Philadelphia
Refrigerator Removal in
Philadelphia
The old fridge in the kitchen, the backup freezer in the basement, the mini fridge from a student apartment — we carry it out of the room, recover the freon to EPA standard, and recycle the steel, all for a flat $164 photo-quoted price. Same-day when a slot's open, no days-long sidewalk wait, and no PA sales tax on the service.
How refrigerator removal works in Philly
1 · Send a photo
Snap the fridge or freezer and tell us where it lives — kitchen, basement, third-floor apartment. An exact flat price comes back in seconds, no in-home estimate.
2 · Pick a window
Same-day is often open across the city. Empty it and unplug it if you can; if it's still full or in a high-rise, tell us so we plan the time and book the freight elevator.
3 · We carry it out & recover the freon
A vetted, insured hauler hand-trucks it out of the room, recovers the refrigerant to EPA standard, and recycles the metal. You do nothing.
How much does refrigerator removal cost in Philadelphia?
Every price below is flat and photo-quoted before anyone drives out — the carry-out, the EPA-certified freon recovery and the disposal are all in the number. For a benchmark, national cost guides put the average Philadelphia junk-removal job around $231–$242 (Homeyou), and a traditional hauler usually adds an "appliance" or "refrigerant" fee to a fridge after their minimum and a site visit. Ours stays flat, freon recovery included.
| Item | Flat price |
|---|---|
| Refrigerator (standard) | $164 |
| Refrigerator (large / French-door) | $183 |
| Chest freezer | $146 |
| Upright freezer | $149 |
| Wine cooler (large) | $156 |
| Wine cooler (small) | $111 |
| Mini fridge | $115 |
$75 minimum. Basement stairs, walk-ups, tight kitchens and freight elevators are all included — no surcharge, no driveway needed. Replacing a whole kitchen or clearing several units from a group house? Send one photo and we'll price them together. No PA sales tax on the service.
4 ways to get rid of a refrigerator in Philadelphia
| Option | Cost | Speed | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| City 311 appliance appointment | Free | Scheduled days out | Curbside-only, ≤6-unit homes, up to 4 items — you must get it out of the kitchen and to the sidewalk yourself, then wait for the date |
| Retailer haul-away with delivery | $0–50 | Delivery day only | Only if you're buying a new one from them, and often just to the curb; freon handling varies |
| Self-haul to a convenience center | Free | Same day | Philly residents only, proof required; you need a truck, a dolly and a second person for a full-size fridge |
| JunkRabbit | $164 flat | Same day | None — we carry it out, recover the freon, and recycle it; you do nothing |
Does the City of Philadelphia pick up refrigerators?
Yes — but on the city's terms, and that's where most people get stuck. Philadelphia runs a Residential Bulk Collection appointment program that takes large appliances, including refrigerators and freezers, at homes of six units or fewer, up to four items per visit. You schedule it through Philly 311 (dial 3-1-1 or 215-686-8686), it's booked days in advance, and it is strictly curbside: the crew picks it up from the sidewalk, not your kitchen.
In a Philadelphia rowhouse, that curbside catch is the entire problem. The fridge is usually in a galley kitchen at the back of the first floor or a chest freezer down in the basement, and the house has narrow interior stairs, a tight doorway, and no driveway. Getting a 250-pound appliance out to the curb on your own — up from the cellar, through the house, down the stoop — is exactly the part you called about. Then it sits on the sidewalk until the appointment date. We fill that gap: we come same-day, hand-truck the fridge out of the room, and — unlike a curb pile — we handle the EPA-certified freon recovery ourselves so the refrigerant is captured before the shell is recycled.
What we take
- Refrigerators — top-freezer, side-by-side, French-door and built-in; standard or oversized.
- Freezers — chest and upright, including the basement backup nobody's opened in a year.
- Mini fridges — dorm and office units; single or a whole group-house stack.
- Wine coolers & beverage centers — countertop and full-height.
