The short version
- Anything gas needs a Gas Safe registered engineer. That one is settled by law rather than by any removals firm.
- Hard-wired electric appliances need a qualified electrician, for the same reason.
- Preparation such as draining, defrosting and fitting transit bolts is normally the householder’s job.
- Plumbed appliances vary. Whether a crew can help depends on the firm, the appliance and the property.
- The useful move is to ring and describe your kitchen, rather than assuming in either direction.
- Appliances travel upright and strapped, and a fridge needs standing time before it goes back on.
It is a fair question and it deserves a straight answer, which is this: it depends, and the person who can tell you is on the end of a phone.
That sounds like a dodge. It is not. Some of this is fixed by law and the same for every firm in the country. Some of it varies by company, by appliance and by what your kitchen actually looks like. Knowing which is which saves you a good deal of guessing.
The parts that are settled by law
Gas work in a home has to be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and it is illegal for anyone else to do it. No removals firm can offer to disconnect your gas cooker, however helpful they are feeling.
The Gas Safe Register is the official list of businesses allowed to do that work, and you can search it by postcode to find or check somebody. Every registered engineer carries an identification card, and the back lists exactly what they are qualified for, which is worth a look because gas qualifications are specific rather than general.
The Health and Safety Executive, usually shortened to HSE, is the body behind the rules and publishes straightforward guidance for households.
You will need two visits: one to disconnect and cap the supply where you are leaving, one to connect and test where you are going. Book the first for the day before your date of entry, because moving day has enough going on.
The same logic applies to a cooker or oven hard-wired into its own circuit. That is electrician territory rather than crew territory.
The parts that are normally yours
Preparation is generally the householder’s job across the industry, and it is the part that has to happen before anybody arrives rather than while they wait.
Defrosting the freezer. This takes far longer than an evening and there is no way to hurry it. Start running the contents down a fortnight ahead, then defrost properly with towels down.
Draining the washing machine and dishwasher. Run a short spin a couple of days ahead, turn off the water at the valve behind the machine, and have towels ready when the hoses come off. Empty the filter at the bottom too, which is holding water and a small archive of coins.
Fitting the transit bolts. These hold the washing machine drum still so it cannot swing and wreck its own suspension in the van. They came with the machine and were taken out on day one, and there is a strong chance nobody has seen them since. Look now, because replacements can be ordered by model number and delivery takes however long it takes.
Taping doors and coiling hoses. Appliance doors swinging open on a tenement stair damage the appliance, the wall and sometimes the person carrying it.
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The parts worth asking about
Between the legal rules and the householder jobs sits a middle ground that genuinely varies. Whether help is available with a plumbed appliance depends on the firm, the specific appliance and what the property allows.
This is where ringing beats reading. A washing machine sitting in an accessible spot with a standard valve behind it is a different proposition from one built into a run of units in a fourth-floor flat, and no article can tell you which of those you have.
Things worth mentioning when you call:
What you actually own. Washing machine, dishwasher, fridge freezer, cooker, tumble dryer, and whether the cooker runs on gas or electricity.
Whether anything is integrated. Built-in appliances sit inside kitchen units, often with a door panel attached, and removing one is closer to a joinery job. They also usually stay with the kitchen unless the paperwork says otherwise.
Anything unusually large. American-style fridge freezers are the appliance most likely to meet its match on a traditional stair, and knowing in advance changes the crew rather than the outcome.
The access at both ends. Floor number, stair or lift, and how far the van can park. Appliances are the heaviest thing in the house and the carry matters more with them than with anything else.
What is staying. Half the appliance conversation frequently turns out to be about things that are not coming.
Five minutes on the phone settles all of it, and our team would far rather have that conversation now than work it out on the morning.
Why appliances are treated differently from furniture
A wardrobe is heavy and awkward and that is the whole of its personality. An appliance is heavy, awkward, connected to something, and full of components that object to being shaken. That is why it gets its own conversation.
Three things separate appliances from the rest of a household.
They are attached to the building. Water, gas or a dedicated circuit. Something has to be undone properly and made safe, and in the case of gas that is regulated rather than optional.
They hold water. Long after they look empty. A washing machine, a dishwasher and a fridge with a defrost tray all have more in them than you would guess, and it comes out somewhere between the kitchen and the van.
They have moving parts that need locking down. The washing machine drum is the obvious one, which is what transit bolts exist for, and a fridge compressor has its own preferences about being tipped.
None of that makes appliances a problem. It makes them a planning item, which is a much easier thing to deal with a fortnight ahead.
What tends to go wrong, and when
The failures are predictable and they cluster in the last few days, which is precisely why they are avoidable.
The freezer was started too late. Defrosting is not an evening job, particularly with older models carrying real ice. This is the single most common appliance mistake and it ends with a bin bag at eleven o’clock the night before.
The engineer was booked for moving morning. A tradesperson arriving into the middle of a load is optimistic. The day before is calmer for everybody.
The transit bolts were ordered in the final week. Delivery times stop being background information when there are four days left.
Nobody mentioned the American-style fridge freezer. It is the appliance most likely to have opinions about a tenement stair, and that is far better known in advance.
