How to get rid of appliances in Portland

The short answer

Every appliance has one published number, and it includes the carry and the disposal:

The visit minimum is $75, so a countertop microwave on its own is a $75 visit rather than a $30 one. Everything else on that list clears the minimum by itself.

Refrigerant is handled, not surcharged

Refrigerators, freezers, window AC units, portable AC units, heat pump outdoor units and dehumidifiers all contain refrigerant in a sealed system. It has to be recovered by a certified technician before the shell can be scrapped. That is a federal requirement and it applies to every hauler in this metro, whatever they tell you on the phone.

On our pricing that handling is already inside the number. There is no refrigerant fee, no EPA fee, no Freon charge. A standard fridge is $164 and a side-by-side or French door is $183, and nothing gets added afterwards. If a quote you are comparing is lower on the phone and then grows at the curb, this is usually the line that grew.

The same goes for the disposal itself — the transfer station cost is in the flat price. You are not settling anything up after the load is weighed at Metro Central or Metro South.

Retailer haul-away only works on delivery day

This is the thing that catches most Portland households, and it is worth being precise about.

When you buy a new fridge or a new washer from a retailer in the metro, they will often take the old one away — sometimes free, sometimes for a fee, and the terms move with promotions. Confirm it in writing when you order. But note the conditions that usually apply:

• It happens on the delivery visit and only then. If you say no on the day, or the driver cannot get the old unit out, that window is closed and you are back to arranging it yourself.
• It is one-for-one. They take the appliance they are replacing. They are not taking the basement chest freezer as well.
• It is usually disconnected-and-accessible only. Delivery drivers are on a route. They are generally not wrestling a top-loader up a 1915 basement stair, and plenty of Portland laundry rooms are exactly that.

So: if the old unit is at grade and disconnected, take the retailer offer. If it is in the basement, or if it is a second appliance, book it separately.

The Portland basement laundry, again

Inner Portland puts the washer and dryer in the basement, because that is where houses built between 1905 and 1930 put them. The stair is steep, the tread is narrow, there is a quarter-turn at the bottom, and there is often a header to duck under at the top. Some houses have an exterior basement entrance instead, which in February means wet concrete steps and sometimes moss.

This is the real work in a Sellwood, Woodstock, Montavilla or Irvington appliance job. It is also why the crew comes as a pair. The price does not move for it: a washer out of that basement is $133, the same as a washer rolled out of an attached garage in Beaverton. No stair charge, no walk-up fee.

One practical request: drain the washer first. A machine that has been standing in a damp basement holds water in the drum and the hose, and it will empty itself onto your own stair treads on the way up. Ten minutes with a bucket saves the mess.

Worked totals

Addition shown so you can check it before you book:

• Washer + dryer: $133 + $128 = $261
• Stacked washer/dryer combo + dishwasher: $189 + $109 = $298
• Kitchen swap-out — fridge + gas range + dishwasher + microwave: $164 + $137 + $109 + $30 = $440
• Kitchen swap-out with an electric range instead: $164 + $134 + $109 + $30 = $437
• Water heater + washer + dryer: $131 + $133 + $128 = $392
• Fridge + the basement chest freezer: $164 + $146 = $310

If you are gutting the kitchen and there is cabinetry, countertop and flooring going too, compare against the volume ladder — a quarter load is $241, a half is $431 — and take whichever is lower.

Disconnect before we arrive

• Gas range or gas water heater: shut off at the valve and disconnect, by someone qualified. Not a place to improvise.
• Washer and dishwasher: water supply off, lines disconnected, drain hose out.
• Electric range: unplugged, or the circuit off if it is hard-wired.
• Fridge and freezer: emptied and unplugged. If the basement freezer has been off for a long time, leave it shut and tell us when you book.
• Water heater: drained. A full tank is a different object entirely on a basement stair.

The other routes, honestly

Utility efficiency programs. Rebate schemes for retiring an old but still-running fridge or freezer do exist in this region and change over time. Ask your utility what is currently running. They want a working unit and they schedule on their own calendar, so it is not a same-week answer.

Scrap collectors. Someone will happily take a dryer or an electric range off your driveway for the metal. They are not touching a fridge, because of the refrigerant, and they are not coming down your basement stairs.

Self-haul. Metro Central off Highway 30 and Metro South in Oregon City take appliances — check the current gate rate and the handling rules for sealed systems first. Then be realistic about getting a washer up the stair with one friend and a rented dolly, in the rain.

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