Moving is stressful enough between cleaning up your old home, creating a strategic packing plan, preparing the new home, and the actual act of moving all your possessions from one location to another. The process becomes exponentially more stressful and difficult if you own a lot of your own appliances and large items that you want to take with you.
If you plan to move without the help of a professional crew, you need to be careful when moving these larger items to ensure that you don’t damage the appliances or furniture, or hurt yourself in the process. If you’re preparing to move out of a home with a significant amount of large items, read on to learn the best methods for moving each item.
Washers and Dryers
The trick to moving a washer or dryer is to use an appliance dolly. Along with the dolly, you’ll need a strap that will wrap around the appliance and tighten securely with a lever. Once secure, the appliance can be tilted back and moved quite easily. There should be one person operating the dolly, and another spotting from the front in case of unexpected terrain or in case something comes loose. Once the appliance is on the dolly, roll it up the ramp and into the moving truck. It is usually best to load these appliances first to ensure that there is room in the truck for them. Other things can be simply thrown in the car, while a washer/dryer unit will need a moving truck or large vehicle to transport them to the new home.
Refrigerators
These items can also be moved with an appliance dolly. However, there is one thing to consider, the doors. The strap will typically keep the main door from opening but not the freezer section on top. Approach the appliance from the side closest to the handle. This way, when you tip the refrigerator back, the freezer door will remain safely closed. When moving the refrigerator out of the old home or into the new one, you might find that it is too big to fit through the door. In this case, it is easiest to remove the fridge and freezer door in order to help it fit. Once the appliance is inside the new home, you can reattach the doors—having avoided a headache of maneuvering and any scratches on the fridge.
Tables
Tables can be difficult to maneuver around corners or through doors, and you have to be extremely careful to ensure against scratches or dings. The problem is usually with the legs. Flip the table on its side, and see if the legs are removable. If they are, remove them and secure them to the main board of the table with low tack tape. Without the legs, the table can go through most doors with ease. Once you have the table moved into the new home, place it in the room where you plan to use it before reattaching the legs.
Chest of Drawers
Before moving a chest of drawers, remove the drawers and move them separately. This will require more trips to the truck, but it will drastically reduce the weight of the chest. Make sure that once you have the chest safely in the truck, you put the drawers back into the chest to save on valuable truck space. Once the piece is in the truck with the drawers back in place, you can use low tack tape to secure the drawers so they don’t fly open while in transport.
Riding Lawn Mowers
A week before the move, place a piece of cardboard under your riding mower. This will show if you have oil or any other fluid, which could ruin other valuables, coming from the mower. Special ramps are available to get the mower into the truck, depending on how wide the mower is. Make sure that a wench or come along is used to get the mower into the truck—never drive a riding mower up ramps.
Piano
Be aware that moving a piano is a much bigger task than moving your dining table or a lazy boy—pianos are expensive, and you can easily damage the instrument, your walls, or even your own body if you don’t know what you are doing. If you are moving the piano up or down stairs, it is best to enlist the help of a professional. If you plan to move the piano yourself, be sure to have plenty of people available to help with this project.
Your first step will be to shut and secure the keyboard cover so the keys don’t get damaged. Then, you should wrap the whole piano with packing tape or blankets so it is ready to be strapped and put on a furniture dolly. Professionals suggest that you don’t lift the piano by the legs, and make sure not to turn it on the side when moving it from the house to the truck.
As you can see, it is helpful to have ample amount of help when your move involves the transporting of monstrous and heavy items. The last thing you want is for something to get dropped, your old or new walls to get scraped, or to throw out your back while doing heavy lifting. If you plan ahead, you’ll have the equipment and tools necessary to make a heavy move much easier and safer.
This article was written by Dixie Somers, a freelance writer who loves to write for business, health, women’s interests, and the home niches. She lives in Arizona with her husband and three beautiful daughters. Dixie got her information for this article from the professionals at BC Alberta Movers who assist those moving to Edmonton.
