What is included in junk removal service?

What’s in the quoted price

Labor

The crew does every piece of physical work. You don’t lift anything. You don’t carry anything. You don’t sort, bag, or disassemble. From the moment we say “yes, we’ll start” to the moment we drive away, the labor is ours.

Hauling

Truck, fuel, drive time to disposal/donation/recycling destinations, drive time back. All built in.

Disposal fees

What the transfer station charges to accept the load. Variable by weight and material, but always our cost — not yours separately.

Donation routing

Time to drop items at Hesed House (Aurora), Furniture Bank of Illinois (Carol Stream), Habitat for Humanity ReStore (Aurora and Wheaton), Salvation Army, or Goodwill, depending on what we’re routing and what each partner has capacity for.

Recycling

Scrap metal yard fees (or income, in the case of metal — it usually has commodity value). Registered Illinois e-waste recycler fees for electronics. Mattress recycler fees where applicable.

Final sweep

We sweep the spaces we cleared before we leave. The garage, basement, or room is cleaner than when we started.

What may add to the price (we tell you upfront)

• Refrigerant recovery: $25–$40 per cooling appliance (refrigerator, freezer, AC unit, dehumidifier). This covers EPA Section 608 compliance.
• Items far from where the truck can park: typically items 50+ feet from the truck add some labor time.
• Tight stairwell access: a sectional that has to be lifted over a railing or maneuvered through a narrow basement door may add time.
• Heavy concrete, brick, dirt: priced by weight, not volume, because the truck has weight limits before it has space limits.

If any of these apply, they’re identified at the walkthrough and built into the firm quote. There are no end-of-job surprises.

What we don’t include

• Specialty services like biohazard remediation, pest treatment, asbestos abatement — these need separate licensed contractors
• Locksmith services for properties that need rekeying after a cleanout
• Cleaning beyond the basic post-cleanout sweep (deep cleaning is a separate service)
• Carpet removal as a discrete service (we’ll take old carpet that’s already pulled up, but we don’t do removal work)
• Property preservation work (winterizing, board-up, etc.)

Comparing “all-inclusive” quotes

When comparing junk removal companies, ask each one specifically: is fuel included? Are disposal fees included? Are donation runs included? Is sweeping included? Are appliance refrigerant fees disclosed upfront or added at the end?

Cheap quotes sometimes turn into expensive bills because of fees added at the door. Junk Nurse’s rule is simple: the walkthrough number is the final number. If we find a surprise after the walkthrough, we eat it. That’s on us, not you.