The moving process is often stressful, complicated, and little or no fun for those involved. Knowing the tips and techniques that moving professionals use can transform a difficult job into a remarkably easy one, especially when moving large appliances such as freezers or refrigerators.
The first task to accomplish before attempting to move a large freezer or refrigerator is to clear a path from the appliance's origin to the destination. It is often helpful to measure the narrowest dimension of the appliance--typically the width--and walk throughout the house along the path it will be moved through, measuring door frames and aisleways to ensure that they will accommodate it. Although this is an easy task in some houses, other houses may have specific routes that the appliance will need to take in order to fit through. Other houses might require special accommodations, such as removing the freezer doors or removing household doors along the desired route.
There are a number of house protection items that can be purchased or rented at moving supplier establishments. One of the most important of these is a doorjamb protector, which is essentially a small furniture pad that clips onto doorjambs for extra protection. Doorjamb protectors are especially beneficial when moving freezers and other large appliances because of the tendency to scrape walls and wood as they are moved through narrow areas. In the event that no doorjamb protectors are available, consider tacking blankets or cloths around doorjambs for the duration of the move to prevent expensive damages that will need to be repaired later.
To effectively move freezers and other large appliances, specialized freezer dollies are often called for to take some of the stress off of the experience. Freezer dollies are designed to be much lighter than safe dollies while still providing the appliance strap, optional extra casters to lean the appliance onto while walking and optional stair-climb assisters. It is important to note that the stair-climb assisters are exceptionally efficient when pulling an appliance up flights of stairs; simply lean the dolly onto the revolving rubber belts, located on the back of the dolly, and let them make a smoother transition between steps than the jolting experience that most dolly wheels provide. For those who wish to make the job even easier, robotic dollies are also available that will climb the stairs on their own, requiring only the guidance of the operator for navigation.
Appliance straps are another essential tool for lifting large and awkward items. A modernized version of appliance straps is known as the Forearm Forklift and is built for comfort, wear and effectiveness. Simply cross the two straps together on the floor next to the appliance, place the appliance's center over the crossed area, and lift from both sides with a moving partner. The benefit of using appliance straps is that they transfer the weight of the load from a muscle group that is somewhat weak to a muscle group that is very strong, and they also provide extra space for walking with the load.