The fridge was plugged in on arrival. Understandable, since everybody wants somewhere for the milk, and it is the mistake with the largest repair bill attached.
What Glasgow stairs do to appliances
Appliances are heavy, bottom-weighted and a poor shape for a turn, which makes them the item most likely to cause difficulty in a tenement. The half landing is usually the constraint rather than the doorway.
A standard washing machine is generally manageable. A full-size American-style fridge freezer on a traditional stair with a tight turn is a different conversation entirely, and it is much better had in advance.
Two other local points worth knowing.
Measure at the new place. An appliance that fitted one kitchen does not automatically fit the gap waiting for it, and older Glasgow flats have some characterful dimensions. Discovering this with the machine on the landing is nobody’s preferred version.
Think about the close. Neighbours use the stair throughout the day, and manoeuvring a fridge freezer up three flights takes a while. A quick word beforehand costs nothing and prevents most of the friction.
Where the van cannot stop near the close, the carry gets longer and so does the day. Our guide to removal van parking in Glasgow covers what to arrange.
Tell us what you have, what runs on gas and which floor you are on, and we will talk you through what is possible.
Get a quoteAt the other end
Appliances travel upright and strapped, and the fridge freezer needs standing time before it is switched back on. That last one is the mistake with the biggest bill attached and the easiest to avoid.
Give a fridge or freezer several hours upright so the cooling system settles after the journey, and overnight is the comfortable version. Plugging it straight in is tempting when you want somewhere to put the milk, and it is not worth it.
Do not plan a wash the first evening either. Between reconnection, water and the general state of things, that belongs to the following day.
Which leaves dinner, and the answer to dinner on moving day has always been the same. Our guide to what to do when you move into a new house covers the rest of the first evening.
The smaller appliances, briefly
Large appliances get the attention and small ones account for a fair share of the breakages, mostly because they travel loose in boxes alongside heavier things.
Microwaves have a glass turntable that will not enjoy the journey. Take it out, wrap it on its own, and tape the door.
Kettles and coffee machines hold water when they look empty, and a slow leak inside a sealed box is always discovered later and never pleasantly.
Blenders and food processors come apart, and the glass or plastic jug travels wrapped rather than attached.
The one habit worth adopting is keeping the kettle out of the van altogether. It goes in the car with the mugs, the teabags and the milk, and it is the first thing out at the far end. Everything else can wait.
A short list for this week
- Work out which appliances are actually coming with you
- Book a Gas Safe registered engineer for both addresses if anything runs on gas
- Hunt for the transit bolts, and order replacements now if they have gone
- Start running down the freezer, earlier than feels necessary
- Ring your removals firm and describe the kitchen, the floor and the access
- Drain the plumbed appliances a day or two before
- Keep the kettle in the car, not the van
How Glasgow Moving can help
We move appliances regularly and they are among the heavier items in most homes, particularly in flats. What we can help with in your case depends on the appliances themselves and on the property at both ends, which is exactly why the phone call is worth more than an assumption.
Tell our team what you have when you get in touch. That way the right crew and equipment are allocated, appliances are loaded to travel upright and strapped, and anything that looks like a tight fit gets flagged before the day rather than on it.
What nobody can help with is the gas side, which belongs to a registered engineer, and the preparation, which needs doing in advance.
Our packing service covers the rest of the kitchen, which produces more boxes than any other room. House removals cover the move itself, and storage is there where dates leave a gap. If you want to know what shifts a price, our guide to why removals quotes change explains it.
Questions about appliances and moving day
Can a removals crew disconnect a gas cooker?
No, and neither can any other firm. Gas work in a home must be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer and it is illegal for anyone else to do it. You will need one at both addresses, and the disconnection is best booked for the day before you move.
Who disconnects a plumbed washing machine?
Preparation is normally the householder’s job, and draining the machine and fitting the transit bolts certainly is. Whether help is available beyond that depends on the firm, the appliance and the property, so ring and describe your set-up rather than assuming either way.
What do I need to do before the crew arrives?
Defrost the freezer, drain the washing machine and dishwasher, fit the transit bolts, tape the doors and coil the hoses. Have any gas appliance disconnected by an engineer beforehand. That covers almost everything.
What are transit bolts?
They hold the washing machine drum still so it cannot swing and damage its own suspension in transit. They were fitted when the machine was delivered and removed before first use. If yours have vanished, manufacturers and spares suppliers sell replacements by model number.
Will my American-style fridge freezer fit up a tenement stair?
Sometimes, and the half landing decides it rather than the doorway. Mention it when you get a quote so it can be assessed properly, and measure the space waiting for it at the new address while you are at it.
How long should a fridge stand before switching it on?
Several hours upright, with overnight being the comfortable option, so the cooling system settles. Switching it on immediately is the appliance mistake with the highest cost attached.
Do integrated appliances come with me?
Usually not. Built-in appliances tend to stay with the kitchen unless the paperwork specifically says otherwise, and the front panel often belongs to the units rather than the machine. Check the fixtures and fittings list rather than assuming.
Gas safety requirements apply across the United Kingdom and are set by the Health and Safety Executive and the Gas Safe Register, which are the right sources for anything specific to your appliances.
