A successful and happy move is all about the right decisions. What to move? Do you need to move it? How do you move it? These, and every other question that comes to mind, might give you cold feet looking at your own house. When it comes to the bigger appliances like a dishwasher, moving becomes just that much more daunting.
If you’re here, we assume you’ve decided that the dishwasher in your kitchen is something you want to take with you to your new abode. However, if you have never seen a dishwasher being installed, taking it out might seem complicated. The thing is, it isn’t. It mostly just requires this blog and your power of will. Keep on reading our guide on how to move a dishwasher to know more!
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The first step to moving a dishwasher is to make sure it is empty. Otherwise, you will be greeted by broken crockery as soon as you set up your dishwasher in the new house. Moreover, you need to clean the dishwasher before any of the actual moving. So, making sure it is empty is just as important as it is easy.
Once you make sure that the dishwasher is empty, take all your dishes, glasses, and silverware, clean it all, and pack it separately from the dishwasher itself. We recommend you research a little on how to pack glassware so that it becomes a breezy affair.
Once you empty the dishwasher, it’s a good idea to ensure that the appliance is clean. You’ll have to give it a good clean from the inside and out. This is to make sure that the appliance is free of all dirt, bacteria, and mold.
The easiest way to wash a dishwasher from the inside is to let it run a cycle with hot water. After this, you can leave the machine open for a few hours to let it air-dry completely. However, if you are cleaning your dishwasher in a hurry, you can wipe the insides with a dry cloth or paper towels.
Before you go any further, you’ll need to make sure you have all the tools and equipment you require for moving a dishwasher. All of these tools will make sure you are able to safely and efficiently disconnect your dishwasher and load it into the back of a truck.
The few things that you will need for this job are:
If your dishwasher is in a rather congested place that might require you to crawl in dark corners, we recommend adding safety glasses, gloves, and a flashlight to the list of tools and equipment.
In most modern kitchens, the dishwashing machine is usually embedded in the kitchen counter, next to the sink. At this point, you will have to free the appliance from the kitchen counter so that you can disconnect it from the power and water supply.
To separate the kitchen counter and the dishwasher, you will have to open the dishwasher door and locate the screws of the bracket that holds the dishwasher in place. Then, using a screwdriver of the proper size, remove the screws and brackets. Once you take the brackets and screws off of the screwdriver, store them in a labeled, sealable bag.
To make sure that the dishwasher is perfectly level with your kitchen floor, it is positioned at the perfect height using the adjustments on the adjustable feet. While taking it off, you’ll need to loosen said feet so that the dishwasher can be easily pulled out of its cranny under the kitchen counter.
Start with the front feet. Use an adjustable wrench to loosen the feet so that the dishwasher can fall to its default height. Then, ask someone to lift the rear of the machine, effectively tilting the whole dishwasher on the front feet. Then, you can reach for the rear feet with your wrench, or even your hands. Since these feet will be off the ground, they will offer little to no resistance while being loosened.
Now, you have to pull the dishwasher out of its place under the counter. However, remember that you haven’t disconnected any of the lines that feed into the machine. So, with the utmost care, only pull the machine halfway out of its place.
It goes without saying that you’ll have to do this without delivering any damage to the water or power lines. Speaking of which, once the dishwasher is halfway out, you will see three supply lines at the back. These will be the power supply, the water inlet, and the water outlet.
See Also: How to Move Heavy Furniture by Yourself
One of the most important and basic rules of working with electronics is to make sure that the power is off before you do anything. With dishwashers, it is possible for you to disconnect the power only when you move it first. So, this is when you do it, before anything else.
Now that you can easily reach behind the dishwasher, you will find the wall socket for it, which can be simply unplugged. However, if you see the wire directly feeding into the wall instead of a wall socket, you will have to turn the breaker for the dishwasher from your house’s main breaker box.
Once you disconnect the dishwasher, make sure you tape the power cord to the back of the dishwasher itself. This way, you won’t have to hunt for it in your new house, and you will avoid tripping on it and damaging the machine or yourself.
Before you start disconnecting the water lines on your dishwasher, make sure that the water supply is turned off. You can do this by simply reaching for the supply valve on the wall behind the appliance and turning it off.
Once that is done, you’ll have to disconnect the two water lines that go into your dishwasher. One of these lines is to let water into the machine, and the other one is to drain the dirty water after the cleaning cycle is over.
The water supply line is usually held in place with the help of a fastening ring or a nut that seals the line. Simply unscrew the device used to hold the water line in place. However, before you unscrew anything, make sure you have a small bucket around to catch any water that might be trapped inside the water line itself.
The wastewater drain line on dishwashers is usually piggybacked onto the main drainage line that goes out of the kitchen sink. This draining tube is held together with a clamp attaching the dishwasher drain line to the main drain line.
