How to get rid of appliances in San Francisco

Step one: make it safe before you make it go

Nothing else matters until the appliance is properly disconnected. This is the part people rush and it is the part that causes damage.

• Refrigerator or freezer. Unplug it, and if it has an ice maker or water dispenser, turn off the supply valve and disconnect the line — expect a cup or two of water regardless. Empty it. Leave the doors open overnight so it is not sealed, wet and warm inside when it is moved.
• Washing machine. Turn off both taps, disconnect the hoses into a bucket, and drain the pump filter if it has one. A washer that has not been drained will deliver several litres onto a stair on the way down.
• Dryer. Unplug, disconnect the vent hose. If it is gas, the gas line must be capped by someone qualified.
• Gas range or oven. The gas union must be disconnected and capped by a qualified person. This is not a DIY item and we will not do it either.
• Dishwasher. Water off, supply disconnected, drain line pulled, and the mounting screws out of the worktop — a dishwasher is usually screwed to the underside of the counter.
• Water heater. Fully drained, and for a gas unit, gas capped and the flue disconnected. A tank heater still holding water is far heavier than it looks and cannot be moved safely.

Step two: work out the route out of the building

In San Francisco this deserves five minutes of actual thought, because the route is rarely obvious.

If the appliance is in a garage-level laundry — very common in the Sunset, the Richmond, the Excelsior and most of the western half of the city — you are in luck. The roll-up door opens onto the pavement and there is nothing to negotiate.

If it is in a kitchen on the main living floor, the route is out of the kitchen, along a hallway that was framed in 1910, down a full flight with a turn onto a landing, down a half-flight to the front door, and out. Measure the narrowest point. Standard refrigerators frequently need their doors taken off to clear a Victorian hallway or a front door with a transom frame.

If it is in an in-law unit or converted garage, check whether the route is the internal stair or the separate external entrance, and whether that external door is full width or has been narrowed by the conversion.

Write down the narrowest doorway width. It decides everything else.

Step three: pick a route to get rid of it

Retailer haul-away. If you are buying a replacement, ask the shop before delivery day. It is often the cheapest route. It usually requires the old unit to be disconnected already and on the same floor as the delivery — check both conditions rather than assuming.

The city's bulky-item collection. San Francisco residents have access to a bulky-item pickup through the city's contracted collector. Check San Francisco's current bulky-item page for eligibility, quantity limits and how far ahead to book. The two constants are that it is booked in advance and it is curbside — you get the appliance to the pavement.

Scrap and the informal market. A clean, working appliance at ground level will find a taker quickly in this city. A dead one will not, and neither will one that lives up two flights.

A paid pickup. Assumes the appliance is where it actually is. Two people, carry from any floor, disassembly if a door has to come off, and full disposal including proper handling of sealed refrigeration systems.

What a pickup costs

Published flat prices. Disposal is included, carry-out from any floor is included, and there is no refrigerant fee, no stair charge and no walk-up fee.

• Refrigerator (Standard): $164  |  (Side-by-Side / French Door): $183  |  Built-in / Sub-Zero: $238
• Mini Fridge: $115  |  Wine Cooler (Small): $111  |  (Large / Floor): $156
• Freezer (Chest): $146  |  (Upright): $149
• Washer: $133  |  Dryer: $128  |  Stacked Washer/Dryer Combo: $189
• Dishwasher: $109  |  Trash Compactor: $61  |  Garbage Disposal Unit: $47
• Stove / Oven / Range (Electric): $134  |  (Gas): $137  |  Cooktop / Rangetop: $71  |  Range Hood / Vent: $53
• Microwave (Countertop): $30  |  (Built-In): $54
• Water Heater (Tank): $131  |  (Tankless): $90  |  Furnace: $131
• Dehumidifier: $77  |  Ice Maker: $115

San Francisco's visit minimum is $95, so a countertop microwave at $30 on its own is a $95 call. Put it on the same visit as something else.

Worked totals:

• Full kitchen swap in a Noe Valley flat — standard fridge, gas range, dishwasher and range hood: $164 + $137 + $109 + $53 = $463.
• Garage laundry replaced: $133 + $128 = $261.
• Stacked laundry unit out of a hall cupboard: $189.
• Water heater and furnace during a garage conversion: $131 + $131 = $262.
• Old fridge from the kitchen and the mini fridge from the in-law unit: $164 + $115 = $279.

Where San Francisco appliances actually end up

Appliances are one of the better-handled waste streams, and it is worth knowing why the route matters.

A fridge, freezer, wine cooler or air conditioner contains refrigerant in a sealed system. That has to be recovered by someone licensed to do it before the shell is processed. This is the single strongest argument against handing a fridge to whoever answers a free-to-collector listing: if the sealed system is cut open in a car park, the refrigerant is simply released.

After recovery, the appliance is overwhelmingly metal — steel shell, copper, aluminum, a compressor — and it goes to scrap recovery rather than landfill. Washers, dryers, ranges and water heaters have no sealed system and go straight to metal recovery. Electronic control boards are handled as e-waste.

So the practical version: whichever route you pick, pick one where you can answer the question "who took the refrigerant out?"

Street-side realities in this city

An appliance pickup is a short visit, but it needs the truck close to the door. Things worth mentioning when you book:

• Is your block one-way? Large parts of the Mission, North Beach, Telegraph Hill and Potrero Hill are, and on a steep one-way a truck cannot back up to correct an overshoot.
• How steep is it? On a real grade, an appliance on a trolley has to be controlled rather than rolled, and the crew will want to park uphill or downhill of the door deliberately.
• When is street cleaning? We will schedule outside your posted window.
• Is it a permit zone? Loading is fine; an all-afternoon park is not. Appliance jobs are quick, so this rarely bites — but tell us anyway.

None of it changes your price. It changes the arrival slot.

The short version

Disconnect it properly, or get a qualified person to. Measure the narrowest doorway on the route out. If it is already at ground level, disconnected and working, try the retailer or the city collection first. If it is upstairs, dead, or you have a date, book a pickup — the price is published, the stairs are included, and the refrigerant is dealt with by someone who is supposed to deal with it.

Frequently asked questions