How to Pack and Move a Washing Machine Safely
Listen mate, here’s a fair-dinkum story. Bloke I know moved his family from Newcastle to Brisbane last Easter — packed himself, hired a removalist to drive. Got to the new place, plumbed the washing machine in on day two, kicked off a normal cycle. The machine sounded like a cement mixer full of bowling balls. Drum bearings completely shot. Cost him $450 in parts plus three hours of a Bosch tech’s time. Why? Because he’d thrown out the transit bolts the day he originally got the machine installed, didn’t even know they existed, and the removalist’s sling job let the unsupported drum bash itself to bits inside the cabinet on every pothole between Newcastle and the Gold Coast.
I’d reckon about 70% of front-loaders I see at moving day arrive at the new house with knackered bearings. Replacement transit bolts from the manufacturer cost $15–40. A removalist charging you “secure-pack” is usually just slipping foam wedges around the drum and hoping. The maths is obvious — and it’s a job any home owner can do themselves with the right kit.
The Aussie-specific bit: front-loaders sold here mostly use 4 transit bolts (Bosch, Miele, LG) or 3 (Samsung), and the bolt heads are 12mm or 13mm spanner — different to the European 10mm hex you’ll see on US-import YouTube videos. Don’t try to use the wrong size, you’ll round the bolt and then it’s a $200 service call to drill it out.
What you’ll need
- Transit bolts — call the manufacturer with your model number; Bosch, Samsung, LG and Miele all ship within a week, $15–40
- 13mm spanner or socket (12mm for some Miele)
- An appliance trolley or sack truck — NOT a flat furniture trolley
- Two ratchet straps
- An old towel
- A bucket — drain water will come out of the hoses
- Removal blankets — 2 minimum
- A second person — non-negotiable on the lift
Step 1: Order the transit bolts a fortnight before move day
Bosch Australia, Samsung Aus, LG and Miele all sell transit bolts as a service part. Quote your model number (sticker inside the door, usually on the upper inside rim) and pay $15–40 with shipping. They take 5–10 business days. Don’t leave this to the last minute — moving a front-loader without the bolts in is the single biggest avoidable mistake in the whole exercise.
The why: the drum on a front-loader sits on suspension dampers (like car shocks but smaller) so it can spin balanced. Those dampers are designed for vertical oscillation, not horizontal road shock. Transit bolts pull the drum tight to the cabinet so it can’t move on the dampers during transport.
Step 2: Run an empty hot wash the day before
Empty drum, no detergent, hottest cycle. This drains old wash water from the sump and gives you a clean machine to plumb in at the other end. Skip this and your new house laundry will smell like a hostel on day one. Wipe down the door seal and the detergent drawer while the cycle’s running.
Step 3: Turn off and disconnect the water
Two taps behind the machine — turn both off (clockwise). Unscrew the inlet hoses with the 13mm spanner if they’re tight, by hand if they’re not. Drain the hoses into the bucket. There’s always more water than you expect — definately keep the bucket close, not parked across the laundry where you’ll trip carrying it.
If your taps are seized closed (common in older Reece installs that haven’t been touched in 10 years), don’t force them. Get a plumber to come and replace the valves rather than snap a 30-year-old Caroma fitting and flood the laundry. If the new laundry taps are slow-filling once you connect up, our fix slow filling washing machine guide covers the inlet-screen clean that fixes 80% of those cases.
Step 4: Disconnect the drain hose
Pull the drain hose out of the standpipe. Hold the open end higher than the machine for 30 seconds — gravity drains the residual back into the sump, not onto your laundry floor. Then lower it into the bucket. If you skip this step you’ll definately get the wet socks moment when you try to wheel the machine out.
Step 5: Empty the sump filter
Bottom-front panel, pop it off — most have a flap or a small access door. Unscrew the filter (counter-clockwise), drain the 500mL of water it holds into the bucket. Refit the filter hand-tight. If you skip this step the water sloshes during transit and ends up in the electronics, and you’ve now got a $400 control-board fault on top of your bearing risk.
