Who picks up old appliances in Portland

The short answer

Flat per appliance, disposal included:

Visit minimum is $75. Any appliance above clears it on its own.

The Portland basement laundry problem

In most of this country, the washer and dryer are on the ground floor or in a garage. In inner Portland they are in the basement, and the basement is reached by a stair built in 1915 for a person carrying a coal scuttle, not a 200-pound top-loader.

Steep rise. Narrow tread. A quarter-turn at the bottom. Often a low header. Sometimes the only alternative is an exterior basement door with its own set of concrete steps, which in February are wet and frequently mossy.

That is the actual job when you call about a washer in Sellwood, Woodstock, Montavilla or Irvington. It is why two people come, and it is why the price does not move: a washer is $133 whether it is in a Beaverton garage at grade or at the bottom of a 1912 stairwell in Buckman. No stair charge, no walk-up fee.

Refrigerators and freezers: the extra step

Anything with a sealed refrigerant system — fridges, freezers, window AC units, heat pump outdoor units, dehumidifiers — cannot simply be thrown in a load. The refrigerant has to be recovered by someone certified to do it before the shell is scrapped.

That handling is already inside the flat price. $164 for a standard fridge, $183 for a side-by-side or French door, $146 for a chest freezer, $149 for an upright. Nothing is added afterwards.

The Portland version of this that comes up constantly: the second freezer in the basement. Half the pre-war houses in this city have a chest freezer down there, older than the current owners, running or not. If it has been off for a while, do not open it and do not move it yourself. Tell us when you book so the crew brings the right gear and the right plastic.

The other options, honestly assessed

• Retailer haul-away on delivery. Often available, sometimes free, sometimes not, and it varies by store and promotion. Confirm it in writing before delivery day. It also usually only covers the direct replacement, so the old fridge goes and the basement freezer stays.
• Utility recycling programs. Energy-efficiency rebate programs for retiring an old working fridge or freezer come and go in this region. Check with your utility for what is currently running — they generally want a unit that still runs, and they schedule on their own timeline.
• Scrap metal. A scrapper will take a stove or a dryer off your hands. They will not take a fridge without dealing with the refrigerant, and they are not coming down your basement stairs for it.
• Self-haul to a transfer station. Possible. Check the current gate rate and the appliance handling rules first, and be honest with yourself about getting a washer up that stair with one friend and a rented dolly.

Common Portland appliance combinations

Arithmetic shown so you can check it:

• Washer $133 + dryer $128 = $261
• Refrigerator $164 + chest freezer $146 = $310
• Full kitchen: refrigerator $164 + electric range $134 + dishwasher $109 + countertop microwave $30 = $437
• Water heater $131 + tank replacement debris as a small junk pile $82 = $213
• Stacked washer/dryer combo $189 + dehumidifier $77 = $266

If you are gutting a kitchen entirely and there is cabinetry and countertop on top of the appliances, price a quarter load at $241 or a half at $431 against the item total and take the lower.

Disconnection: what we do and do not do

Have the appliance disconnected and ready. Water off and lines disconnected on a washer or dishwasher. Gas shut off at the valve by a qualified person on a gas range or a gas water heater — this is not a place to improvise.

Also drain it. A washer that has been sitting in a damp Portland basement holds water in the drum and the hose, and it will spill on the stair on the way up if nobody thinks about it. Ten minutes with a bucket the night before saves a mess on your own treads.

Access on the day

Tell us the floor, the stair situation, and whether there is an exterior basement entrance. On the narrow blocks of the inner eastside the truck will often park a house or two away — that is standard here and there is no long-carry fee.

Suburban jobs in Beaverton, Tigard, Lake Oswego, Milwaukie and Gresham are usually the easy version: attached garage, driveway, appliance rolls straight out. Same prices either way.

Frequently asked questions