- Old kitchen swaps — the outgoing fridge when a new one lands, taken same visit.
What happens to your refrigerator after pickup
Refrigerant units can't just go in a truck and to a landfill — and shouldn't. First we recover the freon to EPA standard with certified equipment, because the refrigerant is a regulated ozone/greenhouse gas that federal law requires be captured. Then the steel shell, compressor and copper go to metal recycling, where a fridge is genuinely valuable scrap. A newer working unit that someone can use may be routed on rather than scrapped. Disposal is already inside your flat price; there's no separate refrigerant or dump fee, and no PA sales tax on top.
Galley kitchens, basement freezers and student move-out
Refrigerator removal in Philly is a carry job before it's a haul job. The fridge sits in a tight rowhouse kitchen at the back of the first floor, or the freezer is a basement backup at the bottom of a narrow, turning staircase — and there's no driveway to wheel it to. Around Penn, Drexel and Temple, the same weekend in May or late August produces a flood of mini fridges from dorms and off-campus houses in University City, Powelton and the Temple/Cecil B. Moore blocks. And a Center City or Society Hill high-rise needs a reserved freight elevator and a COI before an appliance moves through the building. Curbside programs leave every one of those to you. We hand-truck the fridge out of the room, work the stairs and the doorway, book the freight elevator and file the COI for the towers, and clear a stack of student mini fridges in one trip — flat price, stairs and access included.
When people call us for refrigerator removal
- Kitchen upgrade — the new fridge is being delivered and the old one has to be gone the same day.
- The basement backup — a second fridge or chest freezer that's outlived its usefulness.
- Student move-out — mini fridges from a University City dorm or a Temple group house.
- Turnover & cleanouts — a landlord clearing a dead appliance between tenants.
- Downsizing & estates — a Northeast or Northwest home clearing appliances before a sale.
Why Philly chooses JunkRabbit for refrigerator removal
- Flat price from a photo — one number, freon recovery included; no appliance surcharge, no PA sales tax.
- We carry it out — full-service from the kitchen or basement, not a sidewalk pickup.
- Done right — EPA-certified freon recovery and metal recycling, not a dump run.
- Same-day when a slot's open, with basement stairs, walk-ups and tower elevators all handled.
What Philadelphia customers say
"New fridge came, and the delivery guys would only leave the old one on the sidewalk — where it would've sat for a week waiting on a city pickup. Called these folks, they hauled it out of our Fairmount kitchen same afternoon. Flat $164, freon and all."
"Chest freezer had been dead in the basement for years — no way up those cellar stairs for me. They hand-trucked it up and out, recycled it properly. One flat price, no sales tax, no drama."
"Four mini fridges from our Drexel group house at the end of the lease. One photo, one flat quote, gone in twenty minutes. Made move-out week a lot less painful."
Refrigerator removal questions, answered
How much does refrigerator removal cost in Philadelphia?
Flat and photo-quoted: standard fridge $164, large/French-door $183, mini fridge $115, chest freezer $146, upright freezer $149, wine cooler $156 (small $111). $75 minimum, carry-out, freon recovery and disposal included, no PA sales tax.
Do you recover the freon?
Yes — EPA-certified freon recovery is part of the flat price. We capture the refrigerant, then recycle the metal shell.
Doesn't the city pick up refrigerators?
Through the 311 appointment program, yes — but curbside-only and days out. You'd have to get it out of the kitchen and to the sidewalk yourself. We carry it out same-day.
Can you get it up from the basement?
Yes — a fridge or freezer up a narrow cellar staircase is one of our most common Philly jobs. No charge for the stairs, no driveway needed.
Do you take mini fridges from student apartments?
Constantly, especially at Penn/Drexel/Temple move-out. A mini fridge is $115; a group-house stack is priced together from one photo.
Refrigerator removal across Philadelphia
Ready to Get It Gone?
Send a photo and get one flat price back in seconds — carry-out, hauling and disposal are all in it.
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