Disposing of a Washer: A Complete Guide

Are you looking for a way to get rid of your old washer machine? Is your washer too old to donate and you’re wondering how to dispose of it properly? Luckily for you, there are a few different ways you could go about getting your washer off your hands!

There are several places to dispose of a dishwasher including donation centers, recycling centers, online marketplaces, scrapyards, and waste centers. The most convenient option is having the company that delivers the new dishwasher take the old one out of the home.

There are so many ways to relieve yourself of a washer that has no more use to you. From donation to recycling to disposal, here are a few different ways you could get rid of your washer depending on its condition.

Company Disposal

One of the best and most convenient ways to dispose of a washer machine would be to let the company manufacturer take your old one away as you purchase a new one. Companies such as Lowe’s will make the purchase of a new washer and the disposal of your old washer a piece of cake. Not only will they deliver and install your new washer, but there is also an opportunity to have them take away your old appliance.

This route will guarantee that your washer is properly disposed of and or recycled in the most environmentally friendly way. Sometimes these companies will reuse the washer’s pieces for other things and find ways to reprocess its old parts.

Other companies that include uninstalling and getting rid of old appliances are Best Buy and Sears. If you are purchasing your new appliance through any of these companies, getting rid of your washer along with acquiring your new one can turn into one project. All you need to do is make the phone call and arrange for them to pick it up!

E-Waste Recycling Process

Many people aren’t familiar with how to properly dispose of old appliances. What a lot of people don’t know is that you can’t simply throw away a washer machine like it was normal trash. A washer machine is essentially categorized as a piece of hazardous waste.

This means that as it sits and degrades, it produces harmful effects that are dangerous to humans, animals, and the environment. Because washers are flooded with chemicals from detergents, stain removers, and cleaners they emit a lot of different toxins that don’t allow for a safe and biodegradable process in an unfiltered landfill.

What is the E-Waste recycling process? E-waste is a shortened term for “electronic waste.” To put it simply, this recycling operation seeks to reuse and salvage materials from these electronics.

Initially, this was a process started because people wanted to be more bio-efficient and find ways to preserve human and environmental health. If you appreciate the recycling process and want to dispose of your washer in the most economically, environmentally, and ethically way possible, I would recommend doing so in tandem with one of these centers.

Old discarded electronic waste inside green recycling symbol. E-waste concept illustration with electrical devices such as computer monitor, cell phone, television, video camera, keyboard, mouse.

There are many ways to start the e-waste recycling of your old appliance. Many big cities have started placing e-waste collection bins so that you can simply drop off your appliance and they will take care of the rest. If this feature isn’t available near you, it’s easy to search for the nearest recycling center to you and transport the appliance yourself.

After the appliances are taken to these recycling centers, they are broken down into core materials and sorted for further processing. And that’s it!

Donation

If your washer is still in good enough condition to become a second-hand appliance, you might want to consider donating it. There are many people who would benefit from the affordable nature of a second-hand appliance. As long as it can still function efficiently, the donation route is a great and easy option! Besides, every town essentially has close access to a donation center.

First, it would be beneficial and highly advised, that you call your local donation centers and ask if they accept appliances. The Salvation Army and Habitat for Humanity are the most common options for donating large appliances (such as your washer machine)!

The Salvation Army works similarly to Sears. Although you aren’t getting a new washer in the place of your old washer, you are getting the opportunity to let the company transport the machine to their facility. If it is needed and helpful to you, The Salvation Army has set up a program that will pick up large appliances from your residence and take them to their warehouses.

The Salvation Army uses the money they make from selling donated items to finance the Rehabilitation Centers they have. So, not only will you be helping the economy by not trashing your machine, but you will be aiding the family who buys your old appliance at a convenient and affordable price to them, and you will also be a key supporter of those that use the Rehabilitation Centers.

Habitat for Humanity is a little vaguer with how you are to get your appliance to their distribution centers, but the best advice is to call them ahead of time and talk through the best way to transport and donate your washer. The donations to this second-hand home furnishing store help those in your community and area by providing appliances at lower prices.

Facebook Marketplace

A great resource that has become recently popular is Facebook Marketplace. It is a subsection of Facebook where users can get rid of items they no longer need or want, and make some money at the same time. Some even list items for free to get rid of them faster. So whether you are looking for compensation or just want to quickly get rid of your dishwasher, Facebook Marketplace can be very helpful. It is also a lot more accurate and reliable since people’s personal profiles are connected and can be rated as a seller as well.

