Junk King Fairfax

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Author Archives: Alex Powers

Donâ€™t throw away a perfectly good dishwasher.

Occasionally, we get a job to pick up a dishwasher. The customer tells us, “This dishwasher is only 3 years old. It seems to work; I can hear the motor, but the darn thing just doesn’t clean the dishes any more, especially the top rack.”

So they bought a new dishwasher for about $600, and then they pay us to get rid of the old one.

It’s likely that they didn’t need a new dishwasher. Dishwashers typically last 9 to 10 years. If the relatively young dishwasher isn’t doing its job, most likely you have gunk clogging a part of the machine called the food chopper. If that part is clogged, you lose water pressure, which is the main force that cleans the dishes.

dishwasher_chopper

You can clean out this gunk in a about the time it takes to drive to the store to buy a new dishwasher. You need a couple of tools like a star-bit screw driver and some needle-nose pliers.

Here is a YouTube link that shows you how to make this simple repair. This guy is more thorough than I am. I find that you can clean out the food chopper area and call it a day. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75DB9cyPYO0

If your machine really is too old to repair or clean, call Junk King and we’ll recycle it for you.

What to do with that second Refrigerator

That second refrigerator isn’t free. The electric company estimates that the old extra refrigerator costs more than $150 each year in energy costs. If you really can use it, okay. If not, get rid of the old beast and save your $150 per year.

Do you really need me at $150 per year?

If you are buying a house and it has an extra refrigerator in the garage, you might want it removed by the seller. Remember, that old refrigerator isn’t free.

If you are buying a new refrigerator and the store offers free haul away, seriously consider having them take the old one, even if it still works. Too many people fill up the garage with old appliances they really don’t need.

If you want to get rid of a refrigerator, you have options. A lot of people call their local trash company to take away old refrigerators, and that may be the worst option. The trash company typically charges about $75, which seems like a good price. However, the trash company can only take curbside refrigerators. Therefore, you must haul that beast to the curb and they average 250 pounds. Moreover, the trash company requires that you certify that the Freon has been removed. You can get an appliance technician to come to your house and remove the Freon, but that service call costs about $180.

Or, you can call Junk King. We remove standard refrigerators for $118, including all the labor, truck, recycling fee, and dumping fees. (If you want to put it curbside, we’ll match the trash company’s price and we’ll take care of the Freon.) Start saving money and energy today.

Appraisers â€” more useful than you knew!

Information is power. Appraisers provide valuable information. The right appraiser can save you serious money, time, and headaches. We interviewed a top appraiser in the Washington DC Area, John Osipchak, to learn more. Here is some of what I learned.

First, if you bought your house with less than 20% down, you most likely have private mortgage insurance (PMI). If you have PMI, you need to call an appraiser like John—today. You might be paying for insurance you don’t need, and the insurance company isn’t going to volunteer that information.

How much can you save? Using Kiplinger’s Best-rated Mortgage calculator, we see that a $500,000 house bought with $20,000 down and financed for 25-plus years, with a credit score of 760 or better, pays an average $528 in PMI per month! John can tell you if your loan to equity ratio qualifies you for a lower insurance or no insurance at all.

Eight other common reasons for using an appraiser include:

setting a profitable listing price which can reduce time on the market
expert witness testimony and asset division
valuations for relocation coordinators
estate planning and retroactive date of death appraisals
assessing current or past market value
investor analysis and consultations
homeowner consultations prior to home improvements
challenging your Tax assessment

John is licensed, certified, and second-generation appraiser applying the decades of experience and the latest technologies and best practices to provide the most accurate, thorough, and timely appraisals. (John’s stories of learning appraising from is mother is worth a separate article.)

osipchak

He works in DC, Virginia, and Maryland. And he provides the personal attention and he offers advice on how to improve your property. For example, he might suggest you call Junk King to get rid of clutter that detracts from the home’s value. You can find more information about John’s company Appraise Metro DC on his website.

Again, what really got my attention was the possibility of eliminating expensive private mortgage insurance—that’s a no-brainer.

