I'd like to replace the water hoses on my stacked washer/dryer set – the purchase records for the set show that they are 6 years old, and as far as I know the hoses have never been replaced.
They are in a narrow closet that's only about 8 – 10" wider than the washer/dryer itself. If I took the folding door off, I think I could squeeze beside the set to reach the back and replace the hoses, but I still need to slide it out from the wall to gain access to the recessed hose box. It's in a small narrow bathroom, so there's not a whole lot of working space in the room itself.
Since I didn't see the installation of the units, I have no idea how to slide them away from the wall, I don't know if they joined the set outside the closet and slid them in as a unit, or if they stacked them inside the closet.
I see how I could pry up the front of the set to place it on a furniture slider or a very low dolly, but I don't see how to get the back to slide. The back of the set is only about 2" from the wall, so I couldn't tip it back very far to slide anything beneath it.
The washer is a front loader, and the washer/dryer set weighs about 350 lbs.
Is there some sort of specialized dolly that can jack up the whole set to move it away from the wall? Is there some other trick to moving the set?
Even if I wanted to split the set and remove the dryer to lighten the load on the washer or to make it easier to reach the hose box, I'd still have to get behind the unit to disconnect the dryer gas line and power cord.
Any tips/techniques for this, or should I hire an appliance repair person (or team) to do it?
Best Answer
Furniture movers are glides that slip under the feet of furniture or appliances to allow then to slide.
The hard plastic slides on rugs and the fuzzy covers slide on hard floors.
You can slip a pair of these under the front of your unit and, if you can, under the back legs as well. If not, tilt the unit slightly forward and pull. This is best done with two people.
These stackables are usually placed one at a time, but the upper unit clips into the lower fairly firmly. There is often a screw connection. If there is not room to get behind to disconnect the upper, better to pull them out as a unit. Almost always the lines (water, power, gas, vent) are long enough to get the unit free of the closet and to then reach behind it, but check as you go, using a mirror if need be.