How to Measure Your Appliances

One of the worst feelings is when you finalize an appliance purchase, and ship it home, only to find out it doesn’t even fit in your house! Many people tend to forget one of the easiest steps in appliance shopping, measuring.

Not every home is the same, we all have different needs and overall different measurements. A huge two-story house with a family of 10 may very well need a commercial-sized refrigerator, but you may not need or even have the room for something like that in a studio apartment. Regardless of your home size, being able to take less than five minutes to measure your appliances is a crucial step in purchasing any new home appliance.

So, snatch your measuring tape and get ready to learn how to measure your appliances the right way!

Measure & Measure Again!

Here’s the thing, if you measure once and think you got the right measurements, think again. If you measure even a quarter of an inch wrong, you will be shattered when the new appliance arrives and doesn’t fit. It’s critical to get the right measurements, so, be sure to do it twice. Even if it feels like an annoyance, trust us, it’s better safe than sorry.

Since each appliance is different in shape and size, here is a rundown of how you should measure each one.

Washer & Dryer

Both the washer and dryer are essentially measured the same way. The height is found by going from the floor, or its feet, and moving up to the top side. Its depth is measured by its side and measuring from edge to edge, the width is found by going in front of the appliance and moving left to right. Most washers and dryers come as a set or at least look identical to one another, still be sure to measure them to get the exact dimensions. Be sure to keep an eye out for any handles or pull-out draws if you need that extra room.

Refrigerator

Start by measuring the height, go from the floor, or the feet of the refrigerator, and measure up top to the hinge. The width should be measured from the right edge to the left edge, lastly, the depth is measured by going left to right from the front side of the appliance. Finally, you can also open your refrigerator at a 90˚angle to jot down the depth while open. This simple measurement works for freezers and wine cellars as well.

Range

Measure the height by going from the bottom of the range to the top of the cooking surface. Do not include the control panel if it has one on the backside. For its width, measure the range from left to right. Lastly, the depth is measured by looking at the widest side and going back. Remember, do not include any handles, and anticipated the range being flushed with any counters or cabinets.

Range Hood

Range hoods can be an awkward appliance, they have a lot of curves and shapes at times which makes measuring a bit more difficult. But fear not, measuring this appliance is very easy. For its height, measure the bottom and go up to the chimney flue. Its depth is going from left to right, and its width is left to right on the widest side. If there are any odd curves or shapes, just stick to the wide parts and true lines.

Dishwasher

The dishwasher is no different than your refrigerator, practically the same in overall measurement. Grab its height by measuring from the bottom, or its feet, and up to the top side. Its width is measured by the front of the appliance and going from left to right. Finally, its depth is found by going to its side and measuring from edge to edge. Just be sure to exclude any handles or knobs and any heating components/wiring.

Microwave

The microwave is an easy appliance to measure. Just measure from the bottom to the top to get its height, go left to right on the widest side for the width, and lastly go from the front edge of the face panel and run to the back for the depth. Again, just be sure to not measure any handles on the front.

Final Measurement

Finally, once you measured everything once, do it again! Then after that, as a precaution, double measure any room and doorway that the appliances might go through to make sure they can fit into the desired room. Many people forget to measure doorways, because of that, they then have to run around and look for different entryways which causes stressful last-minute deliveries. So, as a reminder, measure your appliances, measure them again, then measure your doorways and all entry points!

Have questions about the best refrigerators? Looking for a new washer and dryer combo? Look no further, Airport Home Appliance has the largest collection of appliances in the Bay Area! Head down to any of our showrooms or visit us online for your next home appliance!