You will either have to pull on the dishwasher drain line, or unscrew the clamp that holds it in place in order to effectively free the appliance. However, just like the supply line, make sure you have a small bucket around in order to catch any water that might be trapped inside the drainage tube.
At this point, you have freed the dishwasher from all three lines that feed into it: the power line, the water supply line, and the water drain line. Now, before you do anything else, check to see if the lines are free, clear, and kept in a manner where they will not snag, pull, or damage the appliance in any way.
Now, get a couple of people to help you and pull the entire appliance out of its place. One idea is to place towels or thick pieces of cardboard under the dishwasher’s feet. This will help you in two ways: the dishwasher will slide across the floor easily, and it won’t scratch your old kitchen floor as it moves.
Once the dishwasher is out, you are free to pack it up, load it into a truck, and drive off into the sunset. However, just like the plates, glasses, and silverware that you took out, the removable parts like the racks, trays, brackets, and baskets will also wreak havoc on your dishwasher if it moves with everything still inside.
So, make sure to remove all of these bits and pieces before you pack the appliance up. You can store these racks and trays in appropriate boxes with a few packing peanuts. This way, you will ensure maximum safety for the dishwasher, its racks and trays, and everything else that will surround them on this trip to the new house.
See Also: How to Start Packing to Move
Now that the dishwasher is out of its nesting place and empty on the inside, the next step is to cover it up with moving blankets. The thing is, when you start wrapping the appliance in moving blankets, make sure that you don’t leave a single piece of the surface exposed. Since there’s no prediction of what can go wrong in the back of a truck as it gets to your new home, we recommend being extremely careful with something as expensive as a dishwasher.
After completely wrapping the dishwasher, secure the blankets onto the dishwasher with moving tape. Keep in mind that moving tape is very strong and equally adhesive. So, make sure you do not apply the tape directly to the dishwasher’s surface. It will risk the finish of your appliance getting damaged, in the least.
Let’s make one thing very clear: the only person who can single-handedly lift a dishwasher and move it to the back of a truck, is someone built like a dishwasher. These appliances typically weigh in the range of 150-180 pounds and generally lack any points to let you grab them while lifting.
This is where the loyalty of your friends and a furniture dolly come into play. You can buy a dolly in any hardware store, or rent one from a local moving company. Once you have a furniture dolly in your possession, you can make light work of moving something this heavy.
Get a couple of your friends to tilt the dishwasher slightly. Then, slide the dolly underneath the appliance and push it back until a majority of the load is balanced on the dolly’s wheels. Lastly, secure the dishware to the dolly with straps or a rope so that it does not fall off while you push it up the truck’s ramp.
Have your friends keep an eye out when you start moving the loaded dolly towards the moving truck. Once you get there, stop for a second, and make a contingency plan for if something goes wrong.
Once you push the dishwasher onto the truck, do the loading process for the dolly in reverse to get the dolly out from underneath the dishwasher. Then, secure it to the floor and/or the slides of the truck with rope or ratchet straps. This way, you can be absolutely sure that your belongings do not move unless you want them to.
Summing Up
Moving a dishwasher is an enormous task. You might be tempted to hastily get through with a few of the steps on this list, or the entire list. However, that is a very good way to increase the amount of time this would take. So, take your time while you do it. Follow the steps in our guide on moving a dishwasher properly and have a few snacks ready to bribe your buddies. Lastly, make sure to be safe when you handle an appliance like this. Happy moving!
Moving a dishwasher is a rather easy process. However, it requires you to follow the steps in this guide on how to move a dishwasher. Moreover, it requires you to be extremely careful as you are dealing with a 100+ pound appliance that deals with water and electricity.
You will either need a group of friends or a moving company to deal with a dishwasher. To put it bluntly, a single individual cannot move, or uninstall, a dishwasher all by themselves.
On an average, a typical dishwasher may weigh anywhere around 90 pounds. However, they can easily go as high as 150 to 180 pounds, depending on their material of construction, capacity, and make.
Unless you are using a regular wood countertop, this appliance cannot be drilled or tapped with screws. You have to use graded adhesives to secure a dishwasher. However, the former kind of countertop does accept some sort of brackets that use screws to hold the entire apparatus in place.
Yes. If a dishwasher is not properly secured to the walls or the countertop, there’s a very high chance that it might tip towards the floor, or move violently as it goes through a cleaning cycle. This might cause damage to the appliance, to the furniture surrounding, or to you.
Alex Sherr is the founder of My Long Distance Movers, a blog that provides moving information and resources for people who are relocating. He has more than two decades of experience in the moving and relocation industry, and he is passionate about helping people relocate smoothly and efficiently. When he's not writing or blogging, Alex enjoys spending time with his wife and two young children.
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