How to pick a junk hauler in Cleveland

The short answer

Ask every hauler the same questions: Are you insured, and can you send a certificate of insurance? Is the price for carry-out from inside or curbside? Is there a stairs or basement charge? Is disposal included? Is there a minimum? Can the price change on site without my approval? Pick the one whose answers are clear and in writing. JunkRabbit's answers: insured with a COI emailed within 1 hour, carry-out from any floor, no stairs fee, disposal included, $100 minimum, and the price only changes if you approve.

1. Insurance

A crew carrying a hutch down the stairs of a 1920s Cleveland Heights house can scrape a banister or crack a plaster wall. A crew working in a downtown tower can damage an elevator. Insurance is what covers that.

Ask: are you insured? Can you send a certificate of insurance to my building? Many downtown, Warehouse District and University Circle buildings require a COI before a crew uses the freight elevator. JunkRabbit emails one within 1 hour.

More on this in why insured haulers matter more than price.

2. Carry-out or curbside

Some services price on the assumption that the item is already outside. That is fine if you can get it there. In Cleveland, with basements in nearly every house, doubles with narrow rear stairs, and lake-effect snow on the walk for months, many people cannot.

Ask: does the price include carrying it out from where it is now?

3. Stairs, basements and walk-ups

Ask: is there a charge for stairs, basements, upper floors or long carries? Get the answer before booking, not on the doorstep. JunkRabbit has no stairs fee, any floor.

This matters more here than in most cities. Only 54% of Cleveland's homes are single-family, and 14.5% are two-unit doubles, rising past 20% in Old Brooklyn, Clark–Fulton and Slavic Village. In Lakewood, a third of homes are in buildings of ten or more units. Stairs are the normal case, not the exception.

4. How the price is set

There are two main approaches. Volume pricing estimates how much of the truck your stuff fills, sometimes after an in-person look. Item pricing lists a price for each piece. Either is legitimate.

Ask: can I see the price before I book? Is it fixed, or an estimate? Can it change on site, and do I have to approve it?

JunkRabbit shows a flat price before booking, from a photo or from items you pick online, and it only changes if you approve. Examples: sofa $126, queen mattress $103, standard fridge $164, 1/4 truck $241.

To compare fairly, describe the same job to everyone. For example: "a sofa, a queen mattress and box spring, and a dresser, from the second floor of a double." JunkRabbit's number for that is $126 + $143 + $126 = $395, carried down, disposal included.

5. Disposal and where it goes

Ask: is disposal included? Where does it go? Do you recycle or donate?

A hauler should take junk to proper facilities. Around Cleveland, that means public transfer stations like Rumpke's Broadview Heights and Harvard Road sites for household waste, and C&D facilities such as WM's Cuyahoga C&DD Landfill in Solon, Boyas in Valley View or Rosby in Brooklyn Heights for renovation debris. Anything else ends up as illegal dumping, and Cleveland lets witnesses share in the fees from a dumping conviction.

JunkRabbit includes disposal in the price. We recycle whatever we can and try to donate usable items when local charities accept them.

6. Minimums, timing and the rest

• Minimum: what is the smallest charge? JunkRabbit's is $100.
• Arrival window: a 2-hour window beats "sometime between 8 and 5."
• Hours: can they come evenings or weekends? JunkRabbit runs 7 days, 8am to midnight.
• Same-day: is it available, and does it cost more? With JunkRabbit, book by 4 PM, no surcharge.
• What they will not take: ask about hazardous materials. Paint is accepted here; other hazardous items are case by case.

Match the hauler to the Cleveland job

• A basement or an upstairs unit: you need carry-out, not curbside. Confirm there's no charge per flight.
• Renovation debris: the City of Cleveland doesn't take construction, renovation or demolition waste in bulk, and Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights don't either. Make sure the hauler takes it and prices it up front.
• A downtown or University Circle building: ask how fast the COI arrives and whether the crew can work inside the building's freight elevator hours.
• A Heights estate or move-out: Cleveland Heights says it doesn't take bulk from large move-outs or clean-outs, so this is a hauler job. Ask about multi-truck pricing.
• Winter: from mid-November, lake-effect snow can bury the east side. Ask whether they work weekends and evenings, so you can pick a window after the plow.

Red flags

• Cash only, no receipt.
• No proof of insurance when asked.
• A price that cannot be given until the truck is loaded.
• Vague answers on where the junk goes.
• Pressure to decide on the spot.
• A low quote that assumes you'll drag everything to the tree lawn first, when you've said it's in the basement.

A clear yes or no on each question above is what you are looking for. Compare quotes on the same basis, carry-out to carry-out. Get JunkRabbit's on the instant quote.

Frequently asked questions