How to Move a Freezer by Yourself: 13 Simple Steps

If you’ve made up your mind to take your freezer with you when moving to a new home, then you should be aware that the safest way to do it is to hire professional movers who have the adequate experience and proper equipment to complete the heavy task quickly and safely.

Nevertheless, in case you happen to be moving locally – a relatively short distance away from the current place, then you may decide to organize a DIY move, especially when you know that you can rely on your good friends to help you take the freezer out of the house and load it onto the moving vehicle.

Moving a freezer by yourself is not easy but it’s perfectly doable as long as you know the specific steps of the moving process and follow some basic safety rules to prevent damage to the kitchen appliance, avoid property damage to the place you’re moving out of, and last but surely not least – stay away from personal injuries of any sort.

Here’s the best way to move a freezer by yourself – that is, without having to hire movers to get the job done for you.

1. Make sure the freezer is worth moving

Not surprisingly, the very first step to moving a freezer is to question whether you should move the household appliance at all.

Freezers are big and heavy, and as such, they can be really difficult to move from one home to another. How much does a freezer weigh? On average, a chest freezer weighs around 110 lbs., while an upright freezer weighs roughly 160 lbs.

Besides taking into account the considerable weight and size of your freezer, you should really ask yourself if the appliance is worth moving at all. Here are a few questions that can help you make the right decision:

• How old is your freezer?
• Is the appliance working properly? Are there any issues with it?
• Is there a freezer already in the new place you’re moving into? If not, maybe there’s a top or bottom freezer refrigerator that will serve the same purpose. Moving duplicate items is never a good idea, especially when those items are big and heavy.
• Is there enough place for your freezer in the new home?

Bear in mind that moving a freezer to a new home will not only cost you extra time and effort, but more money as well.

2. Ask a friend to help you move the appliance

Your decision not to hire professional movers to help you move your freezer, together with the rest of your household items, means that you’re going to have to rely on your friends’ assistance during the transitional period.

The truth is that you can’t and you shouldn’t move your freezer entirely on your own – it’s too risky due to the serious dimensions and substantial weight of the appliance. Instead, you should have at least one helper, preferably two, to complete the task safely and without any complications.

If you have a family member who’s up to the heavy task, then that’s great. If not, reach out to your friends and see who among them will be willing to give you a hand with handling the bulky freezer. A friend among your neighbors can also prove to be of great help, so make sure you secure such a helper for Moving day.

How to Get Friends to Help You Move

3. Prepare the packing supplies

You’re going to need a few packing materials to protect the kitchen appliance for the bumpy road ahead, so it’s best to prepare them in advance.

• Furniture blankets. Without a doubt, the best way to protect your freezer is to wrap it up in protective blankets. Be ready with several thick furniture blankets.
• Furniture sliders. You may need furniture sliders to slide the heavy freezer – safely and easily – if it’s positioned right next to a wall. Having the appliance away from a wall will facilitate the process of loading it up onto a moving dolly.
• Packing tape. You’ll need some packing tape to secure the blankets and keep them from unwrapping during the moving process.
• Straps. You’ll also need several strong straps to secure the big and heavy appliance onto the moving dolly.
• Moving dolly. Yes, you’ll definitely need to have a dolly when moving a freezer by yourself. Read on to learn exactly what type of moving dolly you should get for the job.

Packing Materials for Moving You Can’t Do Without

4. Get the right type of moving dolly

Considering the serious weight of a freezer, you just have to get a moving dolly to get the appliance out of the home and load it up onto the vehicle with minimum effort and maximum level of safety.

• Chest freezer. When moving a chest freezer, you’re going to need a furniture dolly – the low and flat 4-wheel platform. The kitchen appliance will be centered onto the dolly, strapped for extra security, and wheeled out of the home.
  Just bear in mind that a furniture dolly is not meant to go up or down stairs, so if your chest freezer will have to be moved along stairs, then you’d be better off hiring professionals for the job.
• Upright freezer. When moving an upright freezer, you’re going to need an appliance dolly – the L-shaped two-wheeler that’s also known as a hand truck. This is the same type of dolly you should use to transport your refrigerator. Therefore, if you own a fridge with a freezer compartment, then that’s the kind of dolly you should get.

Rent or purchase the right type of moving dolly to complete the task damage- and injury free.

Moving Dolly – A Man’s Best Friend During a House Move

5. Remove any food products from the freezer

The next step to moving a freezer to a new house is to empty it of any food items that are being stored inside it.

You should do this for a couple of reasons:

• Any food items that are left inside the kitchen appliance will increase its overall weight unnecessarily, thus making your task even harder than it really is. Remove anything from inside the freezer to make it as light as it possibly can.
• Any deep-frozen food items inside the freezer will start to defrost, slowly but surely, the moment the appliance is disconnected from the power supply. And in case of a long-distance move, whatever food is left inside the appliance will most likely go bad and that’s NOT what you want to happen.

Follow the link below to learn what you should do with all the food you have left when moving house – should you take it with you, or should you give it away to people who need it more than you do?

What to Do With Food When Moving

6. Disconnect the icemaker and defrost the freezer

Your upright freezer model may be equipped with an ice dispenser. If so, you’re going to have to disconnect the ice-making device from the water supply before defrosting the entire appliance.

Follow the instructions in the manual to properly disconnect the icemaker. If you’re unsure how to do it, seek advice from a professional.

Then it’s time to defrost your freezer since you can’t move the appliance with all the ice that’s inside it. So, at least one full day prior to moving out (2 days are the recommended period), unplug the already empty freezer and leave its door open so that it can slowly yet surely defrost.

