--- title: "The first week after installation: what to check, and on which day" description: "Thermometers on day two, water joints on day three, flame color and feet by day five." url: "https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/the-first-week-after-installation/" date_modified: "2026-09-26" --- First checks and setup codes # The first week after installation: what to check, and on which day The first week after installation is when a connection that was nearly right shows itself. Check cold storage temperatures with a thermometer until they hold at 40°F and 0°F, look at every water joint after several cycles, watch the gas flame color and the oven burner's lighting time, confirm the machines still stand still, and keep the paperwork together. By [ApplianceInstallation.center technical team](https://applianceinstallation.center/authors/technical-team/) Published September 26, 2026 ## At a glance. Connections settle, feet find the floor and fittings see their first heat. A short look on a few chosen days of that week catches nearly everything an installation can get wrong, while the crew and the store are still easy to reach. Read the whole guide ### Target temperatures 40°F or below, freezer 0°F FDA's figures, read on an appliance thermometer rather than the display. ### Gas flame Soft blue; yellow tips normal only on propane GE says an all-yellow flame calls for service. ### Oven burner on bake Lights in 30 to 90 seconds GE's figure; a longer wait is worth reporting. In this guide 1. Why the week after is worth a schedule 2. Cold storage: trust the thermometer, not the display 3. Water joints after the first heat cycles 4. Gas cooking: flame color and lighting time 5. At the end of the week: notes and paperwork 6. Questions ## Why the week after is worth a schedule An installation is judged on the day it happens, but most connections are tested only later. A compression fitting meets hot water for the first time on the third dish cycle, a laundry machine's feet bed into vinyl over a few loads, and a gas joint sees its first long oven session at the weekend. The first week after installation is the window in which each of those happens at least once. It is also the week in which help is easiest to get. The crew remembers the job, the store's paperwork is on the counter and the packaging may still be in the garage. A problem found on day five is a quick return visit; the same one found in month three becomes an argument about when it started. - Day 1: before the crew leaves, one full cycle of every machine that was connected - Day 2: cold storage temperatures read on a thermometer - Day 3: every water joint looked at after several heat cycles - Day 5: gas flame color, oven lighting time, machines still standing where they were set - Day 7: paperwork, model and serial numbers, and anything still bothering you written down ## Cold storage: trust the thermometer, not the display Two inexpensive thermometers do this job: one sitting in a cup of water mid-fridge, one tucked among the frozen goods. FDA's guidance is to keep a refrigerator at or below 40°F and a freezer at 0°F, and it calls appliance thermometers the best way of knowing. Read them first thing in the morning, before the doors have been opened, on the second and fourth days. Numbers that drift up after a good start usually have a plain explanation: doors that do not fall shut because the cabinet was set too level front to back, a kick plate or mat over the air grille, or less space behind than the instructions call for. Each of those is an installation detail rather than a failure. ### Loading in stages A full grocery run pushed into a unit that has only just reached temperature lifts it straight back up. Load perishables first, the rest over a day or two, and leave space for air to move between shelves until the readings have held steady for a full day. Source: [FDA — Are you storing food safely?](https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/are-you-storing-food-safely) — Keep the refrigerator at or below 40°F and the freezer at 0°F; appliance thermometers are the best way of knowing Close on a dry paper towel under a new dishwasher's front edge. ## Water joints after the first heat cycles The seep that matters rarely shows on day one. Brass compression fittings and rubber hose washers move a little as they warm and cool, and the drip they can start is slow enough to soak into a cabinet floor before it reaches the kitchen. On day three, lay a sheet of dry paper towel under each valve and joint you can reach and leave it overnight; a single drop shows as a gray spot by morning. Look at the drain as well as the supply. Under the sink, the hose clamp at the disposer or waste tee should be dry and the high loop still clipped in place. Behind a laundry pair, the drain hose should still be strapped into the standpipe; LG warns that a drain hose that is not properly secured can flood the room. ### The floor under a laundry pair LG wants the floor clean and dry under the feet, because feet that can slide add vibration and noise, and asks that carpet never block the opening under the machine. After a week of loads, pull the pair forward a hand's width and look for scuff marks or a foot that has turned. A machine that has moved has told you its leveling is not finished. Source: [LG Electronics — Front-load washer owner's manual (WM4080)](https://media.us.lg.com/m/12df7154cf356724/original/WM4080_2023_Owners-Manual_Washer_Eng.pdf) — An unsecured drain hose can flood; keep the floor clean and dry so the feet cannot slide; do not block the bottom opening with carpet ## Gas cooking: flame color and lighting time GE's installation instructions describe what to look for. Soft blue flames are normal; yellow tips on the outer cones are normal with propane; flames that are yellow throughout call for service. On bake, the oven burner should light within 30 to 90 seconds. Check each surface burner on low and high once during the week, in daylight, with the hood off so the flame is not pulled sideways. Keep the installation instructions with the appliance. GE asks installers to leave them for the local inspector and for the owner, and they carry the