How to get rid of a refrigerator in Detroit

The short answer

Check your city's rules for appliances, empty the fridge, take the doors off if your program asks, and set it out on bulk day. Or book a pickup: standard refrigerator $164, side-by-side or French door $183, built-in $238, mini fridge $115, carried out from any floor. Federal rules require the refrigerant to be recovered at final disposal, so a fridge is never just a big box of metal.

Why fridges are different from furniture

Refrigerators contain refrigerant. Federal regulation, 40 CFR 82.155, requires whoever does the final disposal of an appliance like a fridge to recover the refrigerant, or to get a signed statement that it has already been recovered. That is why some cities have their own rules about how fridges go out, and why a scrap yard may ask questions about one.

It also means a fridge should not be tipped over and dragged around carelessly. A cracked refrigerant line is exactly what the rule is trying to prevent.

City and suburb rules

City of Detroit: weekly bulk pickup since June 3, 2024, up to 2 cubic yards a week, about the size of two stoves. Out by 7 a.m., never in front of a vacant lot. Check the city's bulk page for what it says about refrigerators on your route before you put one out.

Warren: fridges and freezers are taken at the curb if they are empty with the doors removed. The refrigerant may stay in. Warren is stricter about air conditioners and dehumidifiers, which need a technician's sticker showing the Freon was removed.

Dearborn: some appliances need a fee-based special pickup rather than regular weekly bulk. Check the city's trash page for which.

Everywhere else in Oakland, Macomb and Downriver: check your own city's page before you move the fridge to the curb.

Three routes, compared

1. Curb, where your city takes it. Free. You empty it, defrost it, remove the doors, get it to the front curb, and wait for bulk day. A standard fridge is a big share of Detroit's 2-cubic-yard weekly allowance on its own, so nothing else large goes out that week.
2. Haul-away with a new one. If you are buying a replacement, ask the store whether they take the old unit and whether they carry it up from the basement. Many only take it from the spot where the new one is installed.
3. Flat pickup. One visit, from wherever it sits, any floor. Useful when the fridge is in the basement, when you are not replacing it, or when it needs to go before a closing or a move-out. A basement fridge and the old upright freezer next to it: $164 + $149 = $313.

The basement fridge

Detroit homes have basements, and a lot of basements have a second fridge or chest freezer that has been running since the house changed hands. Getting it out is the hard part.

• Measure the stairway, including the turn at the top and the door frame. Many Detroit basement stairs come up into a side entry with a tight landing.
• Remove the doors and the handles. That can buy the inch you need.
• Empty it and let it defrost the day before, with towels down. A freezer full of ice is heavy and leaks on the stairs.
• Use an appliance dolly with a strap, and keep it upright. Two people minimum; one below, never one below alone.

Or skip it: the crew carries it up from the basement at the same price. No stairs fee.

Taking the doors off

Even where your city does not require it, take the doors off any fridge or freezer that will sit outside, even for one night. A closed fridge on a curb is a hazard for children. Unplug it, empty it, unscrew the hinges, and keep the doors with the box so they go together.

Refrigerator and freezer prices

The kitchen fridge plus the basement chest freezer: $164 + $146 = $310. A kitchen remodel with a French door fridge and a dishwasher: $183 + $109 = $292. A Midtown student apartment with a mini fridge and a microwave: $115 + $30 = $145.

Landlords clearing a Detroit two-flat with a fridge in each unit: $164 + $164 = $328. Property managers can set up an account covering several properties.

Selling or giving it away

A working, clean fridge under ten years old can sell or be given away. List it with the dimensions, the age and which floor it is on. If the buyer has to bring it up from a basement, say so up front.

If it does not work, nobody wants it, and the curb or a pickup are the only options. When we take a fridge, we recycle whatever we can.

Booking

Get a quote from a photo or pick it from the list, choose a 2-hour arrival window, and book by 4 PM for same-day pickup. If the fridge died in a summer power outage, clean out the food first and keep the doors propped open; a sealed fridge in a July basement gets unpleasant quickly. For washers, dryers and stoves, see how to get rid of appliances in Detroit.

Frequently asked questions