The dead fridge, the washer that finally quit, the water heater down in the basement. Refrigerators $221 flat, washer $179, dryer $172, water heater $176 — quoted from a photo before we come. We disconnect it, carry it up the basement stairs, and haul it, with refrigerant recovered by certified handlers and the metal recycled. Often the same day your new one is delivered.
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Same-day is usually open, no surcharge. Getting a delivery? Give us the window and we'll clear the space before the new unit lands.
We disconnect a standard hookup, drain what needs draining, carry it up and out, recover refrigerant through certified handlers, and recycle the metal.
Flat by unit, from your photo. Disconnecting a standard hookup, the carry — including up from a basement — and the disposal are all inside the number. Refrigerant appliances price higher than the rest for a concrete reason, covered in the section below.
| Appliance | Flat price |
|---|---|
| Microwave (countertop) | $40 |
| Garbage disposal | $63 |
| Range hood | $71 |
| Microwave (built-in / over-range) | $73 |
| Trash compactor | $82 |
| Dehumidifier | $104 |
| Window air conditioner | $107 |
| Portable air conditioner | $114 |
| Tankless water heater | $121 |
| Dishwasher | $147 |
| Mini fridge | $155 |
| Electric range / oven | $172 |
| Dryer | $172 |
| Gas range / oven | $176 |
| Tank water heater | $176 |
| Washer | $179 |
| Chest freezer | $196 |
| Upright freezer | $201 |
| Refrigerator | $221 |
| Washer + dryer (stacked set) | $225 |
| Refrigerator — large / side-by-side | $246 |
$95 minimum on a single-item trip — a $40 countertop microwave on its own still bills at $95, because that's the floor for sending a truck and a two-person crew. Most appliance calls aren't one item: a washer and dryer together, or the whole kitchen coming out with a remodel. Send one photo and we price the set. A full kitchen or a landlord turnover with cabinets and debris prices as truck-fill — quarter truck $325, half $580, three-quarters $790, full $985.
Third-party context: cost guides from Homeyou and Yelp Costs put an average Seattle junk-removal job at roughly $253–$325, across a range of about $170–$433. Separately, a Seattle resident reported being quoted around $400 by 1-800-GOT-JUNK for a single refrigerator — a useful benchmark for what volume-based pricing does to a one-appliance job. Ours is $221, fixed in advance.
On tax: Washington does not apply its retail sales tax to junk-removal service. A 3.6% state refuse and solid-waste collection tax (RCW 82.18) rides on the disposal portion and appears in your total.
| Option | Cost | Speed | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| SPU special-items pickup | $30 per item | Your next garbage day | Curbside only, by appointment — crews won't enter the house, come down basement stairs, or touch a crawlspace water heater |
| Retailer haul-away with delivery | Often $0–$50, sometimes refused | Delivery day only | Usually requires the old unit already disconnected and clear of the basement; many crews decline gas, water-heater and stair jobs outright |
| Scrap metal / donation | Free or small payout | Days | Scrappers want it at the curb and working appliances only; refrigerant units still need certified recovery first |
| Self-haul to a King County transfer station | $40.25 minimum load + $30 per refrigerant unit + $25 if unsecured | An afternoon | You disconnect, load and strap a 250-lb appliance; non-refrigerant units must be residential and completely empty |
| JunkRabbit | $221 flat for a fridge, $40 and up per unit | Same day | None — flat photo price, disconnected, carried up from the basement, refrigerant recovered |
Every cheap option in that table assumes the appliance is already outside and already legal to dump. Getting a fridge out of a basement and getting the refrigerant handled properly is the job — that's the part we're priced for.
Seattle Public Utilities will collect an appliance through its special-items pickup — $30 per item, by appointment, curbside only, scheduled onto your next regular garbage day. The terms are at seattle.gov/specialitems. On paper that's cheap. In practice it answers a question almost nobody is actually asking, because the hard part of appliance removal in Seattle isn't the disposal fee — it's the twenty feet between the appliance and the curb.
