Fast, Courteous Junk Removal in Cook County, IL

Making Sure Your Chicago Junk Removal Project Goes Smoothly

Every week thousands of people enjoy the satisfaction that comes from junk removal in Chicago, Cicero and Arlington Heights. A little preparation goes a long way to make sure that the project goes off without a hitch and you get everything you need thrown away hauled off at once at a price you can afford. Be sure to:

• Get a head start - throw away everything that you can on your own. Not only will this reduce your cost for junk removal in Chicago by simply reducing the amount of waste, it will give you a better idea of just how much you have to throw out. Go room by room to itemize all the things that you can’t throw away on your own.
• Get tax deductions while you save - Be sure to donate clothing and appliances to either The Salvation Army (www.salvationarmyusa.org), Goodwill, or any charity of your choice. You get a double whammy of tax benefit on your donation and savings from having to throw less away.
• Be careful - It is very common for people to injure their backs or crush their feet by trying to lift heavy junk. Uniformed, professional junk haulers come prepared with thick gloves, back braces, dollies and more so you don’t need to prep the junk and all the heavy lifting is done for you.

Most junk haulers in Chicago and Cicero are only limited by the law on what they can help you haul:

• General Household/Garage Junk - All types of junk including;
• refrigerators, gas grills, old microwaves and more appliance removal
• couches, mattresses, desks and dressers, chairs, old beds and more furniture removal
• Construction Debris - demolition material, wood shavings, concrete and miscellaneous junk left on site.
• Office Move ins/Move outs/Downsizing - old computers, office equipment and furniture, supplies, and non sensitive paperwork can be recycled or junked.
• Hoarding Clean Up - *note that some junk haulers in Chicago specialize in helping hoarders. Special care is taken for the psychological well being of hoarders and discretion is used usually with unmarked junk removal trucks.
• Yard Waste - Make sure to bag up leaves, branches, mulch and other biodegradable yard waste separately from other items.

DIY Junk Removal Vs. Professionals

Everyone is eager to save money and too often the cost of junk removal in Chicago is seen as an extravagance rather than the necessity that it usually is. Do it yourself junk removal is straightforward; you get a pickup truck, a strong friend or two and start loading. This can work great if you don’t have much junk to haul and you have friends that don’t value their time or can be bribed with cheap alcohol or lunch. However, if you have more than two pickup trucks full of junk, the value proposition of professional junk removal services in Chicago, Cicero, Arlington Heights and Evanston becomes painfully clear. Even ignoring the fact that you are working on your day off, the cost of gas, wear and tear on your truck and landfill fees will eat into any savings you were hoping to enjoy. A warning to those hoping to illegally dump your junk, the government has been increasingly cracking down on this activity because it hurts the environment and also eats into public funds to clean up your junk. You can take a look at EPA guidelines which details the scope of the problem and how Cook County is dealing with it. If you really want to save you should focus your efforts on taking an active approach to comparing prices from three Chicago junk haulers and understanding all potential fees for exceeding weight limits and cubit feet of junk. Lastly, a junk service in Chicago is better equipped to separate and recycle your junk, reducing your environmental impact. Many companies will even handle donations for you making it that much more convenient.

Questions to Ask Junk Removal Companies in Chicago, Cicero and Arlington Heights

1. Do you pickup junk on weekends? Many junk removal companies in Chicago work on Saturdays and sometimes Sunday to accommodate those short on time during the week.
2. Do I need to put all of my junk on the curb? No. Clean, uniformed haulers will carefully take larger items out of any room you need them removed from. For expediencies sake, it does help to collect smaller junk items before they arrive.
3. Can I have a discount if I need junk be hauled from two different locations? You should be able to negotiate a cheaper rate if you need junk hauled from multiple sites (your home and office for example), as long as it is done on the same day.
4. Is there anything that you won’t take? Yes hazardous materials (chemicals, gasoline, car batteries, etc.) and liquid waste cannot be mixed in with the rest of your junk. Illinois laws prohibit combining certain waste items like tires, concretes, and some appliances.
5. Do you recycle? At Aptera we value the environment just as much as our customers and only work with partners that actively recycle as much of the junk as they can within reason.
6. Do you haul construction waste? Full service junk haulers in Cook County will not only haul off construction site waste for contractors and handymen, they will often offer additional clean up services like sweeping and hosing down the area afterward.
7. What if I end up having a lot more to haul off? It is very common for customers to get momentum when throwing things away and on the day of the haul have much more than anticipated. This is why hauls are priced out by the portion of the junk removal truck that you actually fill up and not an arbitrary number or on a per haul basis.
8. Do I need to be there when the junk haulers arrive? Most junk removal companies in Chicago require that at least one person is on site for a number of reasons. Someone will need to sign off if there is more junk than anticipated and it fills up more of the truck. Also, haulers need to be extremely careful so that they are not sued because they throw away something valuable that isn’t trash. That said, if you clearly label junk and place all of it together in an accessible area away from non-junk, many haulers will pick it up while you are at work.

Resources for more information:

National Waste & Recycling Association www.wasterecycling.org

Cook County Cities Served