Step 6: Tilt the machine and fit the transit bolts
Pull the machine out 30cm from the wall. With your helper, tilt it back about 20 degrees and have a look at the back panel. You’ll see 3 or 4 holes with rubber bungs (or sometimes no bungs — the holes are exposed). These align with the drum suspension dampers.
Pop the bungs out with a small flathead screwdriver. Thread the transit bolts in by hand first, then tighten with the spanner. They should pull the rubber drum dampers tight against the cabinet — that’s what stops the drum bouncing during transport. Don’t massively over-tighten or you’ll strip the threads in the cabinet steel; firm hand-tight plus a quarter-turn with the spanner is enough.
Step 7: Coil the hoses and tape the door shut
Cable-tie the inlet hoses to the back of the machine. Tape the drain hose up so it doesn’t dangle. Use blue painter’s tape (not duct tape — duct tape leaves goo on white enamel that takes turps to remove) to hold the door shut so it doesn’t swing open mid-lift. Same rule as moving a fridge — see our move fridge safely guide for the parallel approach.
Step 8: Trolley the machine onto the truck
Use an appliance trolley with a strap — not a flat furniture trolley. The trolley goes against the back of the machine, your helper tilts forward, you slip the trolley underneath, then lean back to balance. Strap it on across the front of the machine.
Walk it slowly. Front-loaders are 75–95kg and the centre of gravity is high. Steps are the dangerous bit — bring a third person if you’ve got more than two stairs. I’ve thrown my back out doing the hero solo lift, and twenty-five years later it still grumbles in winter. Don’t be that bloke.
Step 9: Load on the truck upright, strapped tight
Front-loaders must travel upright. Lying down on the side will damage the door hinge and there’s residual sump water that’ll flow into places it shouldn’t. Two ratchet straps — one across the middle, one near the top — anchored to the truck rails. Removal blankets between the machine and any other furniture.
If you’re packing the rest of the laundry too, our pack kitchen for moving guide has overlapping principles for boxing up appliances and breakables that translate to laundries.
Step 10: At the new house — remove transit bolts before you switch on
This is the bit removalists forget. Before you plug it in and run a wash, the transit bolts must come out. Reverse the spanner job, pull the four bolts, replace the rubber bungs in the holes. Keep the bolts and bungs in a labelled ziplock bag taped inside the door — next move, you’ll need them again.
If you switch on with the bolts still in, the suspension can’t move and the first spin cycle will rattle the cabinet hard enough to crack the plastic side panels. Don’t ask how I know.
When to call a tradie
The mechanical job is DIY. But two things are not: the electrical and the water supply at the new house. If the new laundry doesn’t have an existing dedicated power point for the washer (10A general-purpose outlet on a 16A circuit is the standard), don’t try to add one — fixed wiring is licensed-only under AS/NZS 3000, sparky job. Same with the tap fittings — if the new laundry doesn’t have proper Reece-spec washing machine taps with a mini cock isolator, get a plumber to fit them. Snap a 25-year-old fitting and you’re flooding the slab.
Common screw-ups
- Moving without transit bolts because “we’re only going 50km” — drum bearings cost more than the bolts every single time
- Switching on at the new house with bolts still in — cracks side panels, voids warranty
- Using the wrong-size spanner and rounding the bolt head — $200 callout to drill it out
- Laying the machine on its side to fit in a small car — door hinge damaged, water in electronics
- Forgetting to drain the sump filter — water in the electronics during transit
Cost & time
Transit bolts $15–40, trolley hire $25–40/day, ratchet straps $15. Total under $100 in kit. Time-wise, an hour to prep (including the empty hot wash the day before), 30–60 minutes for the actual move, 15 minutes to reinstall and remove bolts at the new house.
Wrap-up
$15 of bolts beats $450 of bearings every single time. If you can’t get the original bolts in time, don’t move the machine — pay a removalist who supplies their own kit, or postpone the move by a week. Driving an unbolted front-loader more than 50km is rolling the dice on a $1,500 appliance to save a $20 part. Mad, when you put it like that. Get the bolts in, drain the hoses, strap her in upright, and your washer will sound the same at the new house as it did at the old. Easy as.
