How to get rid of appliances in Denver

The short answer

Work in this order and appliance disposal is straightforward. First get it disconnected properly. Second get it empty and dry. Third pick a route: retailer take-back with the replacement, a utility appliance-recycling program if your provider runs one — check their current page, these change — a scrap operator for metal-heavy units, or a pickup.

Our prices, published: Refrigerator (Standard) $164, Washer $133, Dryer $128, Stove / Oven / Range (Electric) $134, Dishwasher $109, Water Heater (Tank) $131. Carried out from any floor. Minimum $75.

Step one: disconnect it safely

This is where people get hurt and where jobs stall on the day.

• Gas ranges, gas dryers, water heaters and furnaces. The gas line must be shut off and capped by someone licensed to do it. We do not disconnect gas and will not move a live connection.
• Hardwired electric ranges and hot tub circuits. Licensed electrician. Breaker off at the panel.
• Water lines. Refrigerator ice-maker lines, dishwashers, washing machines. Shut off, disconnect and drain. In an unheated Denver garage or a crawl space, drain fully — a line with water in it will freeze and split before you get round to the appliance itself.
• Everything else. Unplug it and let it sit.

Step two: empty and dry it

Fridges and freezers get emptied and defrosted, ideally the night before. Denver's dry air helps: at single-digit humidity a defrosted freezer dries out quickly, and there is far less standing water to deal with than in a humid climate.

The garage chest freezer deserves its own warning. Front Range garages hold a lot of them, mostly because of hunting season, and the old one frequently gets left plugged out and forgotten. A garage that runs from single digits in January to over a hundred against a south wall in July does unpleasant things to whatever was left inside. Open it, empty it and air it out well before pickup day.

Washers and dishwashers: run the drain cycle, then tip out what is left. Water heaters: drain the tank fully. A full 50-gallon tank is a genuinely dangerous object on a basement stair.

Step three: pick the route

Retailer take-back. Best when you are buying the replacement from them, the old unit is disconnected, and it sits on the same floor as the door. That describes most Highlands Ranch, Parker and Centennial kitchens with a garage entry on the same level. It describes almost no central Denver basement laundry.

Utility recycling programs. Some providers run appliance recycling with a pickup. Availability and terms change, so check your own utility's current page rather than a remembered rule. These generally cover working refrigerators and freezers rather than a range or a water heater.

Scrap operators. Good for metal-heavy units. Less interested in a fridge with a refrigerant loop and a plastic interior, and none of them will carry it up your stairs.

Pickup. Any appliance, any floor, published price, disposal included. There is no refrigerant fee and no stair charge.

Full price list

A kitchen stripped before a Berkeley pop-top is typically the fridge and the electric range at $164 + $134 = $298. The dishwasher is its own $109 line. A mechanical-room replacement in a Wash Park bungalow — the old furnace and the old tank water heater — is $131 + $131 = $262.

The Denver complications

Basement laundry. The bungalows in Congress Park, Park Hill, Platt Park and Baker put the washer and dryer at the bottom of a steep flight that turns at a landing. This is why so many households have two sets — the delivery crew would not take the old one out, so it stayed down there. We carry it up; a washer is $133 either way.

Mechanical rooms. Older Denver furnaces and water heaters sit in tight basement corners behind ductwork, sometimes with a radon mitigation pipe run past them. Say so when you book so the crew comes prepared.

Swamp coolers. At this altitude and humidity, evaporative coolers genuinely work, so older homes across Harvey Park, Athmar Park, Westwood and the north side have one on the roof. Getting it down is a licensed contractor's job. Once it is on the ground, we take it. An AC Condenser / Heat Pump (Outdoor Unit) is $115.

What not to do

• Do not put it by the alley dumpster. Appliances are excluded from most bulky programs in the metro and the item stays your responsibility. Check your own jurisdiction's current page if in doubt.
• Do not leave a fridge or freezer where a child can get into it. Take the door off if it has to sit outside even overnight.
• Do not drag it down the stairs to save money. It does not save money and appliance-related back injuries in Denver basements are extremely well represented.
• Do not leave a water heater full. Drain it first, always.

Frequently asked questions