How to move a freezer by yourself: 10 Steps

If you insist on taking the freezer with you when moving to a new home, then you’ll need to figure out how exactly you will accomplish that task.

Without a doubt, the easiest and safest way to move a freezer to a new house is to hire professional movers who have the know-how and experience to complete the job as quickly and safely as possible.

However, for a number of reasons, you may wish to try and move the said freezer by yourself, especially when you’re moving only a short distance away or when you know you can rely on your friends for assistance.

Freezers come in a variety of designs – chest freezers, upright freezers, compact freezers (the easiest to move) but they are all both heavy and big, thus complicating the transportation phase more than you like. And yet, when there’s a will, there’s a way.

Follow these 10 steps to move a freezer by yourself in the safest manner possible.

Step 1. Prepare all packing and moving supplies

Once you’ve made up your mind to move the freezer to the new home, it’s time to start getting ready to handle the heavy task.

The first step to moving a freezer by yourself is to get hold of the things you’ll need to get the job done without hiring professional movers.

• Furniture blankets. You’ll use them to protect the surface of the kitchen appliance.
• Appliance dolly with straps. Rent a hand truck from a local moving company or purchase the 2-wheeler from a home improvement store.
• Furniture sliders. You might need them to slide the freezer away from a wall.
• Packing tape. To secure the padding blankets onto the appliance.

Make sure you secure at least one reliable helper to help you handle the heavy load safely.

Step 2. Empty your freezer of any food items

Don’t try to move your freezer when it’s full because any food left in the appliance will also add extra weight, thus complicating unnecessarily the task at hand. So, just take out any food that’s inside the freezer not later than 24 hours before the move-out day.

When moving a freezer by yourself, the extra weight of the products inside it is not the only issue. The period in which the freezer will be non-operational will be too long for the appliance to continue to do its job – preserving whatever food items are placed in it

If you don’t empty the freezer, all deeply frozen food items inside it will start to defrost from the moment the appliance gets unplugged in the home you’re moving out of and will stay unrefrigerated until the chest freezer or the upright freezer gets installed properly in the new place.

Trust us – the last thing you’d want is to get spoiled food inside the freezer during and after the house move.

Step 3. Disconnect the icemaker

Some upright freezer models are equipped with icemakers inside them. If your freezer model has an ice dispenser, then you’ll have to disconnect it from the water supply.

All in all, you’ve got two options – you can try to do it yourself by following the instructions in the freezer manual or you can hire a professional to do it for you. Either way, this step needs to be completed before you can move the appliance from its original place.

Step 4. Defrost your freezer

The next step is to defrost the freezer as you definitely don’t want to move it with all the ice buildup inside the kitchen appliance.

Defrosting a freezer prior to moving is easy – you can unplug it and leave its door open for several hours or you can use the defrost function that most modern freezers come with.

It’s important to plan enough time for the freezer defrosting process in your schedule – in most cases, that’s at least 24 hours. As you can expect, the defrosting time will depend on the room temperature and the amount of ice buildup.

Keep in mind that non-drained water will add quite a lot of weight to the freezer. So, collect all the water in suitable containers, then drain it in the sink.

Step 5. Clean up and dry up your freezer

Once the defrosting step is complete, it’s time for clean your freezer prior to packing it up for transport.

Use a soft sponge to clean all freezer surfaces using a mixture of water and baking soda. Remove all drawers or shelves that your freezer may have and clean them up as well.

Then, use a soft dry cloth to dry up freezer interior in order to prevent the buildup of mold and mildew.

Leave the freezer door open to let air circulate inside it. If you happen to pick up any unpleasant odors, the consider leaving overnight a small container with baking soda in it with the purpose of neutralizing the bad odors.

Step 6. Wrap the freezer in blankets

Regardless of whether you’re moving a chest freezer or an upright freezer, you’re going to have to protect the expensive kitchen appliance with sufficient padding materials so that it survives the house move without a scratch.

First of all, secure the electrical cord to the back of the freezer unit using a bit of packing tape.

Then, use masking tape (painter’s tape) to secure the freezer door and prevent it from accidentally opening during the haul.

Finally, wrap the big appliance in thick furniture blankets to create a soft padding layer around it. As you can guess, the extra padding will prevent any sort of damage to the exterior of the freezer.

Step 7. Secure the freezer onto the dolly

The best way to take the freezer out of the home and load it onto the moving vehicle is to use the convenience and safety of an appliance dolly. The soft rubber wheels of the dolly won’t damage the floor in any way and wheeling the large kitchen appliance should be easy and safe enough.

Have your helper tilt the freezer slightly backward so that you can slide the moving dolly underneath it. Tilt the L-shaped dolly back until the appliance is balanced, then secure well the freezer with the straps.

If you need to slide the freezer unit some distance away from a wall, you can place furniture sliders under its legs and pull the appliance toward you almost effortlessly.

Step 8. Wheel out the freezer to the moving vehicle

It’s time to take the freezer out of the home.

If the freezer is too big – usually too wide, it may not fit through the door. And should that ever happens, then you’re probably going to need to remove the door temporarily to create more space to maneuver the large kitchen appliance out of the kitchen.

Also, it’s critical that keep the freezer upright (for upright freezers). If that’s impossible, then remember to place it only on the compressor side of the unit for as little as possible to prevent damage to its cooling system.

When an upright freezer is placed on its side or a chest freezer is positioned on its back, then the refrigerant in the coils will be displaced and some of the liquid may leak into the evaporative coils – the coils where nothing but gas should be present.

So, to prevent damage to the coils or the coolant, keep your freezer upright throughout the move.

Step 9. Load up the freezer into the truck

When you reach the moving truck, load the freezer inside it using the loading ramp. Use all the manpower you’ve got available on Moving day to keep things safe for everyone.

The best way to load a freezer into a moving truck is for you to pull the large kitchen appliance up the ramp while your helper or helpers push the heavy load from behind.

Once inside the vehicle, keep the freezer unit upright and secure it to the side of the truck using ratchet straps or rope.

Step 10. Mind the post-move freezer installation

Upon arrival in the new home, wheel the freezer inside and set it upright in its final location

You can plug in the freezer right away if it has been transported upright the entire time. Otherwise, you should wait until you plug it in.

How long should you wait to plug in a freezer after moving?

As a rule of thumb, you should allow the freezer to sit unplugged for the same amount of time that it was on its side or back. If unsure and to be completely safe, leave the appliance unplugged for 24 hours so that the oil can get back to the compressor unit.

Bear in mind that plugging in a freezer too early could damage its refrigerating system.

Moving a freezer by yourself – that is, without professional movers – can be a risky job due to the serious weight and large dimensions of the appliance. If you have to move a freezer upstairs or downstairs, then the DIY endeavor becomes highly dangerous, so you’re strongly recommended to get professional assistance.

Get a free price quote from experienced movers who will move your freezer quickly and safely.