Document Shredding and Disposal — You Have Options

If you live in Fairfax County, you can take advantage of free document shredding at one of the following events:

July 19: Mt Vernon High School, 8515 Mt. Vernon Rd, Alexandria 22309
Aug. 16: Cooper Middle School, 977 Balls Hill Rd., McLean 22101
Sept. 20: Braddock District Governmental Center, 9002 Burke Lake Rd., Burke 22015
Oct. 18: Mason District Governmental Center, 6507 Columbia Pike, Annandale 22003
Oct. 25: Springfield Governmental Center, 6140 Rolling Rd., Springfield 22152

The events are for residents, not businesses. You do need to be aware of some restrictions. You cannot have:

BINDERS of any type (3-ring, plastic, spiral, metal)
Plastic document covers
Wet or moist paper
Hanging file folders with metal support bars
Metal binder clips
Electronic media including computer disks and diskettes or CDs
Books, either hardback or paperback
Credit cards
Magazines, catalogs and newspapers (unless just the page with the address)
Film or photographs

Also, you will not get any certificate of destruction. Free is definitely a good price. A regular paper shredding service can be rather pricey, but you get the certificates of destruction and the on-site destruction. About the best you can do for price is $40 to get them to come to your site, and then you pay $10 to $25 per banker’s box. A banker’s box is roughly a cubic foot of space, so a cubic yard of files would cost you, best case, $40 plus 27 x $10 or $310.

bankers-boxes

Let’s say you have an office with a lot of paper to get rid of — 18 cubic yards (the capacity of our Junk King truck). If you call a shredder, you’ll pay, best case, $4,900. Junk King could haul that same paper straight to the Covanta plant where they burn it at 1,800 degrees to make electricity. We would haul that amount for $600. Also, you don’t have spend hours pulling the files out of plastic folders and three-ring binders and such. You can save days of your labor.

True, you don’t get a certificate, but you save days of your labor and $4,300! For that kind of savings, you could follow our truck to Covanta to watch the paper burn. Just saying . . .

Test Your Knowledge on Recycling

Pop Quiz: What is the most commonly recycled material?

A: Paper
B: Aluminum
C: Car Batteries
D: Glass
E: Plastic

The answer might surprise you: car batteries.

carbatteries

The U.S. recycles about 70% of office paper, about 54% of our aluminum, about 35% glass, about 30% of plastic, and 99% of car batteries.

Unfortunately, improper handling of old lead acid batteries one of the worst pollution problems for the globe. At Junk King, we use EPA-approved recyclers to ensure that the lead stays out of landfills and our water. (We like to fish.)

Getting more life out of your refrigerator.

At Junk King, we pick up many refrigerators that appeared to have died young. Here is couple of tips to help you get more life out of your refrigerator. You need a vacuum cleaner or broom, some all-purpose cleaner, and a level.

Step 1: Clean the condenser coils.

dirtycoils

The coils are either behind the refrigerator or underneath the refrigerator. If the coils are underneath, remove the grill at the bottom front of the fridge. If the coils are behind, pull the unit from the wall.

Dirty condenser coils put a strain on the motor, which costs more in energy and shortens the life of the fridge.

Use a vacuum or broom to remove dust build up from the coils every three months.

Step 2: Check and clean the gaskets.

A weak gasket seal lets warm air into your refrigerator. Take a piece of paper about the size of a dollar bill and shut the refrigerator door trapping the paper. If you can pull the paper out easily, the gasket seal is poor. You can replace gaskets for $25 to $100 depending on the size. See: https://www.wikihow.com/Replace-a-Refrigerator-Door-Seal

Clean gaskets last longer. Clean the gasket with an all-purpose cleaner, and wipe dry. Wipe the gaskets with vinegar to deter mildew.

Step 3: Check for level.

Use a carpenter’s level on top of your refrigerator to see if it is level. Adjust the feet by hand or with a wrench if necessary. If your refrigerator isn’t level the doors may not close on their own or may not seal tightly

Eventually, your refrigerator will give up the ghost, and Junk King will be ready to take your refrigerator and recycle it for you.

Getting rid of those pesky old monitors and TVs

Why does the County and recyclers charge $25 or more to dispose of an old computer monitor or TV? The short answer is “lead.” CRTs have 2 to 5 pounds of lead on the glass that we need to keep out of our land and water.

