Prepping a Fridge or Freezer for Appliance Removal in Boise

A guy over in Meridian called me in July about the chest freezer in his garage. It had quit sometime the week before, and he didn't notice until the smell got past the door seal. That's the kind of appliance removal job nobody plans for.

Half an elk and a summer's worth of blackberries, all of it warm.

Garages in the Treasure Valley cook all summer. A freezer that's perfectly happy in April is working overtime by mid-July, and the old ones give up in that heat.

Second fridges and chest freezers sit in garages all over Boise, Meridian and Nampa, and in about every one of those new subdivisions going up in Star and Middleton. Nobody opens them for weeks at a time. That's the whole problem.

If yours has been running since the last house you owned, go stick a thermometer in it this week. A freezer takes a few days to really die, and you'd rather find out while the food's still frozen. Yes, I'd love the call either way, but one of those two jobs is a lot cheaper for you.

What to do before appliance removal day

Empty it. That sounds obvious, and yet.

Food's the big one. People forget the ice maker line still holds water, and the drip pan under a fridge holds a surprising amount of it. When I tip that fridge back onto the dolly, whatever's in the pan ends up on your floor.

Ten seconds with an old towel saves your kitchen tile.

Pull the loose glass shelves out too. They rattle, they slide, and a shelf that shifts while I'm backing down a step is how somebody gets hurt.

Then tape the doors shut. Painter's tape, packing tape, a bungee cord, doesn't matter.

Tip: If your fridge or freezer has been sitting warm for a while, don't open it up and start scrubbing. Tape it closed and leave it alone until I get there. A sealed unit is a lot easier to walk down a hallway than one that's been airing out for two days.

Do you have to disconnect it yourself?

Mostly yes, and it's easier than it sounds.

A fridge is a plug and maybe a water line. Shut the little valve behind it, unscrew the line, done.

With an electric dryer you've got a cord and a vent clamp, which takes about a minute. Washers are the fussy one: two hoses and a drain, and you want the water shut off at the wall before you loosen anything.

Gas is where I stop. A gas dryer, gas range or gas water heater needs the gas shut off and the line capped properly, and if you're not comfortable doing that, have a plumber handle it. I'll haul the appliance all day. I'm not going to touch your gas line.

Water heaters have their own rule: drain it the night before. A full fifty-gallon tank runs well over 400 pounds, and there's no graceful way to drain one halfway up a set of basement stairs.

Why a fridge costs more to haul than a dryer

This is the question I get most. Same size box, different price. Why?

Refrigerant. Fridges, freezers, window AC units and dehumidifiers all have it, and no scrapyard will take one with the refrigerant still sealed inside.

Somebody certified has to recover it first, and that step comes with a fee attached. It ends up in what I charge you.

So a fridge or freezer runs a bit above a washer, dryer or dishwasher of the same size. Not dramatically. Just enough that you shouldn't be surprised by it.

The good news is appliances sit on the cheaper end of what I haul. Heavy, sure, but compact, and they go on a dolly. That's more than I can say for a sectional couch.

The best time of year for appliance removal

Summer is dead-fridge season here, for the reason above. It's also when a garage sitting at 115 turns a normal job into a miserable one, so I try to knock those out first thing in the morning.

Winter flips the problem. Driveways up in the Eagle foothills ice over in December and stay that way, and rolling 300 pounds of steel down a frozen slope isn't something you want to improvise.

If your driveway faces north and never sees sun in January, throw some salt down the night before. I mean it.

Spring's the easy stretch. That's when people finally deal with the garage anyway, and the old appliance goes out with everything else.

Where the old fridge actually ends up

If it still runs and somebody could use it, I'll try to get it to a donation spot like Idaho Youth Ranch or St. Vincent de Paul. Most of what I pick up is dead, though. It quit working, that's why you called.

Those go to a metal recycler once the refrigerant's pulled, not through Hidden Hollow. Very little of an old appliance has any business in the Ada County landfill, and that's one of the better parts of this job.

Bottom line

Empty it, tape it shut, slide a towel underneath, and get any gas line handled before I show up. That's the whole checklist.

Got a fridge in the garage that's been dead since July, or a water heater in the basement you've been stepping around for a year? Text a photo to (208) 391-0221 and I'll send you a price. No estimate appointment, nobody tromping through your house, and it's usually gone within a couple of days.