Chicago junk hauling and removal services

Junk removal services in Chicago, by what has to go

Junk removal work in Chicago turns on what has to go: a single heavy piece out of a bedroom, a whole apartment emptied for a new tenant, the pile left after a kitchen remodel. Junk hauling is the same work.

Call (312) 847-2454 Evanston

A Chicago crew opens a box truck in an alley for junk removal services, loaded with a dresser, armchair, rolled rug and bags.

Find the page for what has to go

Single items and heavy pieces

A single piece gets priced on volume, weight and the carry. Dense loads are heavy for their size, and electronics follow Illinois law. Illinois has barred computers, monitors and TVs from the regular trash since January 1, 2012;¹ the City's Streets and Sanitation release says those must go to a registered recycler.

Rooms, homes and offices

Cleanouts take their shape from who is deciding and what has to be out by when. About 40 percent of Chicago households are one person living alone.² The hoarding cleanup page is for homes where the family and the person who lives there both need to be part of the decisions.

Renovation, yard and outdoor

Tile, drywall, cabinets, flooring, carpet strips and the pile of two-by-fours in the alley make a different kind of load than a bedroom's worth of furniture.

A junk removal services walk-through in a basement, resident and worker going over a recliner and bins.

When it is a mix of everything

A room can be a mix of a couch, three chairs, a dead treadmill and the carpet you pulled last fall.

What helps on the call is a rough count of the big pieces, the floor they sit on, whether there are stairs or an elevator, and where a truck can stop. Dense material like tile, concrete or a piano has to come up too. The pile is looked at before any work starts, and nothing starts until you agree.

What the crew leaves behind

Paint, household chemicals, fuel, propane, solvents and batteries usually need special disposal, and the truck does not take them. The City's household chemicals facility accepts oil-based paints and spray cans,³ and the City suggests drying leftover latex before the can goes with the regular trash. Ask any hauler where its loads go.

Mattress removal, mattress disposal

Both come up when the old mattress has to leave. Mattress removal is the carry out of the bedroom: the box spring and the frame on the same job, the stairs or the service elevator, and the bedbug question if it applies. Mattress disposal is what happens to the mattress after it leaves, including why leaving an old one on a lot without a permit is dumping under City code.⁴

Estate cleanout, house cleanout

Estate cleanout is for clearing a home after a death or a move to care, where keepsakes come first and the family and the person handling the estate make the decisions together. House cleanout is clearing an apartment or a house for any other reason, from a move-out to a sale, or a unit a landlord was handed back full. About 54 percent of Chicago's occupied homes are rented;⁵ mention on the call whether a landlord or a tenant is the one deciding what goes and when.

Junk removal in Chicago buildings

About 20 percent of homes sit in buildings of fifty or more units;⁶ ask the building about elevator use before any date is set. City crews collect garbage from buildings of four units or less;⁷ other buildings arrange private pickup. Apartment building owners must provide containers for all tenants and arrange private or licensed scavenger pickup.⁸

Why dumping on a lot is a problem

Chicago bans dumping ashes, refuse or waste on any lot or parcel of real estate in the city except at permitted facilities,⁴ and the code names dumping without a permit a nuisance. The City's 311 system logged 15,402 fly dumping complaints in 2025.⁹ The same question about where loads go applies to any hauler you hire.

Common questions about junk removal services in Chicago

How do I pick the page if I do not know what to call the job?

Any of them. If one page describes most of what is in the room, start there and mention the rest when you call.

Is there a difference between mattress removal and mattress disposal?

Mattress removal answers the carry out from the bedroom; mattress disposal answers what happens to the mattress after it is on the truck. Describe the mattress, the box spring and the frame on the call, and the right page comes up on its own.

Is an estate cleanout the same as a house cleanout?

The difference is in who is deciding and why.

Is junk hauling the same thing as junk removal?

Different phrases for the same work. Pick whichever word fits what you came looking for.

Can the crew carry things from inside the apartment?

Keep pieces inside until the day is agreed, and describe the floor and the stairs on the call. If there is an elevator, bring it up too.

Do you take just one piece?

A single couch, one mattress, a dead refrigerator or an old treadmill fits a one-piece pickup.

What about a refrigerator or a window air conditioner?

Appliances with refrigerant, like a refrigerator, a freezer or a window air conditioner, follow separate rules. Federal rules put refrigerant recovery on the last stop in the disposal chain,¹⁰ and the City's household chemicals facility does not take appliances or air conditioners.³ The City says to remove doors or lids from discarded refrigerators and freezers.⁸ Mention any refrigerant appliance when you call.

Sources

With the big pieces, the floor and the way out at hand, call (312) 847-2454 or leave a note on the form below the number.

(312) 847-2454

Mon to Sat 7am to 7pm · Sun 9am to 5pm

Browse all services