Who picks up old appliances in Columbus

The short answer

Four routes exist, and three of them have conditions.

• The delivery crew. If you are buying a replacement, the store will often take the old one. Almost always only the one it replaces, almost always only if it is disconnected, and often only from the same floor the new one goes on.
• Scrap collectors. Metal has value, so people will take clean steel for free. They will not take your dead dehumidifier, your plastic-heavy dishwasher, or anything below grade.
• City collection. Rules for large appliances at the tree lawn vary by address and change. Check the city's refuse collection page for your street before you drag anything out.
• Flat-price pickup. Published number, carried up from wherever it sits. Refrigerator $164, washer $133, dryer $128.

Published prices

A washer and dryer together is $133 + $128 = $261. A kitchen gut of fridge, range and dishwasher is $164 + $134 + $109 = $407. The visit minimum is $75, which only comes into play if all you have is a $30 microwave.

The basement problem

This is the Columbus version of the appliance question. In most of this city, the laundry is in the basement, the old water heater is in the basement, and the second refrigerator is in the basement. Central Ohio homes have real, full, dug basements, and pre-war ones have stairs that were built narrow, steep and with a turn at the bottom.

What that means in practice: a store delivery crew swapping your washer in a Clintonville foursquare may or may not take the old one back up those stairs, and the free scrap guy certainly will not. A chest freezer that has stood by the block wall since the Reagan administration is a two-person carry with a strap.

The flat price covers the carry. A water heater out of a German Village basement is $131, the same as one sitting in a Dublin garage.

Refrigerant, and why fridges are their own thing

Refrigerators, freezers, window units, portable ACs, dehumidifiers and outdoor condensers contain refrigerant. Federal rules require it to be recovered by someone certified before the unit is scrapped. That is why you cannot simply run a fridge to the landfill on the back of a rented pickup and why the free metal collector on your street will often skip it.

Two practical notes. Empty and defrost it the day before, especially a chest freezer, because meltwater in the bottom is both heavy and unpleasant on a stairwell. And tape the doors shut once it is empty, which is basic safety if it is going to stand in a garage overnight.

Disconnection

We move appliances. We do not do plumbing, gas or electrical work.

• Washer. Water off, hoses off, drain the drum. Easy.
• Electric dryer or range. Unplug it. If it is hardwired, an electrician.
• Gas dryer or range. Have the gas line shut off and capped properly. Do not improvise this.
• Dishwasher. Water off, supply and drain disconnected, and it is usually screwed to the underside of the counter.
• Water heater. Fuel and water off, tank drained. A full tank is enormously heavier than an empty one, and on basement stairs that difference matters.

Winter timing in Columbus

Two appliances fail on a schedule here. Water heaters go in the first hard cold snap, and furnaces and heat pumps go the same week, which is also the week every trade in Franklin County is booked solid.

If a plumber is replacing your water heater on Thursday, book the old tank's removal for Thursday afternoon or Friday. What you want to avoid is the standard Columbus outcome, which is a rusted 50-gallon tank standing in the basement next to its replacement until April, slowly staining the floor.

The other seasonal one: window AC units. They come out in October, go in the garage, and stay there. A large one is $109, a small one is $87, a portable is $85.

What about scrap value?

If your appliance is clean steel, sitting at the curb, and you are happy to wait, someone may well take it for free. That works on a driveway in Hilliard. It does not work for anything in a basement, anything with refrigerant, or anything you need gone by Friday because the house closes Monday.

The flat price is what you pay to skip the waiting and the stairs. It is a real trade and worth naming honestly.

Booking

Pick the appliances, see the total, choose a window. Franklin County plus Dublin, Powell, Westerville, New Albany, Gahanna, Reynoldsburg, Pickerington, Canal Winchester, Grove City, Hilliard, Upper Arlington and Bexley all run at the same published prices. Same-day is often available, which is usually what you need when the old fridge is in the kitchen and the new one is in the driveway.

Frequently asked questions