A refrigerator in a Ballard Craftsman basement is not a curbside item. A water heater in a Wallingford crawlspace is not a curbside item. SPU crews collect from the curb: they don't come inside, don't come down basement stairs, and don't crawl under a house. So the program only works for people who have already solved the problem themselves — and a full-size fridge or a drained tank water heater is a two-person, 200-to-300-pound stair carry.
Then there's the refrigerant rule, which is the part that catches people out. King County Solid Waste's 2026 rates charge $30 per unit for refrigerant appliances — refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners — and require EPA-certified refrigerant recovery before disposal. You can't legally vent it, and a transfer station won't take an untreated unit as ordinary garbage. Non-refrigerant appliances are accepted residential-only and must be completely empty. That's why "just take it to the dump" quietly turns into "find a certified recovery technician first."
If you do self-haul, the 2026 King County numbers are $40.25 minimum per load (up to 320 lb), $243.38 per ton, plus a $25 unsecured-load fee, at Factoria (Bellevue), Houghton (Kirkland), Shoreline, Bow Lake (Tukwila), Renton, Enumclaw and Vashon. Inside the city, SPU's stations are the North Recycling & Disposal Station (Wallingford, N 34th St) and the South Recycling & Disposal Station (8105 5th Ave S), with a published minimum around $35 per trip up to 420 lb and roughly $165 per ton — as published, on an SPU page last dated 4/1/2023, so confirm before you drive.
We're built for the part the city program structurally can't do: come to where the appliance actually sits, disconnect it, carry it up and out, and handle the refrigerant recovery under one flat price.
Two steps, in order. First, refrigerant is recovered: fridges, freezers and AC units go to EPA-certified handlers who capture the refrigerant and the compressor oil before anything is cut apart. That's a legal requirement in King County, not a courtesy, and it's the step a truck rental can't perform.
Second, the metal is recycled. An appliance is mostly steel with copper windings and aluminium — commodity streams with real outlets around Puget Sound. A washer, a dryer, a water heater and a range have almost no reason to reach a landfill; broken down properly they're scrap, not garbage.
The economics point the same way as the ethics here. King County garbage tips at $243.38 a ton in 2026 — among the most expensive disposal rates in the country — and Washington's 3.6% refuse tax is calculated on the disposal portion. Metal diverted to recycling dodges both the per-ton fee and the tax base. Seattle also enforces a recyclables ban under SMC 21.36 that tags loads more than 10% contaminated, so a hauler here has to sort anyway. Doing it right is what lets us hold a flat $221 on a fridge instead of quoting by the pound.
The basement. This is Seattle's defining appliance job and the reason this page reads differently from a Los Angeles or Dallas one: Seattle homes have basements. The Craftsman and box-house stock in Ballard, Wallingford, Ravenna and Wedgwood puts the laundry pair, the water heater and the second fridge below grade, at the bottom of a narrow, turning staircase. We carry them up, which is the harder direction, at no extra charge.
The crawlspace. Older homes tuck a tank water heater into a crawlspace with maybe thirty inches of headroom. We drain it first, then bring it out — it's slow, it's awkward, and it's inside the flat price.
The walk-up. Capitol Hill, First Hill and Lower Queen Anne apartments are three floors with no elevator, and a stacked washer-dryer or a full fridge has to come down them. No stair fee, and no surcharge for Queen Anne's ~18–19% grade if the truck has to park downhill.
The tower. Downtown, Belltown, South Lake Union, First Hill and downtown Bellevue buildings require a Certificate of Insurance naming building management — typically $1M general liability — plus a freight elevator reserved days in advance with a loading-dock window. Many of these towers have no usable curb at all, which makes the city's curbside program structurally unavailable. We file the COI and book the elevator, and your quote doesn't move.
"Old water heater and a dead washer out of the basement — carried both up the stairs. Disconnected, flat price from a photo. Great crew."
"New fridge came, they hauled the old one same-day. Freon documented, fair flat price. No sitting around."
