a freestanding refrigerator, washer or dryer. Check yours before telling the movers to load something the buyer expects to find.

For whatever is going, give us the list when you ask for a written estimate, noting a counter-depth or French-door refrigerator, a stacked washer and dryer, or a chest freezer. Size decides whether it clears the doorways at the new place and what equipment the crew brings, and a very large or heavy piece may need the gear we use for pianos, safes and other specialty items. A wide refrigerator sometimes has to lose its doors to get through a narrow opening in an older house.

Washers, refrigerators and water lines

Whirlpool’s care page for a washer that is being moved or left unused says to unplug it and turn off its water supply, which it notes heads off flooding from a pressure surge. Then take off the fill hoses, drain them into a bucket, and empty the tub and pump the way the manual for that model describes. Front-loading washers leave the factory with shipping bolts through the back, and Maytag’s page on removing them explains that they hold the drum steady in transit and have to come out before the washer is used. If you kept yours, look in the manual or ask the maker whether to refit them for a move.

An electric dryer comes off its outlet, and the vent hose is pulled off and goes on the truck with it. A refrigerator with an ice maker or water dispenser is fed by a supply line from a shutoff valve behind it or under the sink; close the valve before the line is disconnected, then cap or bag the end so it cannot drip. For a freezer, GE Appliances’ moving instructions say to remove the food, defrost and clean it, and to secure the door so it cannot open. Do the same with the refrigerator, holding its doors shut with a strap or stretch wrap.

Does a gas range have to be disconnected before moving?

A gas range or gas dryer has to be shut off and disconnected from the gas line before it can move. LG’s gas range installation instructions say installation and service must be done by an authorized licensed installer, a service agency or the gas supplier, that the range’s supply valve is shut before the old range comes out, and that an old connector should never be reused on a new one. Hold a gas dryer to the same standard. Ask the moving company whether its crew touches gas at all, plan as if it does not, and book the disconnection for the day before the move and the reconnection at the new house the same way.

In 2023 testimony to the Tennessee Public Utility Commission, Piedmont Natural Gas described its territory as the greater Nashville area of Davidson County and parts of Cheatham, Dickson, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Trousdale, Williamson and Wilson counties. It is one of several gas companies on the Tennessee Attorney General’s list of utilities the commission regulates, Atmos Energy among them, so find out which one serves the new address and set up service well ahead. An electric range that plugs into a range outlet just unplugs. One wired straight into the circuit needs an electrician to take it off.

  • Gas range or dryer: an authorized licensed installer, service agency or the gas supplier disconnects it
  • Hardwired range or cooktop: an electrician
  • Washer and ice maker lines: water off, drained, capped
  • Front-load washer: check the manual about refitting the shipping bolts
  • Refrigerator and freezer: empty, defrosted, doors secured

How long should a fridge stand before it is plugged in?

Makers do not agree on how long a refrigerator should stand before it is plugged in, so the owner’s manual for that model is the figure to follow. GE says a freezer moved upright needs no wait, and one carried on its side should sit as long as it was on its side, 24 hours at most. LG’s guide to transporting its refrigerators asks for the fridge to travel upright as much as possible and to stand for 24 hours if it was tilted, while another LG help page gives about 2 hours for one laid on its side. Let it cool before loading food, which is one more reason the perishables should travel in a cooler, as our checklist for the week before the movers arrive suggests.

Reconnect the washer with new hoses if the old ones are worn, damaged or got kinked in the move; Whirlpool recommends replacing inlet hoses after 5 years of use to cut the risk of a hose failing. Check that the dryer’s cord fits the outlet in the new laundry room. If it does not, the cord can be changed to the manual’s instructions, and LG’s steps for fitting a 3-wire dryer cord call for a 30-amp, 240-volt, UL-listed one; an outlet that needs changing is a job for an electrician. Level each appliance, then run the washer through one empty cycle while you watch the connections.

Sources

FAQ

Getting Appliances Ready for the Movers — questions

Will movers disconnect my washer and dryer?

It depends on the company, so ask when you book. Plan to have the washer unplugged, its water turned off and its hoses drained before the crew arrives, an electric dryer unplugged, and any gas dryer disconnected beforehand by a licensed installer, a service agency or the gas supplier.

Who disconnects a gas stove when moving?

LG’s installation instructions say gas range installation and service should be done by an authorized licensed installer, a service agency or the gas supplier, with the range’s supply valve shut off before the old range is removed. Leave it to one of those rather than the moving crew, and book the reconnection at the new house the same way.

How long should a refrigerator sit before plugging it in after a move?

It depends on the model and on how it traveled, and the makers disagree, so follow the owner’s manual. GE says a freezer moved upright needs no wait and one carried on its side should sit as long as it was on its side, up to 24 hours. LG’s pages give between about 2 and 24 hours for a refrigerator that was tilted. Once it is running, let it cool before loading food.

How do you prepare a washing machine for moving?

Unplug it, turn off the water supply and take off the fill hoses, draining them into a bucket, then empty the tub and pump as the manual for your model describes. For a front-loader, check the manual or the maker about refitting the shipping bolts that hold the drum steady in transit.

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