New Appliance Delivery and Installation Checklist

1. Before the delivery van arrives

Sort these out in advance, because discovering them on the day is how installations get postponed by a week.

• Measure the route, not just the space. Doorway widths, the lift door, and the turn on the stairwell landing. Older Delhi buildings defeat large-capacity machines and side-by-side fridges regularly.
• Check the power point. A properly earthed socket of the right rating, close enough that no extension lead is needed. Large appliances should not share a socket or sit on a multi-plug board.
• Check the water point and the drain. For a washing machine, dishwasher or purifier you need an inlet tap that closes properly and a drain that runs freely. If the floor trap is already slow, deal with that first — it will otherwise become your washing machine complaint.
• Check the floor is level. Uneven tiles under a front loader cause vibration and eventually damage. Fixing them after the machine is installed is much harder.
• Confirm what the installation actually includes. Ask what is covered, what counts as extra material, and who supplies it. Get that in a message rather than a verbal assurance.

2. Before you sign the delivery receipt

This is your only real moment of leverage. Do not sign first and inspect afterwards.

• Photograph the carton before it is opened. Especially any crushed corners or water staining. Thirty seconds, and it settles any later argument about transit damage.
• Open it in front of the delivery person. If the seller says the installer will open it later, that is exactly the gap where damage becomes nobody’s fault.
• Inspect every visible surface. Dents on the sides and back, scratches on the door, a bent door frame, a cracked control panel. Look at the back, which is where transit dents hide.
• Check the accessories against the manual list. Inlet hose, drain hose, hose clips, wall bracket, drip tray, shelves, ice tray, hex key, warranty card, manual. Missing accessories are the most common delivery-day problem and the easiest to sort out on the spot.
• Check the model number on the box matches what you ordered and matches the sticker on the machine itself.
• Write any issue on the receipt before signing. A clean signature on a damaged unit removes most of your options.

3. While the installer is still there

Stay in the room. Every item below is far easier to correct while the person who installed it is standing next to it.

• Washing machine: confirm the transit bolts are removed. The bolts at the back that hold the drum during shipping must come out. Left in, a front loader will bang violently or refuse to spin. Ask to see them, and keep them — you need them if you ever move house.
• Check it stands level on all four feet. Push each top corner. No rocking. This is the check most often skipped and it causes vibration complaints for years.
• Watch a full short cycle, or at least fill and drain. Look for drips at the inlet connection and at the drain hose while water is actually moving.
• Fridge: leave it upright for the recommended settling time before switching on. The manual will say how long after transport. Then check it starts cooling, and check the doors seal by closing them on a currency note.
• Chimney: run it and check the outlet flap outside actually opens. Ask how the duct is routed and how many bends it has. A short straight run is worth insisting on at installation, because it cannot be fixed cheaply later.
• Geyser or purifier: check mounting and leaks. A wall bracket into solid fixing, not a hollow partition, and no weeping at any joint after ten minutes.
• Ask them to run the appliance once and show you the basic controls. Including how to clear the drain filter or remove the chimney filters yourself.

4. Paperwork and the first week

Five minutes of admin on day one saves an argument later.

• Register the warranty. Many brands require online registration within a set window, and extended warranty on the compressor or motor often depends on it.
• Photograph the invoice, the warranty card and the model or serial sticker. Keep them in one folder on your phone. The sticker is usually on the back or inside the door frame and becomes unreadable once the machine is pushed into place.
• Note the installation date and who did it. If a fault appears in the first month, whether it is an installation problem or a product problem decides who fixes it.
• Use it properly in the first week and watch for the small things. A slight vibration, a damp patch under the machine, a door that does not seal, a smell. These are far easier to raise inside the first days than after two months.
• Do not let anyone outside the brand open a machine still under warranty unless you understand what that means. Our warranty and service tips cover this.

Our washing machine buying guide covers the water supply and pressure questions worth settling before you order, and our appliance warning signs page covers the early symptoms to raise while a machine is still new.