Getting an appliance ready to move, one appliance at a time
Most appliances that arrive broken were not dropped. They were moved before they were ready. A washing machine without its transit bolts refitted has a heavy drum swinging on springs for the whole journey, a fridge laid on its side can push compressor oil into pipework that is meant to stay clear, and a dishwasher lifted out with the waste hose still connected pulls water across the kitchen floor. None of that is about strength or care on the day. It is about twenty minutes of preparation the night before. This section is what we would tell you on the phone, appliance by appliance, including the two jobs we are not allowed to do for you.
Washing machines and tumble dryers: the transit bolts are the job
A washing machine drum sits on springs and dampers so it can move while it spins. Transit bolts lock it solid for transport. They are the long bolts that were in the back of the machine when it was delivered, and they should have been put somewhere safe on the day it was installed. If you still have them, refit them before we arrive. If you do not, tell us when you book, because the machine can still be moved but it needs handling as a fragile item rather than a solid one, and we will keep the journey short and slow.
Before the day, turn off the water at the tap behind the machine, disconnect the fill hose into a bowl because there is always water left in it, and run the drain hose into that same bowl to empty the pump. Tape the hoses and the cable to the back of the machine so nothing catches on a doorframe. Tape the door shut. A condenser dryer has a water tank that needs emptying, and a vented dryer just needs its hose detached.
Fridges, freezers and American style fridge freezers
Defrosting is the step people skip and regret. A freezer that has not been defrosted carries loose water and ice that moves on the drive and leaks into the electronics or across a carpet at the other end. Empty it, switch it off and leave the doors open overnight with a towel underneath, then dry the inside before we come. Take out the shelves and drawers and pack them separately or tape them in place, because loose glass shelves in a moving appliance are the most common breakage we see.
Fridges and freezers travel upright with us and we do not tip them, which protects the sealed system and the seals. When it reaches the new kitchen, leave it standing and unplugged for the period the manufacturer's manual specifies before switching it on. Different makes give different times and we will not guess a number for you, so keep the manual or look up your model. An American style fridge freezer is the one that catches people out on size rather than weight, which the fitting section below covers.
Dishwashers, washer dryers and anything plumbed in
Turn off the isolation valve under the sink or behind the unit first, then disconnect the fill hose into a bowl and lift the waste hose out of its standpipe or spigot. There is always residual water in the sump of a dishwasher, so tilt it gently into a towel once it is free rather than carrying it flat across the floor. Secure the door, tape the hoses to the back and let us do the lifting from there.
Cookers, ovens and hobs, and the point where the law stops us
This is the line we will not cross, and we would rather say it plainly here than on the doorstep.
What Kruze can and cannot legally do with each appliance| Appliance | What Kruze does | What needs a registered or qualified person | Why |
|---|
| Gas cooker, gas hob, gas oven | Lift, transport and place, once it has been disconnected | Disconnect and reconnect, and the safety check afterwards, by a Gas Safe registered engineer | GSIUR 1998 reg 3 requires competence for work on a gas fitting, with an approved class of persons |
| Hardwired electric cooker | Lift, transport and place, once it has been disconnected | Disconnect and reconnect at the cooker switch or consumer unit, by a qualified electrician | It is a fixed wiring connection, not a plug |
| Plug-in electric oven, microwave, fridge, freezer | Unplug, move and place | Nothing | A 13 amp plug is a plug |
| Washing machine, dishwasher, washer dryer | Hoses off, move and place, hoses back on | Nothing, unless the plumbing itself needs altering | Push fit hose connections are a householder job |
Book the Gas Safe engineer for the morning of the move, not the afternoon. The commonest delay we see on a kitchen move is a van and two crew standing in a kitchen waiting for an engineer who was booked for after lunch. HSE's domestic gas pages are the place to read the duty, and you can check any engineer's registration before you let them touch the cooker.
Will it actually fit? Measure the doorway, not the appliance
The measurement that decides the job is the narrowest point on the route, not the appliance. That is usually an internal door, a turn at the top of a staircase or a lift car. Measure the door opening with the door standing open, not the frame, because the door leaf itself steals a couple of centimetres. Then measure the appliance including the handle and any door that projects.
