When people ask what a junk removal crew won't take, they usually expect a long list. It is short. Furniture, mattresses, appliances, electronics, hot tubs, boxes and household clutter, yard debris and the leftovers from a remodel all go. What stays behind is a handful of materials that are dangerous to carry, to ride with or to unload, and a few kinds of work that need a different trade. Knowing them before the crew arrives saves a second trip.
The materials we do not haul
Ace Junk Removal does not take hazardous materials. In practice that means five groups:
Paint. Cans of house paint, stain, varnish and primer, whether full, half-used or dried at the bottom. The rest of a garage can go; the shelf of paint cans stays.
Chemicals. Pool and spa chemicals, pesticides and weed killers, solvents and thinners, drain cleaners, and the jugs of unknown liquid that collect under a workbench. If you cannot read the label, treat it as a chemical.
Fuel. Gasoline, kerosene, lamp oil, gas cans that still hold fuel, and propane tanks, including the small cylinders from camping stoves and the tank under a gas grill.
Asbestos. Old pipe wrap, some older floor tiles and ceiling textures, and siding or roofing that may contain it. Material that may contain asbestos should be tested by a specialist before anyone disturbs or hauls it.
Medical waste. Needles and other sharps, used medical supplies and anything that has been in contact with blood.
When the item is fine but what is inside it is not
Some things are fine while what they hold is not. A gas grill can go, but its propane tank stays with you. A hot tub goes once it is drained, and its spa chemicals stay behind. For anything that has held fuel or chemicals, like a lawn mower or an old gas can, point it out in your photo and we will tell you before the day whether it can go.
Work that belongs to another trade
A junk crew lifts, carries, loads and hauls. It does not do the trade work that sometimes comes before that. We do not disconnect appliances from electrical, water or gas lines, so a washer, dishwasher, water heater or gas dryer needs to be disconnected by you, a plumber or an electrician first. The same goes for the power to a hot tub. We do not cut down trees, and we do not demolish anything: we haul remodeling debris once it has been torn out, but we do not do the tearing out.
Where the hazardous items can go
Your county or city may hold household hazardous waste collection days or run a drop-off site for exactly this list. Rules, dates and locations differ from place to place, so check your own county's or city's website for the current ones. Do not pour paint, chemicals or fuel down a drain or into the yard, and do not hide them inside a box going on a junk truck; they will be found and left behind.
How to make the rest of the job simple
Before the crew comes, set anything on the list above to one side, ideally in one corner of the garage or the yard. Then text a photo of everything that is going, and mention anything you are unsure about. You get a price for the load, agreed before we start, and the crew carries it all out from wherever it sits, upstairs rooms and back corners of the yard included, with any stairs or long carry priced into your quote.
The rule of thumb is simple: if it is solid and it is not one of the five groups, it can almost certainly go on our truck. If it is a liquid, a gas or something you would not want to spill, ask first.