Moving a washer and dryer
Researched and written by Ashley Davis · Reviewed by Emily Johnson · Last reviewed August 2026
A washing machine needs its transit bolts refitted before it moves. The drum hangs on springs and dampers so it can spin off-balance, and without the bolts that suspension takes the whole journey's shocks. A machine moved without them can arrive with a damaged drum bearing, which is a repair worth more than the machine on most models.
What are transit bolts and where are they?
Three or four bolts through the back panel that lock the drum to the chassis, fitted at the factory and removed at installation. They should have been kept, usually taped inside the manual or in a bag with the hoses. If they are gone, the manufacturer sells replacements by model number, and that is worth doing rather than moving the machine unlocked.
How do you drain both machines?
Turn off the water at the taps, disconnect the inlet hoses into a bowl, then run a short spin to clear the pump. Empty the filter, which is behind a small hatch at the front on most machines and always holds water. A machine that looks empty holds a litre or two in the pump and hoses, and that water finds its way out in the truck.
What about the dryer?
A vented dryer needs the duct disconnected and the lint cleared, both from the machine and from the duct itself. A condenser dryer holds water in its tank and its condenser unit, and both should be emptied. Heat pump models should stay upright for the same reason a fridge does, since they contain a compressor and refrigerant.
How are they carried?
On an appliance dolly, upright, strapped. Both machines are heavier than they look because the weight is in the concrete counterweight rather than the shell, and that weight is at the front, which makes a washing machine tip forward off a dolly if it is not strapped. Two people, and never carried by the door or the control panel.
What do you need at the new address?
Hoses, which are worth replacing rather than reusing, and a check that the tap fittings match. Confirm there is a waste connection and a suitable electrical supply where the machines are going. A dryer needs its vent route decided before the machine is in place, because a vented dryer in a room with no route out is an expensive discovery.