CRT_schema

The sale of CRTs peaked around the year 2000 at more than 65 million units. Then, flat screen technology took over and CRT sales fell to practically zero by 2010.

CRTs can last up to 30 years so all those TVs and computer monitors sold before 1990 are at the end of life. Also, people are getting rid of functioning but obsolete CRTs in favor of the better flat-screen technology.

Ironically, the demise of CRT sales hurts CRT recycling. The main end source for old CRT lead was use in new CRTs. The U.S. has only one certified CRT recycler located in Missouri. Canada has two; Mexico has one. Some recylcers have resorted to storing the CRTs for lack of recycling capacity. The EPA estimates that we have about 330,000 tons of CRT stockpiled waiting to be recycled.

The cost of recycling CRTs has two parts:

the cost to recycle – typically 14 cents per pound.
the cost of transporting CRTs to the recycler — typically another 10 cents per pound

A typical computer monitor weighs 40 pounds—a cost of $9.60
A typical 32-inch TV monitor weights 110 pounds—a cost of $26.40

A County resident has a couple of options to avoid paying recycling fees for CRT disposal.

Junk King Fairfax does not charge fees for CRT recycling when the CRT is part of a normal household or business junk-removal job. We treat the CRT in our regular volume.
Best Buy takes your old CRT– not larger than 32”.
Other retailers: Virginia law requires any manufacturer that sells (or offers for sale) more than 500 units of computer equipment in the state to provide an opportunity for customers to return or recycle their equipment at no charge.
Fairfax County has 10 Electric Sunday events each year where you can drop off CRTs and other E-waste at the Lorton or Ox Road facilities. Go to https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpwes/recycling/electric-sunday.htm

The EPA estimates that CRT disposal will be a diminishing problem until 2030, when nearly all of the CRTs will be out of the system.

Removing yard debris saves money and improves safety

Yard Debris: Old firewood.

Here’s the scenario. Five years ago, you had to take down a large tree in your yard. The tree company charges about $500 extra to haul away the wood. You have a fireplace, so you figure you’ll burn the wood: save $500 on the hauling and save $300 per cord for firewood. Brilliant!

But you’ve got more wood than you can burn in a couple of seasons and the wood pile starts growing mushrooms. It starts rotting, and it’s not good for firewood anymore. In fact, your old wood is now a thriving eco-system for insects such as ants, termites, wasps, and ticks brought in by small mammals. We’ve uncovered a copperhead snake in one pile.

You need to get that old, rotting debris out of your yard. Yes, it’s heavy. Yes, it’s nasty. But delaying the removal has a cost, too.

Here is a picture of some wood we recently removed. The log crumbled as we picked it up Note the termites. Also, see the shed about five feet away from the old wood pile. Note the termite damage.

PicMonkey Collage

The average cost of termite damage repair in Northern Virginia is $318 per structure

https://www.homewyse.com/services/cost_to_repair_termite_damage.html

Junk King will cheerfully remove the old rotten wood and yard debris. We do all the work, so you don’t need to get too familiar with the wildlife in the wood pile. You’ll have a safer, cleaner yard for you, the kids, and the pets.

Disposal of Old Propane Tanks (Grill size)

Propane-fueled gas grills outnumber charcoal, electric, and natural gas combined grills combined, so chances are good that you have one, or more.

A propane tank has a 12-year life span. You can see a stamp on the collar around the valve to see when your tank began service. Add 12 years to determine if your tank is too old. The date is usually month year: 12 – 11 or December 2011 in this picture. The tank in this picture is good until December 2023.

propanetankdate

What is Propane?

Propane is one of the nation’s most versatile sources of energy and supplies 3 to 4% of our total energy. Propane is an approved, alternate clean fuel listed in the 1990 Clean Air Act as well as the National Energy Policy Act of 1992. Propane can be either a liquid or a gas. At normal atmospheric pressure and temperature, it is a non-toxic, colorless and odorless gas. Under moderate pressure, propane becomes a liquid that vaporizes into a clean-burning gas when released from its storage container. Just like natural gas, an identifying odor is added so it can be readily detected.

How do I get rid of an old propane tank?

