The short answer
Your city's bulk program will take some appliances at the curb. The store delivering your new one may haul the old one away. Your plumber or HVAC installer often removes the water heater or furnace they replace. A scrap yard will take metal if you bring it. And a junk removal pickup takes it from wherever it is in the house: refrigerator $164, washer $133, dryer $128, stove $134 electric or $137 gas.
1. The city or your suburb
Detroit: weekly bulk pickup has run since June 3, 2024. The limit is 2 cubic yards a week, which the city describes as about the size of two stoves. It must be at the curb by 7 a.m. and never in front of a vacant lot. Confirm appliance rules on the city's bulk page for your route.
Warren: takes fridges and freezers at the curb if they are empty and the doors are off; the refrigerant can stay in. Air conditioners and dehumidifiers need a technician's sticker showing the Freon was removed. Warren residents can also use the city's recycling center, which takes appliances.
Dearborn: some appliances need a fee-based special pickup. Residents can also bring items to the free DPW drop-off at 2951 Greenfield on the third Saturday of each month, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Elsewhere in Oakland, Macomb and Downriver, check your own city's site.
What none of these do: come inside. The appliance has to be at the curb.
2. The store delivering the new one
If you are replacing an appliance, ask the retailer at checkout whether they will haul the old one away on delivery, what it costs, and what the conditions are. Typical conditions: the old unit must be disconnected, emptied, and sometimes already moved to the spot the new one goes.
It works well for a kitchen fridge swap. It works less well when the old one is a second fridge in the basement that is not being replaced at all.
3. Your installer
When a plumber replaces a water heater or an HVAC contractor swaps a furnace, removing the old unit is often part of the job. Ask before they leave. If the old one is already sitting in the basement from a past job, the installer is long gone.
4. A scrap yard
Washers, dryers, stoves, water heaters and furnaces are mostly steel. If you have a truck and the strength, a scrap yard may take them. Appliances with refrigerant are different: federal rule 40 CFR 82.155 requires the final disposer to recover refrigerant or get a signed statement that it was recovered. Call ahead and ask what they need.
5. A flat-price pickup
| Item | Flat price |
|---|---|
| Refrigerator (Standard) | $164 |
| Refrigerator (Side-by-Side / French Door) | $183 |
| Freezer (Chest) | $146 |
| Washer | $133 |
| Dryer | $128 |
| Stove / Oven / Range (Electric) | $134 |
| Stove / Oven / Range (Gas) | $137 |
| Dishwasher | $109 |
| Water Heater (Tank) | $131 |
| Furnace | $131 |
| Window AC Unit (Large, 8k+ BTU) | $109 |
The crew carries it from the basement, the kitchen or the garage. No stairs fee. We recycle whatever we can.
Who fits which situation
A Livonia couple replacing a kitchen range. The retailer's haul-away is the natural fit, provided the old range is disconnected and in the kitchen when the new one arrives.
A Warren homeowner with a dead dehumidifier and a window AC. The curb will not take either without a technician's Freon-removal sticker, which is a separate appointment. One pickup takes both: $77 + $109 = $186.
A Dearborn family with a basement chest freezer and a washer. Both may fall under the city's fee-based special pickup, and both still have to come up the stairs to the curb first. One pickup: $146 + $133 = $279.
A landlord turning over a Hamtramck two-flat with an old fridge and stove in the lower unit: $164 + $134 = $298 for an electric stove, priced from the walkthrough photos. Property managers can set up an account covering several properties.
A Troy homeowner whose HVAC contractor left the old furnace in the garage after a winter replacement: $131, carried from the garage.
Which one to use
- Replacing a kitchen appliance? Ask the retailer first.
- New furnace or water heater going in? Ask the installer.
- Old appliance already at the curb, in a city that takes it? Use bulk day.
- In the basement, more than one, or needs to go today? Book a pickup.
A common Detroit case: an inherited house in Grandmont Rosedale or on the east side, with a dead washer, a dead dryer and an old chest freezer in the basement. That is $133 + $128 + $146 = $407, carried up and gone in one visit. Book by 4 PM for same-day; get a price from a photo. See also how to get rid of appliances in Detroit.
Frequently asked questions
Who picks up old appliances for free in Detroit?
Your city's bulk program may, at the curb. Detroit's weekly bulk pickup takes up to 2 cubic yards a week; check its page for appliance rules. Dearborn residents can use the free third-Saturday DPW drop-off.
Will a store take my old appliance?
Many retailers offer haul-away when delivering a new appliance. Ask at checkout what it costs and what condition the old unit must be in.
How much is appliance pickup in Detroit?
For example refrigerator $164, washer $133, dryer $128, stove $134 or $137, water heater $131. Carried out from any floor.
Do you pick up appliances from basements?
Yes. Crews carry items out from anywhere in the home, any floor, with no stairs fee.
Can you pick up today?
Book by 4 PM for same-day pickup, 7 days a week, with a 2-hour arrival window.
Do appliances need to be disconnected first?
Yes. Have gas lines capped and water lines shut off by a qualified professional before pickup. The crew removes the appliance once it is disconnected.