There’s no question that moving home is one of the most exciting yet stressful things you’ll have to do, so it’s worth investing a little bit of time to make it as painless as possible.

With all the packing and planning that goes into it, it’s easy to forget that your white goods are coming with you. You’ll want to make sure that these appliances are transported safely and properly, and this requires a little bit of planning. This handy guide will tell you exactly what you need to do to get each of your appliances ready for moving home.

Preparation

Begin by removing all food and groceries from the fridge. You can use a cooler to store your food or groceries in if you are taking with you to your new home, or you can plan ahead and try and consume all your food and groceries before your move. 

Wipe down all the cooler surfaces with a solution of baking soda and warm water and defrost the freezer if necessary (you don’t want this to melt and leak during transportation!). For more tips on appliance cleaning, read our guide on how to clean your refrigerator.

Once you emptied and defrosted the appliance, you can disconnect it from power. Make sure you do this at least a few hours before you plan to move your refrigerator. You can put a small bowl of baking soda on one of the shelves to prevent odors from building up. 

Roll up the power cord and clip it to the back of the fridge. Let the refrigerator door stay open to avoid odors. 

The move

If you are moving the refrigerator yourself, make sure you have at least one other person to help you and the correct equipment to move the appliance. Make sure you have a clear path through doorways. Remember, the refrigerator is very heavy, so you may want to consider using professional movers to move your appliance, especially if you have to carry it up or down stairs.

Secure the door shut using either tape or rope. You might want to wrap the appliance in bubble wrap, a blanket, or anything to absorb shocks it may suffer during the move. Secure the appliance to the trailer or truck it’s going travel in with heavy-duty ropes.

Refrigerators travel best standing up. However, this might not always be possible. Though not preferable, you can move your refrigerator laying on its side. Remember, your fridge needs to stand still for hours after the move. If transported on its side, this wait time goes up to twice the time that the appliance has laid on its side.

Relocating and Installing

Once your fridge has been safely moved into the kitchen of your new home, it needs some time to settle before you can start using it. You should let it stand unplugged, in an upright position, for at least 4 hours to allow its compressor oil to settle. Make sure you double that duration if the appliance was transported on its side.

You can plug your appliance in once 4 hours have passed. Make sure that the thermostat control is set to ON but don’t start loading food right away. Allow your fridge some time to cool down to temperatures safe for food storage, which might take up to 12 hours. 

For more information on installation, head over to our guide on how to install your Beko refrigerator.

A note on built-in and integrated appliances

Moving built-in appliances is a little less straightforward as you will first need to remove unit doors from the appliance. Always check with the user manual and installation guide for details on how to do this. 

If you’re a Beko owner, you can download your user manual here, using your product’s model number.