Tips to Protect Floors Under Large Appliances

Over time, heavy appliances can cause dents and ruts on your floors in your kitchen and laundry room. You may also need to move your appliances periodically to clean under them or have them serviced, and you should take some additional precautions to ensure your floors are protected. If your appliance vibrates, it can damage your floors as well.

Appliances and Flooring: How to Protect Your Floors

Here are a few things you can do to protect your flooring from appliances:

• You need to be extra careful when you install or service appliances: If someone installs your refrigerator, make sure they use refrigerator floor protection, have a dolly, and know how to install the appliance without damaging your floors. To remove dirt under and around heavy appliances, use a vacuum attachment with a wand attachment rather than moving them.
• Make sure your appliances are level: Measure the floor under your appliances to ensure there are no irregularities. Even a slight tilt can cause them to move, which will lead to scratches, dents, and scrapes.
• You can prevent damage to heavy appliances by placing them on plywood or using some other barrier to make sure the machine does not rest directly on your floor. Make sure your appliances are not resting directly on your floor. In addition to preventing scratching hardwood, anti-vibration pads can be purchased from manufacturers and many stores. Place them on the bottoms of your appliances.
• In order to keep your floors safe, keep your appliances in good repair: Malfunctioning appliances vibrate more. You may not notice the damage under your appliance until you notice if any parts break, and if your appliance springs a slow leak, you may not notice it for a while. You should keep your appliances in good working order on a regular basis, and call for repairs if they need to be repaired.
• You should put your appliances on hard surfaces like tile or hard-surface flooring that can withstand heavy loads. You should also make sure your flooring will not scratch or dents. You can keep your floors looking their best by applying a top coat or layer of anti-scratch surfacing.

Keeping hardwood protected under appliances

Putting an appliance on top of your hardwood can also pose a threat to it. In most cases, if a home has been modified or if it has existing hardwood, it’s best to put appliances like ovens or refrigerators on concrete or tile. However, if changes have been made or there’s hardwood in the home, this may not always be possible.

You can reduce the risk of damage to your floors by taking a number of steps. First of all, you can ensure that the appliance is level with the floor and that the area where it is installed is level with the floor. Even a slight slant can cause a lot more movement in the appliance and cause it to scoot across the floor during operation.

In order to reduce damage, you can also install a thick piece of plywood underneath the appliance. This plywood will act as a barrier between the appliance and the hardwood floor, reducing the shock that is transmitted to the floor.

A protective barrier can be installed between the appliance and the hardwood to prevent it from being damaged by vibration. This can be done by purchasing anti-vibration pads from the appliance retailer.

Despite a few threats posed by appliances, there are also a number of easy-to-implement solutions to keep your floors safe. But wait, if you are a resident of US, why don’t you search for some professional such as an expert flooring contractor in Chicago.

Protect your floors from large appliances by looking for solutions

You have to use your refrigerator, washing machine, dryer, or any other heavy appliance for a long time to come, regardless of whether it's a fridge, washing machine, dryer, or any other heavy appliance. Likewise, your kitchen or laundry room flooring will also be the most valuable investment, and it needs to be protected and long-lasting.

 Moving a stove out of a wall

Imperial Movers explains how to move a stove out of a wall in a convenient and simple way. This is one of the best places to get tips for removing appliances. Make sure the stove is off by turning off the gas and electrical breaker, taking out the racks and drawer, and cleaning out the inside so nothing gets messed up. Pull the oven out of the oven by tipping the stove back and sliding a piece of cardboard under its front legs.

Put an appliance dolly under the oven's front and secure it with a ratchet strap. Once it is secured, try to roll it out of the kitchen. Remove the oven door hinges or use heavy tape to close them.

Keeping a wood floor from getting scratched when moving a stove

The company also offers some tips for moving large appliances such as ovens, washers and dryers. In order to make sure the appliance can fit through the door, these experts suggest taking measurements first. Remove items obstructing your path first because you may need to remove a door or perform other work to get the appliance out of the room.

If you don't have a dolly, you can rent one from a home improvement store. Compact Appliance recommends using dollies and hand carts, but make sure you check their weight limit. Hand trucks are available for moving a range up stairs if you are worried about it. 

Besides protective plastic floor guides, air sleds and carpet pieces, you may be able to slide the appliance across the floor safely if you swap the latter for cardboard. Protect your walls by covering the appliance with a moving blanket.

Moving Appliances: More Tips

A rug can also be slipped under an appliance, but it won't slide well on the floor if it has nonskid rubber or anything similar on its bottom. When moving large items, West Coast Moving & Storage offers some additional tips you need to consider. Professional movers always use moving pads. You can buy them online. To prevent damage, trips, and falls, tape cords to the sides if your appliances have cords.

Once the appliance is out, do yourself a favor and clean the floor with a vacuum and mop. These appliances don't get moved often, and you'd be amazed at how much dirt and grease can accumulate beneath them. As a final word of advice, don't try to move heavy ovens or other appliances by yourself because of the risk of serious injury. Ask a friend to help you or hire a professional moving company for safety's sake.