"Washer and dryer both dead — disconnected and carried out of the basement laundry. Easy and fair."
How much does appliance removal cost in Seattle?
Refrigerator $221 (large $246), mini fridge $155, chest freezer $196, upright freezer $201, washer $179, dryer $172, stacked set $225, dishwasher $147, gas range $176, electric range $172, tank water heater $176, tankless $121, window AC $107, portable AC $114, dehumidifier $104, range hood $71, trash compactor $82, garbage disposal $63, microwave $40 (built-in $73). $95 minimum on a single-item trip.
Does Seattle pick up appliances?
SPU's special-items pickup does — $30 per item, by appointment, curbside only, on your next garbage day (seattle.gov/specialitems). But a basement fridge or a crawlspace water heater isn't a curbside item, and crews won't come inside or down stairs. Eastside cities are King County, not SPU.
What's the deal with freon?
King County charges $30 per refrigerant unit (fridge, freezer, AC) and requires EPA-certified refrigerant recovery before disposal. Non-refrigerant appliances are residential-only and must be empty. We handle the recovery and the paperwork inside the flat price.
Can you get it up from the basement or crawlspace?
Yes — that's the standard Seattle job. Ballard, Wallingford and Ravenna basements hold the laundry pair, the water heater and the spare fridge. We disconnect, drain, and carry up. No stair fee.
Can you come the day my new appliance is delivered?
Yes. Give us the delivery window and the old unit is gone before or right after it lands.
Is it cheaper than a full-service franchise?
For a single appliance, usually — and always more predictable. One Seattle resident reported a ~$400 quote from 1-800-GOT-JUNK for one refrigerator; ours is $221 flat, fixed from your photo, with disconnect, carry-out and refrigerant recovery included.
Where does the appliance end up?
Refrigerant recovered by certified handlers, then steel, copper and aluminium to metal recycling. Diversion avoids King County's $243.38-a-ton garbage rate and the 3.6% refuse-tax base.
Is there sales tax on the service?
No Washington retail sales tax applies to junk-removal service. The 3.6% state refuse tax under RCW 82.18 applies to the disposal portion and shows in your total.
Yes. King County Solid Waste charges $30 per unit for refrigerant appliances — refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners — and requires EPA-certified refrigerant recovery before the unit can be disposed of. Non-refrigerant appliances are accepted residential-only and must be completely empty. We handle the recovery and the documentation as part of the flat price, which is why a fridge prices higher than a dryer.
Yes, and there is no stair fee. Seattle is a basement city — the Craftsman stock in Ballard, Wallingford, Ravenna and Wedgwood puts the old water heater, washer, dryer and the spare fridge below grade. We disconnect a standard unit, drain it, and carry it up the stairs and out. Crawlspace water heaters are the same job with a tighter squeeze.
Yes. Delivery crews often will not take the old unit, or charge extra and refuse if it is not already disconnected. Book us around your delivery window and the old appliance leaves the same day.
For a single appliance it usually is, and it is always more predictable. Franchises price by how much of the truck you fill and generally will not commit to a number until a crew is on site — one Seattle resident reported being quoted around $400 by 1-800-GOT-JUNK for a single refrigerator. Our refrigerator is $221 flat, quoted from your photo before anyone is dispatched, with the disconnect, the carry-out, the refrigerant recovery and the disposal already in it.
Refrigerant is recovered by certified handlers first, then the unit goes to metal recycling rather than to a landfill. Appliances are mostly steel, copper and aluminium, all of which have real scrap outlets in the Puget Sound region. Diverting them also avoids King County's $243.38-per-ton garbage rate and keeps that weight out of the 3.6% Washington refuse-tax base — which is a large part of how a flat price stays flat in an expensive disposal market.
Washington does not apply its retail sales tax to junk-removal service. The 3.6% state refuse and solid-waste collection tax under RCW 82.18 applies to the disposal portion of the job and shows in your total. It is a small line, not the double-digit retail rate.