DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

My kitchen is being refurbished at present. The washing machine is freestanding and will be pushed under a worktop in between a freestanding gas cooker and the sink unit. Once the installation is complete, I reckon it will be quite difficult to get access to the machine when it needs attention. The only way I can see of getting it out is to somehow pull it from the front. I did think about perhaps sitting it on low rollers with wheels that can be locked, but the movement caused when the machine is on spin with an uneven washing load might make everything shake about. Does anyone have any suggestions? I can remove the gas cooker but that would give no more access because there is a full width board between the cooker and washing machine which supports the fixed worktop.

Dadwood,
Ensure that the flooring is carried under the WM to give a smooth surface and that the hoses are long enough to pull the WM out - a hand in the door opening is normally sufficient.
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Thank you for that, stoneyboy. I was just a little concerned that if I put a hand in the door opening and pull too hard on the side of the drum, I might cause some damage.

The amount of effort needed just to pull the machine out a little way was immense. So when I eventually got it right out and disconnected, I tilted it over and had a look underneath. There are two rollers fitted at the back of the machine but neither was in contact with the floor! The back of the machine was sitting on its metal base. I removed the roller assemblies and found they'd been put in wrongly in the first place. This must have occurred during assembly of the machine at the factory. How can this happen I ask myself?? Anyway, it was simple to reinstall the rollers, this time BENEATH the support frame, and now the machine can be moved much, much easier. Hoorah.

Dadwood,
Thanks for the update, all we need is the make of the machine - I have met this before on a John Lewis machine.
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Could be that there's a lever for raising/lowering the wheels