Have you ever had a refrigerator move in and not have enough room to move it all the way to the wall? This article will give you some tips on how to move a refrigerator out of a tight space.
How Tight Should The Fridge Be to the Wall?
The fridge should be not so tight to the wall. Most fridges are about two or three inches away from the wall in order to accommodate airflow and ventilation for cooling systems. For more detailes about how tight should the fridge be to the wall you can read in our article How to Measure for a Refrigerator.
If you’ve got a little bit more room than that between your fridge and the nearest obstacle, then keep reading! This guide will show you how move out a refrigerator out of any tight space quickly without damaging its contents inside.
Getting Your Refrigerator Out of a Tight Space
Step 1
Before you move the fridge, make sure that it is off. If there’s not enough space around your unit for people moving appliances, start by pulling everything off of the back panel. Next remove all food items because they can get squished if things go wrong during this process which could cause damage to both yourself and expensive items like ice freezer. You should also unplug your appliance before starting to move it around.
Step 2
Walk the refrigerator on its legs. To slightly raise the front legs off the ground, carefully push it backward at the top. Push on one corner and pull on the other. The side that is tugged will swivel out a bit. Repeat this procedure, but use different corners to pressure and release.TThe appliance will swivel back in the opposite direction from which it was turned when you pull out a few inches of wallboard. A refrigerator’s swivel action is reversed when you remove a bit of wallboard. This is referred to as “wandering” an appliance. Although this isn’t the most effective way to move a fridge across.
Step 3
Use a dolly to move a refrigerator.
After you’ve pulled it out a few inches away from the wall, place a dolly under the back of your appliance and pull. Moose dollies are ideal for appliances because they have wide bases that provide extra stability during transportation. Make sure to lock them by pushing down on one handle once you’ve got your unit steady with this piece of equipment underneath it.
Step 4
Go ahead and try moving forward slowly while applying pressure toward the front end of the fridge without lifting too high off of its most stable base point which is where it’s been placed on top of the moose device until your appliance moves more than just an inch or two any direction.
Now you can move your refrigerator even up to the truck to transport it to a new location. More tips on how to move a refrigerator properly by a dolly you can find in our recent blogpost How to Transport a Refrigerator: Guide and Tips.
TIPS:
- Ask another Adult to Help You Move the Refrigerator
If you need to move a heavy fridge, it’s best to have another person there to help you. In addition, if your appliance is large and will require multiple adults or teenagers to move it safely out of its current location, make sure that they all know how move a refrigerator without damaging anything. It may also be helpful for one person to move the fridge while another stands by to hold open doors and clear a path ahead.
- Use Planks or other Spacers to Avoid Scratching a Floor
This will not only make a mess of the finish on expensive wooden cabinets, it may even damage them permanently!
- Do Not damage Walls while Moving Out Your Fridge
There are a two different ways to move the fridge out of its tight space without damaging walls. One way is to move it from side-to-side until you get enough clearance in front and then move it into that open spot on your floor. Another option is to move the refrigerator straight outside or into another room for more space before moving around corners. If possible try using a dolly or heavy duty appliance cart which will allow you easier navigation of tighter areas.
Airsled as an Alternative
If you’ve got a heavy fridge to move or one that’s especially large, consider renting an airsled.
These units are designed for light transport up to 900 pounds and feature four wheels instead of two like moose carts. Follow the same steps as above, but place the sled on the spot where the wall panel once was, before your instrument begins its journey into space! Airsled baseboards never leave marks on walls, so this device makes it much safer. Transporting heavier items such as refrigerators through the tightest spaces in homes does no harm to existing structures.
Have the Best Experience!
If you’ve probably had this experience we wished there was a better way to move your refrigerator. Thankfully, we have some tips for how to get it out of the tight space without damaging your walls or any other furniture in the room! We can’t wait to see how these tips work for you too!