Fairfax County residents can take small tanks less than 20 pounds to the White Goods/Metal Recycling Area of the I-66 Transfer Station or I-95 Landfill Complex. Some local propane dealers will take the old tank if you buy a new one from them. Otherwise, most dealers charge a recycling fee.

Does Junk King take propane tanks?

Yes, and carefully! In turn, we use a service that properly transports and disposes of the tanks. We do not charge extra for propane tanks.

What do homeowners need to know about handing old propane tanks?

If you have an old propane tank, do not throw it in with your regular trash. All previously used propane tanks have some amount of gas left in them. Do not put an propane tank into a dumpster or other disposal container. Many trash trucks and dumpsters are also compactors. When the trash truck or dumpster compacts its load, the tank ruptures releasing the rest of the propane and may cause an explosion and fire.

When storing tanks—even empty tanks—store them outside. Store tanks in an upright position. Never store tanks on their side or upside down.

Do not attempt to remove the valve from your tank. Special safety equipment is required to prevent explosion. Removal of valves involves costly equipment and extensive training to meet the requirements set out in National Fire Protection Association.

If you have any questions about disposing propane tanks –or anything else for that matter, please call us at (703) 455-6831.

Home Maintenance Checklist

Home Maintenance Checklist: 5 Things To Do This Spring

The snow is gone (hopefully), the mild weather is back, and you have a to do list of things that need accomplishing before the heat and chaos of the summer returns. Spring is a great time to do all kinds of things around your home. With a little planning, you can get a jump on some common springtime tasks before the Easter bunny makes its rounds.

Here’s a checklist of things that you’ll need to follow up on as the weather gets warmer. (These tips are brought to you by Redbeacon.com, a home services website designed to hook families up with the right pros for their home-project lists.)

Review your roof
The winter is a punishing time for your home’s front line of defense against the elements: your roof. Check for shingles that have come loose or broken in the snowy or icy winter weather. These inefficiencies can allow your roof to leak and water to puddle. For a quicker (and safer) inspection, get out the binoculars and detect damage from the ground.

Get your mind into the gutter
While you’re on the roof, you might as well give your gutters some attention. Snow and ice storms can send additional leaves and twigs into your gutters, and you’ll need to make sure that the detritus isn’t clogging the downspouts. In spring’s rainy season, the extra precipitation, if not funneled away from your home, can end up leaking into your foundation.

Swap your winter coat for a coat of paint
Spring is the perfect time to paint. The weather is finally warm enough that you can open the windows when you put a fresh color on your indoor walls, so pick a room and give it a facelift. This is also a good time to get an estimate on sprucing up your home’s exterior with a new color.

Declutter your home
While you were in the throes of cabin fever, you surely brought home some things you don’t really need. It’s spring cleaning time, so open your windows, shake out your rugs, and start going through your closets. The garage is screaming for attention, and your basement looks post apocalyptic. We can help! Junk King makes decluttering easy, all you have to do is decide what you want to get rid of and we do the rest! You can even book online and save money when you book services or rent a dumpster from us!

Dig into your landscaping
Grab your pruning shears, because this job will take some elbow grease. Start by removing any dead annuals and pruning back the perennials that have new growth at the mulch line. Proactively pull weed seedlings while the ground is soft and before the weeds become pesky in the summer months. Assuming the winter left your soil unbalanced, your beds could probably benefit from an application of fertilizer.
Condensed Spring Home Maintenance List
Review your roof
Attend to your gutters
Consider a new coat of paint
Declutter the home
Tidy up the lawn and garden

Blog from: https://www.cozi.com/live-simply/home-maintenance-checklist-5-things-do-spring

Junk King Fairfax

(703) 348-8214

7361 Lockport Place Suite M
Lorton, VA 22079

Hours: M-F: 8A-6P, Sa: 8A-4P

Providing junk removal services to the Fairfax area, including:

Alexandria

Arlington

Ashburn

Bethesda

Centreville

Chantilly

Fairfax

Falls Church

Herndon

Leesburg

Manassas

Reston

Silver Spring

Springfield

Sterling

Vienna

Washington

Woodbridge

and these nearby zip codes:

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Junk King Fairfax

The #1 Rated Junk Removal Service. We provide superior value, service and effort

Call Us

Text Us

Providing junk removal services to the Fairfax area, including: