Moving a washer and dryer without the flood

Washers and dryers come with most house and townhouse moves in the Bay Area, and people often assume they cost extra or need a separate appliance company. On a Spartan move they are simply two more pieces of furniture to wrap and carry. There is no appliance surcharge. Like stairs or a long walk from the curb, they only add time, and time is what you pay for at the hourly rate.

Our movers can disconnect a washer and dryer, but they are not certified appliance technicians. When the work involves a water line or a gas line, we ask that someone from your side is present while it is disconnected and again when it is reconnected. If a hose fitting leaks a week later, or a gas dryer connection needs attention, that is a plumbing or gas question, and we cannot take liability for it. Many customers simply turn off the water valves and the gas valve themselves before the crew starts, and have a plumber or the building handyman hook things up at the new place.

An electric dryer is the simplest: unplug, detach the vent hose, move. A gas dryer has a flexible gas line, which is exactly where you or your own technician should be involved. Stacked pairs are separated before they are carried, then moved as two units. We have also helped customers place and stack a ventless dryer inside a closet at the new home, again with the customer present for any gas connection. Front-loading washers have a drum that can shift in transit; if you still have the shipping bolts, set them aside for the crew.

• Run the washer empty on a spin cycle a day early and leave the door open so it dries out.
• Close the hot and cold water valves behind the washer.
• For a gas dryer, close the gas valve, or plan to be there when the crew reaches it.
• Clean the lint trap and empty the dryer.
• Put the hoses and any shipping bolts in a labeled bag.
• Measure the laundry opening at the new home if it is a closet or alcove.

A washer and dryer are part of the move, billed by the clock. A team of 3 movers is $175 per hour and a team of 4 is $235, the same any day of the week, with a 3-hour minimum and 15-minute increments after that. Disconnecting and wrapping a laundry pair adds some time, and stairs to a basement laundry room add a little more. There is no separate line on the invoice for the appliances themselves. Payment is by cash, money order, Visa or Mastercard at the end of the move.

Do not leave detergent, bleach or fabric softener inside the machines. Liquids need to be sealed and packed in a box like any other liquid, and we do not move anything that could leak onto other furniture. For the refrigerator that often travels with the laundry pair, see refrigerator moving.