If you want to be rated well on Facebook Marketplace, be honest. Don’t find a picture of your dishwasher from when it was brand new and try to sell it for more than it’s worth. Be honest about your dishwasher and the selling process will go much more smoothly. Start by taking several pictures of your dishwasher, inside and out. Buyers want to know what they’re buying before they drive all the way to your house.

Once you upload the pictures, you can then add a description. Talk about how old it is, issues it has had in the past, how well it still works, and why you are selling it. Are you selling because it has an issue or because you are getting a new one? By being honest and transparent about the dishwasher’s condition, you will get much more loyal customers and higher ratings, bringing you more business in the future.

The last step is pricing your dishwasher. When it comes to being your own seller on these sites, pricing is very important. You don’t want to price your item too low or too high. Either way, buyers are going to be suspicious of the quality or not even consider purchasing. Browse similar items to see what the going rate is and then, based on the quality and efficiency of your appliance, add or detract a little bit to the price.

It’s also crucial not to overestimate and advocate for your appliance simply because you want it to sell. As mentioned before, you want to be as honest as you can about the quality of your washer machine. The condition of your advertising skills will vastly influence how well your washer will sell.

Take good pictures, write a detailed description (including the brand, color, age, features, conditions, etc.), and formulate an eye-catching title. Writing the title in all caps will catch the user’s eye and stand out amongst the other dishwashers being sold.

There are several online marketplaces to choose from, but Facebook Marketplace has quickly become the most popular. It is easy to list items, easy to communicate with buyers, and more accessible as well. When users get sick of scrolling through their feed, they can hop over to the marketplace and browse for new purchases.

Users are more likely to look at Facebook Marketplace on their phones than open up their computers to craigslist. Just make sure to be patient with buyers if you don’t want to budge on a price.

Scrapyard

Recycled household appliances

A scrapyard is very similar to that of an E-Waste Recycling center. Both of these processing centers deal with hazardous waste material, but a scrapyard is more encompassing. Scrapyards take in all hazardous waste and not just appliances and electronics. So, depending on your location, transport options, and overall convenience, you can choose to take your washer to a scrapyard or an e-waste center. It will be accepted at both!

Many scrapyards will even pay you to dispose of your waste. Depending on the weight of salvageable and reuseable metal that will come from your washer, you can get a good amount of cashback. The good thing that scrapyards do is reprocess the excess metal and use it to create new products.

There are many benefits to taking this way of getting rid of your washer machine. The best benefit, of course, is getting money for taking it to the scrapyard. Another is that it keeps hazardous waste from going to the landfill. Scrapyards also benefit businesses on the other end by providing new products for a lower cost than if they were to seek out products from new materials.

Scrapyards help our environment and by contributing your washer machine to them, you can help to make a difference in decreasing the amount of hazardous waste in our world. They also help our communities. Their aid towards businesses was mentioned before, but they also help to give jobs to people. Overall, the scrapyard is a mutually beneficial place to exchange your washer for some cash.

Hazardous Waste Center

Old discarted dishwasher and washing machine on a vehicle truck for recycling

Management facilities for hazardous waste are similar to previously mentioned E-Waste recycling centers and scrapyards in the sense that they also try to recycle some of the waste that gets deposited in them. However, these centers are different from the others because they also take care of the disposal of hazardous waste in eco-friendly ways.

These centers make sure that hazardous waste (in this case, a washer machine) is deposited in the proper landfill and in the correct area of that landfill that will not harm the environment or the health of living creatures in that area.

Hazardous Waste Management Units have a few different ways in which they dispose of or transport things like old washer machines. They have containers for transporting the waste, tanks that will hold and treat contained wastes, containment buildings for holding and treating non-containerized wastes, incinerators, etc.

Get Creative!

Disposing of an old washer doesn’t always have to be actually throwing it out. Sometimes, disposing of a washer can mean that you give it a new purpose. Some people use these old machines as large containers to hold plants or tools.

For dead machines, people have turned them into furnishings for treehouses (or your actual house), fire pits for their backyards, toy chests, storage containers, etc. As long as you have an imagination, there are endless possibilities to give new life to your old washing machine.

Saying goodbye to a washing machine doesn’t have to become a bothersome task. In most cases, choosing the right route for you to get rid of this appliance will benefit not only you, but the environment, community, and business. There are benefits from donating, recycling, scrapping, refurbishing, selling, and repairing. Isn’t that great?

Hopefully, you can find a few ways to get your washer machine off of your hands that will work the best for you. After this guide, you will never have to worry about what to do with an old washing machine. Everything you need for proper dishwasher disposal is right here in this guide.

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