Typical appliance widths against a typical UK internal door| Item | Typical width | The catch |
|---|
| Standard freestanding appliance | about 60cm | Fits nearly everything, so the route is rarely the problem |
| Standard UK internal door opening | roughly 68cm to 76cm | Hinges and the open door leaf reduce the real gap |
| American style fridge freezer | about 89cm to 92cm | Will not pass a standard internal door. Doors often have to come off the appliance, and sometimes the room door comes off its hinges |
| Range cooker | 90cm or 100cm | Heavy as well as wide, and needs two people plus a route with no tight turn |
These are typical figures and not a standard. Measure yours. Send us the two numbers when you book, along with a photo of the doorway and of the stairs if there are any, and we will bring the right van and the right number of hands rather than discovering the problem with the appliance halfway up a staircase.
Why we send two people to some jobs and one to others
A full height fridge freezer or a range cooker is not a one-person lift, and a staircase turns a heavy lift into an awkward one. HSE's manual handling guidance is built around avoiding hazardous handling where it can be avoided, then assessing and reducing what is left, and it is explicit that the law does not set specific weight limits. That is why we ask about the route rather than only the weight. Two flights of stairs can make a lighter appliance the harder job.
So a single plug-in appliance on a ground floor going a short distance is a van and driver at £75 for the first hour and £40 for each hour after that. A full height fridge freezer, a range cooker, or anything that has to come down stairs or out of a tight galley kitchen is two men and a van at £100 for the first hour and £55 after that, which is both safer and usually quicker. The price is agreed before we start and nothing is added for stairs or a long carry. If you are moving one item and nothing else, our single item move page prices that shape of job, and for a whole kitchen moving with the rest of the house, home removals is the better starting point.
When we are not the right answer, and the old appliance
If you are buying a replacement, check the retailer first. Under the WEEE rules a seller must provide a way for you to dispose of the old item when they sell you a new version of the same thing, free, either in store or through an alternative service. Plenty of people pay separately for a removal they were already entitled to. Ask at the point of sale.
If the old appliance is simply going, that is a disposal job rather than a moving job and it is priced differently. Fridges and freezers have their own route because of the gases in the sealed system, and disposing of a fridge or freezer in Leeds covers what happens to them and the current position at the tips. For a washer, dryer, oven or dishwasher, appliance disposal is the page you want. If you have a mix of items and only some are moving, say so when you book and we will do both in one visit.
Appliance moving questions we get asked in Leeds
Do you disconnect and reconnect a washing machine?
Yes. Hoses are a push fit or a screw fit and that is a householder job, so we will take them off and put them back on. We do not alter the plumbing itself. Gas is different and is covered above.
I have lost the transit bolts for my washing machine. Can it still be moved?
Yes, but tell us when you book. Without the bolts the drum is loose on its springs, so the machine is handled as a fragile item and the journey is kept short and steady. Replacement bolts are available for most models and fitting them is the safer option if you have time before the move.
How long do I leave a fridge before switching it on?
Follow the manual for your model. We move fridges and freezers upright rather than on their side, which is what protects the sealed system, and the manufacturer's standing time is the number to use. We would rather tell you to check than give you a figure that is wrong for your appliance.
My American fridge freezer will not fit through the door. What happens?
Usually the appliance doors come off, which is a normal part of the job for that size of unit, and occasionally an internal door has to come off its hinges. Measure the narrowest point on the route and send us a photo when you book so the right crew turns up.
Can you move one appliance across Leeds, or do I have to book a whole removal?
One appliance is fine. That is a van and driver from £75 for the first hour. If it is heavy or there are stairs, two people is the safer booking at £100 for the first hour.
Do you move appliances outside Leeds?
Yes, across Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield, Wakefield, Harrogate and Barnsley, and further afield for a delivery. For a one-off appliance going a long distance, appliance delivery is often the better fit than an hourly removal. For heavy specialist single items such as a pool table, see pool table removals. If you would rather we packed the kitchen around the appliances too, packing services covers that, and man and van is the flexible option for a mixed load.
