How to get rid of appliances in Indianapolis

The short answer

Minimum visit $75, so a $30 microwave on its own bills at the minimum. Everything above is the price whether the appliance is in the kitchen, the garage in Speedway or a basement in Wanamaker.

Step one: disconnect it properly

This is the part that has to happen before anyone arrives, and it is not a junk-removal task.

• Gas range, gas dryer, water heater, furnace. A licensed plumber or HVAC trade shuts the gas off and caps the line. Nobody should be cutting a live gas connection, and no crew should be asked to.
• Washer. Shut the hot and cold valves, disconnect the hoses, and let the drum drain. A washer that still holds water is much heavier and it will leak across your floor on the way out.
• Dishwasher. Water supply off, drain line disconnected, and pulled out from under the counter. Many are screwed into the underside of the countertop.
• Electric range or dryer. Unplugging the 240-volt cord is usually enough. If it is hardwired, that is an electrician.

Once an appliance is standing free and dead, removal is straightforward.

Step two: decide the route

Retailer haul-away only works on delivery day. This is the single most misunderstood option. If a new fridge is being delivered, most retailers will take the old one at the same time — but you generally have to select it at purchase, the old unit has to be disconnected and accessible when the truck arrives, and it is a one-for-one swap. If the delivery has already happened and the old appliance is now in the garage, that window has closed. They are not coming back for it.

Scrap. Central Indiana has plenty of metal yards and they will take steel appliances. You need a truck, a ramp and a second person, and yards may decline or discount a refrigerant unit that has not been evacuated. Fine route for a dead dryer if you already have a trailer.

Municipal bulk pickup. Depends on who hauls your trash, which varies by address across Indianapolis. Appliances are commonly restricted or excluded outright.

Flat-price pickup. Published number, carried out of wherever it stands, disposal and recycling included.

Refrigerant is handled, and it is not a surcharge

Refrigerators, freezers, window and portable air conditioners, dehumidifiers and outdoor condenser units all contain refrigerant. Federal rules require it to be recovered by a certified handler before the metal can be recycled — that is not an Indianapolis rule, it applies in Brownsburg and Bloomington and everywhere else.

Practically, that means your curb is not a lawful disposal route for a fridge in most circumstances, and it means a scrap yard may turn you away if the unit has not been evacuated.

With a flat-price pickup, the recovery and the recycling run are inside the number. There is no environmental fee, no refrigerant fee and no separate EPA line item. A standard refrigerator is $164. That is the whole thing.

The Indianapolis basement laundry, again

If your house in Lawrence, Beech Grove, Franklin Township or Warren Township predates about 1960, the odds are the washer and dryer live at the bottom of a steep basement stair. So does the water heater, and so does the second freezer.

That is the job people call about. A washer is a couple of hundred pounds of smooth-sided sheet metal with nothing to grip, and it comes up on straps with one person below it the whole way. There is no stair fee. A pair is $133 + $128 = $261, and a stacked unit is $189 because it leaves as one piece.

In the newer subdivisions out toward Noblesville, Plainfield and Brownsburg the laundry is on the main floor or upstairs, which is easier but not free — an upstairs laundry means the machine comes down the main staircase past the banister. Same price.

Timing it around the replacement

The order that goes wrong: new appliance delivered, old one moved to the garage, haul-away window missed, old one sits in the garage for eight months.

The order that works:

• Book the delivery and select haul-away at purchase if it is offered.
• If it is not offered, or the old unit is somewhere the delivery crew will not go — a basement, a back utility room — book a separate pickup for the same day or the day after.
• Have the disconnection done before either truck arrives.

A kitchen replacement all at once: refrigerator $164 + electric range $134 + dishwasher $109 = $407, in one visit rather than three trips to a scrap yard.

The garage and the dead unit outside

Two very common Indianapolis leftovers.

The outdoor condenser. After an HVAC replacement, the old unit gets set aside on the pad and stays there. An AC condenser or heat pump outdoor unit is $115 and it contains refrigerant, so it needs the same handling as a fridge.

The garage fridge or deep freeze. Unheated garages here run at outside temperature for five months, and compressors that have been working since the 1990s often do not survive a hard January. Mini fridge $115, chest freezer $146, upright freezer $149. Empty it and leave the door open for a day first if you can.

What you get for the flat price

Two people, the truck, the carry from wherever the appliance stands, the loading, the refrigerant recovery where it applies, and the run to a metal recycler or licensed facility. No stair fee, no weight fee, no tipping fee added afterwards, and no fuel charge for a drive out to Southport or Eagle Creek.

One appliance is usually a fifteen-minute stop. A full kitchen is under an hour.

Frequently asked questions