Appliances are the part of a move that goes wrong quietly
Furniture either fits through the door or it does not, and you find out immediately. Appliances fail differently. They arrive at the new address looking fine, get plugged in, and then leak, rattle, refuse to cool, or work for a fortnight and stop. Almost all of that traces back to something that was not drained, not secured, or not disconnected properly at the old address.
The useful way to sort the job is by what has to be separated from the building. Water, gas, a hardwired electrical connection, or a vent through a wall. Anything on that list is a preparation task with a deadline, and some of it is not a task you are permitted to do yourself.
Work through the house in that order about a week before the move, not the night before. Draining takes longer than people expect, and a refrigerator needs a settling period at the far end that you cannot compress.
Washing machines: securing the drum is not optional
A washing machine drum is suspended on springs and dampers so it can move during a spin cycle. In transit, with nothing to stop it, that same suspension lets the drum swing and hammer the cabinet, and the damage is usually to the bearings or the suspension itself rather than anything visible.
Transit bolts are the fix. They came with the machine and most people threw them out. If you have them, refit them. If you do not, a supplier can usually provide them for the model, and it is worth the wait.
The rest is water. Turn off the supply valves, disconnect the fill hoses and drain them into a bucket, then lower the drain hose to empty the pump and the sump. Most machines also have a filter or a drain plug at the front bottom, and there will be more water in there than you expect. A top load machine like the Amana NTW4519JW, listed at 126 pounds and 27 by 27.5 by 44 inches, is a two person lift once it is empty and an awkward one while it still holds water. A front load machine such as the LG front load washer holds residual water in the boot seal as well, so tip it gently rather than laying it on its front.
Combination washer dryers are the heaviest item in this category. The Samsung WD53DBA900HZ is listed at 328 pounds. That is a moving company item with a stair crawler, not a favor to ask of friends. The rest of the washers category sits well below that, but nothing in it is light.
Dryers: the vent and the plug
An electric dryer has no water to drain, which makes it feel easy. Two things still need attention. The vent duct has to come off at the machine and at the wall, and the flexible section is usually full of lint that will end up on the carpet if you do not bag it.
The plug is the real issue. Electric dryers in the United States run on a 240 volt circuit with a plug that comes in three prong and four prong variants, and older homes and newer homes commonly differ. The Amana NED4655EW is listed at 125 pounds with a 6.5 cubic foot drum, and like most dryers it is sold without a cord so the cord matches the outlet. Check the outlet at the new address before moving day. Swapping a dryer cord is a defined job with a defined procedure, and if you are not confident about which terminal the neutral lands on, it is an electrician’s twenty minutes.
Refrigerators: defrost, then let it stand
A refrigerator needs three things. Empty it and defrost it fully, which takes longer than a night if there is any ice buildup. Drain the defrost tray. And if it has a water dispenser or an ice maker, shut off the supply valve, disconnect the line and drain it, because a water line left connected will find a way to empty itself into a van.
Then keep it upright. Tilting a refrigerator lets compressor oil migrate into the refrigerant lines, and running it before that oil drains back is what kills compressors after a move. If it has been on its side or steeply tilted, stand it upright and leave it unplugged for several hours before switching on. Manufacturers give specific figures and it is worth following the one in your manual.
Weight is the other planning number. The GE GNE27JYMFS French door model is listed at 308 pounds and 36.38 by 35.63 by 69.88 inches, which will not go through a 32 inch doorway without the doors coming off, and possibly not with them off. The Galanz GLF11US2A16 at 141.7 pounds and 23.58 inches wide is a different proposition entirely. Measure every doorway, the stairwell turn, and the gap the appliance has to land in. The refrigerators category spans both ends of that range.
The listings are not reliable on installation type
Worth knowing when you plan: the import data on this class of product is often wrong in the field that matters most. The GE French door model above carries an installation type of countertop in its listing, which is plainly a data error on a 308 pound freestanding refrigerator. Use the physical dimensions and the weight, and treat the installation type field as unreliable.
What you should not disconnect yourself
Two categories need a professional and one needs a second pair of hands at minimum.
Anything gas is a licensed job. A gas range or a gas dryer has to be disconnected and capped by someone qualified, and reconnected the same way. This is not a cost saving worth making.
Anything hardwired is the second. A built in wall oven such as the LG WCEP6423F double wall oven is a wall mounted, hardwired appliance in a cabinet cutout, and it is normally the property of the house rather than something you take. If you are taking it, it is an electrician to disconnect and a joiner or fitter to release it from the cabinetry.
An over the range microwave sits in between. The LG MVEM1825F is listed at 61 pounds and hangs from a wall plate with a bolt through the cabinet above, and it usually vents either outside or through a recirculating filter. Two people, one holding the weight and one releasing the bolt, and the ducting has to be dealt with separately.
Small things that cause disproportionate trouble
Pressurized cylinders travel under their own rules. A carbonation machine such as the SodaStream Terra is trivial to move, but the CO2 cylinder should travel upright, secured, out of direct sun and never in a sealed hot space. Check the carrier’s terms if a moving company is handling it.
Glass carafes, ceramic bowls and blender jars should be packed separately from the machines they belong to, because a jar left seated in a base becomes a hammer. Remove trays, racks and turntables from every oven and microwave and pack them flat.
Finally, photograph the back of everything before you disconnect it. Hose positions, cable routes, valve orientations. It costs nothing and it removes the guesswork at the other end.