conversion details and the flame drawings you will want later. If the home sits above 6,000 feet, GE requires a high-altitude kit for either fuel, so ask whether one was fitted. ### A smell of gas at any point in the week The calendar stops the moment gas is in the air. Turn every knob to off, shut the appliance valve if your hand is already beside it, leave lights and switches exactly as they are, crack a window as you go, and ring the gas company or 911 once everyone stands outside. Source: [GE Appliances — Gas range installation instructions (31-2001181)](https://images.salsify.com/image/upload/s--908c05QS--/f3ee5a7cd364e8da504dd855094d7730a19cf416.pdf) — Soft blue flames normal, yellow tips normal with propane, yellow flames call for service; bake burner lights in 30 to 90 seconds; save instructions for the local inspector; high-altitude kit over 6,000 feet ## At the end of the week: notes and paperwork Write down what you noticed, even if it seemed minor: a door that needed a second push, a cycle that ran long, a noise on the spin. Photograph the rating plate of each new appliance so the model and serial numbers are on your phone. Put the receipt, the installation instructions and the owner's manuals in one folder, and file the transit bolts or conversion parts with them. Our guide to keeping installation records covers what else belongs there. - Receipt and delivery paperwork with the date of installation - Installation instructions and owner's manual for each unit - A photo of each rating plate - Transit bolts, leftover orifices and bracket hardware in a labeled bag - Your week-one notes, dated ## Where to stop Four findings cut the week short: gas you can smell, a puddle that keeps growing, scorched-plastic odor, and a breaker that will not hold. Kill the power or shut the supply to that unit, then phone. Snugging a seeping joint on a gas line, touching the refrigerant tubing or opening a panel cover to look is outside the week's checks; if a joint seeps or a flame burns yellow, book a visit and we will reset the connection. Written by [ApplianceInstallation.center technical team](https://applianceinstallation.center/authors/technical-team/). Installers who fit new household appliances, writing from real openings and hookups and each maker's installation instructions. Sources: [FDA — Are you storing food safely?](https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/are-you-storing-food-safely) · [LG Electronics — Front-load washer owner's manual (WM4080)](https://media.us.lg.com/m/12df7154cf356724/original/WM4080_2023_Owners-Manual_Washer_Eng.pdf) · [GE Appliances — Gas range installation instructions (31-2001181)](https://images.salsify.com/image/upload/s--908c05QS--/f3ee5a7cd364e8da504dd855094d7730a19cf416.pdf) For the heart of your home. ## Questions owners ask. ### When should cold storage be at its final temperature? After about a day. From then on, a thermometer on a middle shelf should hold at 40°F or below and the freezer at 0°F, FDA's figures. Readings that climb after the first day point to the door, the grille or the clearance. ### Is a yellow flame normal on a new gas cooking appliance? Yellow tips on the outer cones are normal with propane, according to GE. A flame that is yellow all the way through calls for service. ### How long should the oven take to light on bake? GE's installation instructions give 30 to 90 seconds. Longer than that, or a smell of gas while waiting, is worth a call. ### What is the best way to find a slow drip? Lay dry paper towel under each joint overnight on the third day or so. A seep too slow to see leaves a spot by morning. ## The problems behind it. Each has a page of its own: what it usually means and the causes in the order worth checking. [All 17 problems](https://applianceinstallation.center/problems/) Hazard after a hookup ### Water Leak After an Install: Close the Supply Valve First 6 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Cold Storage Slow to Cool on the First Day 6 causes, cheapest first Problem ### New Unit Vibrating or Walking Across the Floor 6 causes, cheapest first Hazard after a hookup ### Gas Smell After a Hookup: Leave the House, Then Call 6 causes, cheapest first Problem ### New Appliance Not Level: Rocking Cabinets and Uneven Gaps 6 causes, cheapest first ## When it needs a technician. The installations on the right are where this guide ends when the checks do not settle it. ### Pre-installation site check A visit before you order: opening, path in, gas, water, drain, power and exhaust checked against the spec sheet. ### Gas hookup and leak check A new gas appliance joined to your shutoff with a new connector, every joint leak-tested, flames read. ### Water supply and shutoff connection New supply lines from a working quarter-turn stop to each water appliance, tested under pressure. ### Anti-tip bracket and leveling Anti-tip bracket fastened and engaged, leveling legs set, doors square, every foot firm. ## More in first checks and setup codes. What an owner can check before the order and after the install: the opening and the path in, the first days of a new appliance, and the demo modes and setup messages a display shows at first power-on. [The whole section](https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/troubleshooting/) Measure first, then read the first week ### Measure before you order: the opening, the swing and the hookups The old unit is the wrong thing to measure. What to record instead, which clearances to subtract, and the three photos that save a second trip. Measure first, then read the first week ### Setup codes and demo mode on a new appliance: when the display is the whole story Showroom settings, Sabbath modes, control locks and a clock that must be set first. How to clear each one, and when demo mode on an electric oven is really a wiring sign. Guides ### All 18 guides Six sections, by what you are trying to find out. --- **[Read on the site: The first week after installation: what to check, and on which day](https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/the-first-week-after-installation/)** **[Book a visit with ApplianceInstallation.center](https://applianceinstallation.center/schedule/)**