How to get rid of a couch in Detroit

The short answer

In the City of Detroit, a couch can go out for weekly bulk pickup by 7 a.m. on your collection day, as long as your total for the week stays under 2 cubic yards. Outside the city, use your suburb's program. Or book a pickup at a flat price: sofa $126, loveseat $119, sleeper sofa $149, reclining or power sofa $152, carried out from any floor.

Will the city's bulk pickup take it?

Detroit moved to weekly bulk collection on June 3, 2024. The limit is 2 cubic yards per week, which the city compares to about two stoves.

That is less room than it sounds. A standard seven-foot sofa, measured by its outside dimensions, is about 2 cubic yards by itself. A sectional is more. So a couch can be the entire week's allowance, and a couch plus a loveseat may be over it. Outlier Media reported in 2022 that going over the limit (2 cubic yards or 1,000 pounds) can bring a $1,500 fine.

The other rules: out by 7 a.m., off the curb by 9 p.m. if it is not collected, and never in front of a vacant lot. Check the city's bulk page for your collection day.

The basement couch problem

Detroit's median home was built in 1947, and in much of the city the median is 1939 or earlier. Basements are the default, and a lot of finished basements have a couch that came down in a different decade, sometimes before a stair rail or a furnace duct went in.

Things to check before you try to move it yourself:

• Can the legs come off? Most unscrew. That buys an inch or two.
• Does the back detach? Some sofas have backs that lift out of brackets.
• Is it a sleeper? The fold-out frame makes it far heavier and it can spring open on the stairs. Tie it shut.
• What is at the top of the stairs? Many Detroit basement stairs come up into a kitchen or a side door landing, with a tight turn.

If it truly will not come out in one piece, it may need to be cut apart. That is the oversize or cut-apart line on the price list, $185.

Outside the city limits

Every suburb runs its own collection.

• Dearborn collects household bulk weekly next to the cart, on a separate truck by the end of trash day. Large or heavy items and excessive quantities need a fee-based special pickup.
• Warren takes bulk items set next to the rubbish containers on trash day.
• SOCRRA cities including Royal Oak, Ferndale, Berkley, Hazel Park, Troy and Birmingham run their own curbside programs. Check your own city's page.

In Livonia, Sterling Heights, Southfield, the Pointes and the Downriver cities, look up the rule before you drag anything to the curb.

Four Detroit couches, four answers

• A sofa on the main floor of an East English Village brick house, nothing else going: the curb is the obvious answer if two people can carry it out by 7 a.m. on bulk day.
• A sleeper sofa in a Royal Oak bungalow's half-story bedroom: tight stair, heavy frame. This is the one people regret trying alone. $149, carried down.
• A 4-piece sectional in a Sterling Heights finished basement: well over the size of any single curb pile, and the pieces still have to come up the stairs. $228 for the set.
• A sofa in a Lafayette Park or Downtown apartment: the building may need a certificate of insurance and an elevator booking. The COI is emailed within 1 hour, and you match the 2-hour arrival window to the elevator. $126.

Donating a couch in Metro Detroit

A clean couch in good shape can find a second home. Expect any charity to turn down anything with stains, tears, pet damage, broken frames or a smell, and many will not take sleeper sofas. Call ahead, and have photos ready.

Neighbors are often the fastest route. A free couch posted locally on a Saturday morning in Ferndale or Corktown is often gone by afternoon, if it is already on the porch.

When we collect a couch, we try to donate usable items when local charities accept them and recycle whatever we can.

Couch pickup prices

A living room set of sofa, loveseat and armchair is $126 + $119 + $77 = $322. A basement sofa and the recliner next to it is $126 + $98 = $224. A sectional plus the coffee table and rug in front of it: $185 + $67 + $68 = $320.

No stairs fee, whether it is coming up from the basement or down from a second-floor flat in Hamtramck.

Doing it the easy way

Send a photo for an instant quote, or pick the couch from the list. Choose a 2-hour arrival window. Book by 4 PM for same-day pickup, 7 days a week. The price you see is the price, and it only changes if you approve it. In winter, clear the steps and the path to the driveway before the crew arrives. For other furniture, see what to do with old furniture in Detroit.

Frequently asked questions