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Often times when a kitchen is remodeled the homeowner chooses to keep the kitchen appliances. The challenge can be where to keep them during the remodel. You need access to the fridge but your oven, dishwasher and other appliances need to be stored safely so they don’t get scratched or damaged.
Often times these appliances are stored just outside the work area but we highly recommend you store them in a separate room. Otherwise you might come home to find your $1200 range being used as a work table by an unwitting carpenter or other subcontractor.
When we remodel a kitchen we talk at length about caring for and storing kitchen appliances during our pre-construction meeting. It’s a important part of our Livable Remodeling approach.
The Oven
The first appliance to focus on during a kitchen remodel is your oven. With a gas oven, you will first need to have it properly disconnected from the gas line by a professional. Once that is done, you will need to remove all of the interior racks and give the oven a good cleaning inside and out.
After you’ve got the oven nice and clean you should cover the front of the oven (and top too if it’s a glass cooktop) with a protective film. We use a blue protective film made by Surface Shields.
Once the range is protected it can be moved with furniture dolly, just be sure to pad the dolly with a moving blanket before loading the range on to it. If you really want to go all out you can hire a professional moving company to take care of the moving for you.
The Refrigerator
Most people will want to have access to their refrigerator throughout the project. Because of this, you’ll want to identify a safe spot in the home where the fridge can be plugged in away from the work area.
The first step should be to clean out the fridge and get rid of any unnecessary items or items that could break easily when moving the fridge. Ideally you’d completely empty the fridge in order to move it but that’s not always possible.
Next protect the front of the fridge with a protective film just like we did with the oven. Then protect the floors from where the fridge is now, to where it will be kept during the remodel. We like to use RAM Board for this. If you don’t protect the floors you could easily scratch them when moving the refrigerator.
Now you can safely move the fridge. Most refrigerators come with rollers so as long as the floors are protected you can just roll the fridge to the new location.
Finally, as a precaution, we recommend emptying the icemaker and turning it off. You most likely won’t be able to hook up your ice maker line and some ice makers can suffer damage if they run without a water supply. It’s also possible you could lose power during a remodel if the electric is being updated. So we always place the fridge on a waterproof drop cloth and place some towels around it in case the power goes off the fridge leaks.
If you are not going to be using the fridge then the first part of this process is to make sure that the refrigerator and freezer are fully cleared out and cleaned. Then, you will need to defrost it. Defrosting your refrigerator is one of the most important steps to complete before storing it, and keep in mind that a full defrosting can take up seven days to complete. Once it has been defrosted and completely wiped down, you will want to have the refrigerator prepared for storage and placed in a climate-controlled environment.
The Dishwasher
You should also have your dishwasher properly stored. To do this, you should first have a skilled professional disconnect it from the water line and have it drained. Afterward, give it a good cleaning and allow all of the moisture to dry out before you close it up. Once that’s done, you should protect the front with a protective film just like we did with the fridge and oven.
Dishwashers are pretty light so two people can carry them pretty easily. But you could also use a dolly.
When you are remodeling your kitchen and plan to keep your existing appliances, it is important that you take proper care of them.
I hope you found these tips helpful. If you’d like any more advice feel free to give us a call.
Thank you for reading! We’d love to be a part of your next remodel. Check out our design services page
