Chicago's appliance rules come with a twist most cities skip: for city pickup, fridge and freezer doors must come off first — by law. Here's every route: the 311 request (black-cart buildings), retailer haul-away, the alley scrapper economy, and the flat-price version where the doors stay on and we handle everything — fridge $164, washer $133, dryer $128.
One photo — flat price in seconds
Upload a Photo & Get Quote →| Who | Works when | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| City via 311 (free) | Black-cart buildings (≤4 units) | Doors off fridges/freezers first (the law), you move it to the alley, ward timing — the rules |
| Retailer haul-away | New unit being delivered | Only at delivery; nothing for dead unreplaced units |
| Alley scrappers | Metal-rich units, legal set-outs | Fridges get stripped and abandoned doors-on — now it's your violation; zero schedule |
| JunkRabbit (flat) | Any building, any timing | The prices below — doors on, disconnect included, EPA refrigerant recovery downstream |
| Appliance | Flat price |
|---|---|
| Refrigerator / large side-by-side | $164 / $183 |
| Mini fridge | $115 |
| Upright / chest freezer | $201 / $146 |
| Washer / dryer / stacked combo | $133 / $128 / $167 |
| Dishwasher | $109 |
| Range — gas / electric | $176 / $172 |
| Window AC / water heater | $79 / $131 |
| Microwave | $40 |
$75 minimum. Basic disconnect (water capped, gas valve shut, flex line off), the basement or back-stairs extraction, and correct routing included — refrigerant recovered to EPA standards before the metal recycles. Hard-piped installs need a plumber first.
It's real and it's old: abandoned refrigerators latch shut and children climb in — so set-outs require doors off. In practice it means the "free" city route includes an unadvertised project: hinge screws that haven't turned since the Clinton administration, a torx bit you don't own, and a fridge door that weighs forty pounds. If you're doing the 311 route, budget the hour and the knuckles. If you'd rather not, the flat pickup takes the unit whole from the kitchen — the dismantling happens at the recycler, where it belongs.
For black-cart buildings (four units or fewer), yes — appliances are collected through a 311 request rather than casual set-out, and the law requires doors removed from refrigerators and freezers before they go out (child-entrapment prevention). Bigger buildings are on private hauling with no city appliance pickup. Ward timing varies; the 311 request is both the mechanism and your paper trail.
Flat per unit, doors on, from inside your kitchen: refrigerator $164 (large $246), mini fridge $115, upright freezer $149, chest freezer $146, washer $133, dryer $128, stacked combo $167, dishwasher $109, gas range $137, electric range $128, window AC $79, water heater $131, microwave $30. Basic disconnection, the back-stairs or freight-elevator carry, and EPA-standard refrigerant handling are included. $75 minimum.
Child-entrapment prevention — a decades-old safety law aimed at abandoned refrigerators that latch shut from inside. It's a real requirement for set-outs, and it's genuinely awkward: hinges, torx bits, and a door that weighs more than it looks. It's also the requirement you skip entirely with a pickup from inside — we take the unit whole and the dismantling happens at the recycler, after refrigerant recovery.
Often — appliances are the alley economy's favorite category, and a washer at the cart frequently vanishes in hours. The honest caveats: your building must pass the alley legality test (black carts, timing, ward), fridges may get stripped for compressors and abandoned doors-on (now it's your violation), and 'usually vanishes' isn't a schedule. Great free option when the stars align; not a plan for a delivery-day deadline.