Most modern freezers have a defrost function, so you can use it as well. In most cases, you should plan roughly 24 hours to have the appliance completely defrosted, but the time can be much shorter depending on the room temperature and amount of ice inside it.

Make sure you collect all the water from the defrosting procedure into adequate containers, then drain the melted water in the sink.

7. Clean up the freezer

This step is all about cleaning your freezer prior to moving it to the new place. Basically, you want to make sure that it’ll be ready for use almost immediately after the move. So, what you want to do is take a soft non-abrasive sponge and clean the appliance really well, both inside and outside.

Remove any shelves or drawers from inside the freezer, and wash them using soapy water. If you find any dirty areas that are hard to wash off, feel free to add a bit of baking soda onto the wet sponge to act like very fine abrasive.

Remember to clean up your freezer no later than the day before Moving day. The thing is that you want to make sure the appliance is 100% dry prior to packing it up for transport.

8. Dry up the freezer completely

When moving a freezer by yourself, it’s important that you prepare the appliance for transport in the best possible way.

It’s not only about physically moving the large appliance from one place to another, it’s also about making sure it’s ready to be moved safely to the new place.

Something that you absolutely have to do is make sure that the freezer is completely dried up after you’ve cleaned it. The reason is simple enough – mold and mildew can start forming up inside the kitchen appliance if it’s not completely dry during transport.

So, use a soft dry cloth and dry up the interior of the chest freezer or upright freezer really well. Then, leave its door slightly ajar so that air can circulate freely inside it until it’s time for you to pack it up shortly before the move.

Leave a saucer with some baking soda inside the freezer if you pick up any unpleasant odors coming from its interior despite the pre-move wash. Baking soda is known to neutralize bad odors.

9. Protect the freezer with furniture blankets

One of the most critical steps when moving a freezer to another home is the physical protection of the appliance against any harmful external forces during the haul.

So, how do you pack a freezer for moving?

The very first thing you should do is slide the freezer away from a wall for easier handling. Place a furniture slider under each freezer leg and pull effortlessly the appliance toward the center of the room.

Next, tape the power cord of the appliance to its back so that you or your helper won’t trip onto it. Use masking tape for the purpose to avoid ruining its surface. Also, use a bit of masking tape over the edge of the freezer door to secure it against accidental opening.

Next, wrap several furniture blankets over the entire surface of the freezer, creating a soft layer of padding along its entire area. Don’t leave any areas of the appliance exposed for fear of potential damage to those vulnerable places.

Once you’ve wrapped up the entire freezer in padding blankets, use pieces of tape to secure those pads and keep them from unfolding during the house move.

10. Load the freezer onto the moving dolly

When moving an upright freezer, have your helper tilt the kitchen appliance backward, then slide the appliance dolly underneath and tilt the dolly back until the heavy load is perfectly balanced onto the hand truck. Most appliance dollies come pre-equipped with straps, so use those straps to secure the freezer onto the L-shaped lever. If not, use separate straps or pieces of rope to fasten the appliance.

When moving a chest freezer, your best bet is to use a furniture dolly to transport the appliance out of the house. Tilt the freezer slightly to one side, slide the dolly underneath it, and then pull back until the load is centered onto the 4-wheel platform. Then, use straps or rope to fasten the large chest freezer, going underneath the dolly and over the appliance.

Be very careful when handling the big and heavy freezer. Discuss with your helper what needs to be done, then visualize the next step before actually doing it. In case the risk of damage or injury is too high and you’re not sure what to do next, do the sensible thing and hire professionals to handle the heavy task.

11. Take the freezer out of the house

Once the freezer has been secured onto the moving dolly, it’s time to take it outside and load it into the vehicle.

When moving an upright freezer, you should keep it upright during the entire haul. Why?

If an upright freezer is placed on one of its sides or a chest freezer is positioned on its back, then the refrigerant in the coils will get displaced and a bit of the liquid could leak inside the evaporative coils. Those evaporative coils should contain only gas, so any amount of liquid inside them may damage them. If you must lay the freezer on its side, do it for as little as possible and lay it down only on the compressor side of the unit.

Start wheeling the loaded freezer toward the front door while having your helper or helpers holding onto the appliance and keeping it balanced. Bear in mind that while an appliance dolly can go up and down stairs, a furniture dolly is not designed to handle stairs safely.

Therefore, seek professional assistance if you have to overcome multiple sets of stairs until you reach the moving truck.  

How to Load a Moving Truck the Right Way

12. Load the freezer into the truck

Use your common sense to take the bulky kitchen appliance out of the house or apartment and get it inside the transportation vehicle.

Once outside, use the loading ramp of the rental truck to get the appliance inside the truck. Go slowly up the ramp and use all the manpower you have available on the day of the move.

For best results, you should pull the dolly from the front while your friends push the load from behind while also keeping it well balanced.

When you get inside the truck, secure the freezer to the side of the vehicle using strong straps or rope. Remember to keep an upright freezer unit in an upright position and a chest freezer unit in a normal operating position – that is, on its feet.

13. Install the freezer in the new home

When you reach the destination, unload the freezer and get it inside the new place using the above steps in reverse order.

If you have not laid the freezer on its wrong side during the haul, you can plug it in right away but it’s still recommended that you wait a few hours just in case.

However, if you had to place the appliance on its side or back, then you should wait 24 hours until you plug it in and turn it on, allowing the potentially displaced oil to get back to the compressor unit.

When unsure what to do, then just wait – after all, plugging a freezer too soon could damage its refrigerating system forever.

Moving a heavy freezer is not a joke, so you should never underestimate the situation. Sometimes thinking that you can manage a moving job and managing that job successfully are two different things.

Ask the best movers in your area for a free cost estimate to see how much experienced professionals will charge you for moving your freezer to the new place.  

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