Transporting a refrigerator lying down: What you should bear in mind

If you want to transport a refrigerator lying down, there are a few things to consider. Your refrigerator has a compressor that contains oil. If the refrigerator is transported lying down, the oil will mix with the coolant.

How to transport a refrigerator lying down

Before transporting your refrigerator lying down, you should clean the appliance thoroughly and prepare it for transport. To do this, the refrigerator should be empty and defrosted.

• Remove all food from the refrigerator. Then unplug the appliance and let the freezer defrost.
• Once the refrigerator has defrosted, you should clean the appliance thoroughly.
• To do this, remove all shelves and drawers. Wipe the inside walls with a damp cloth. Use all-purpose cleaner for the cleaning water as needed to remove odours.
• Wrap all the refrigerator accessories well in paper, terry towels or blankets so that nothing breaks. Store everything in a box and transport it separately from the refrigerator.
• Afterwards, close all the doors and tape them, preferably with masking tape, so that the doors do not open during transport.
• Make sure that the refrigerator should always be transported on its side and not on its back. This is because there are important cooling elements and hoses on the back that could be damaged if transported on the back.

Let the refrigerator stand before switching it on

After transporting your refrigerator, never switch it on again immediately.

• If you transport your refrigerator standing up, you can switch it on again immediately. However, if the refrigerator was transported lying down, the refrigerator must be left standing for some time.
• Because it can happen that the oil contained in the compressor gets into the coolant during transport. If you were to switch on your refrigerator immediately, optimum cooling function would no longer be guaranteed.
• Therefore, the refrigerator must be left for some time so that the oil can run back into the compressor.
• Depending on the refrigerator model, the duration differs. As a rule, the appliance should be left overnight. Only then may you put it back into operation.