Yes, we haul old light fixtures, ceiling fans, chandeliers, blinds, curtain rods and shades once they are down. Have whoever did the install take hardwired fixtures off first, then point our crew at the pile and we carry it out in one visit. Fluorescent tubes and CFL bulbs are the exception, and they go to your city's chemical collection program.
A home update does not leave one big item behind. It leaves a pile. The brass fixtures from the hallway, two ceiling fans from the bedrooms, a vanity light bar, the vertical blinds from the back slider and a bundle of curtain rods all end up in a corner of the garage. None of it is heavy on its own. Together it takes up the spot where the car is supposed to go, and most of it is too awkward for a trash bag.
What we take from a fixture and window update
All of it, as long as it is already off the wall or the ceiling. The pieces we carry out most often after an update are:
- Ceiling fans, with the blades, the motor housing and the light kit, boxed or loose
- Light fixtures of every kind: flush mounts, pendants, vanity light bars, outdoor porch lights and old track lighting
- Chandeliers, including the dining room one that never matched the new table
- Blinds and shades: mini blinds, vertical blinds, wood and faux wood blinds, cellular shades and roller shades
- Curtain rods, drapery hardware and old curtains, bagged or still on the rod
- Lamps, floor and table, plus the boxes of shades and spare parts that piled up with them
If the update was a bigger remodel, our guides to a kitchen remodel and the old cabinets and appliances and a bathroom remodel with the old vanity, tub and toilet cover the large pieces. If the blinds came down because the windows were replaced too, see our guide to old windows and doors after a replacement.
Who takes the fixture down
Not us, when it is wired in. A ceiling fan or a light fixture that is connected to the house wiring is electrical work, and it needs to come down with the power off, by you or by the electrician or handyman doing the install. That is the same line we draw on a hardwired cooktop. Once it is on the floor, it is ours.
Most of the time this sorts itself out. The person putting up the new fan takes down the old one and leaves it on the floor, and that is where we come in. Blinds, shades and curtain rods are different. They are held up by brackets and screws, not wiring, and if they are still up when we arrive, tell us when you book so the crew can plan for it.
Pull the bulbs before pickup. Take the bulbs out of every fixture and lamp that is leaving and set them aside. Ordinary incandescent and LED bulbs can go out with the household trash in most cities. Fluorescent tubes and CFL bulbs are the ones to keep separate, because of what is inside them.
Why fluorescent tubes and CFL bulbs go somewhere else
Fluorescent tubes and compact fluorescent bulbs contain a small amount of mercury. The EPA's page on recycling and disposal of bulbs that contain mercury recommends taking them to a local recycling option instead of the household trash, because the bulbs often break in a trash can, a compactor or a landfill. That puts them in the household hazardous waste lane, and household hazardous waste is never something we haul.
So the tubes from the old garage shop light, and the spiral bulbs from the lamps, stay behind. In Dallas, residents can drop them off at the Home Chemical Collection Center on Plano Road, which is free to Dallas residents with proof of address. Most other cities around here run a program of their own, and the EPA's overview of household hazardous waste explains which products belong in that lane. If a tube or a CFL breaks while the fixtures are coming down, the EPA has step-by-step instructions for cleaning up a broken CFL, starting with airing out the room and not vacuuming.
The fixture itself, with the tubes out, comes with us. So does the long box of a four-foot shop light, once it is empty. Our page on what junk removal will and will not take has the full list of what stays behind.
Can a good ceiling fan or chandelier go to another home?
Often, yes. A ceiling fan that worked when it came down, a chandelier with all its arms, or a set of wood blinds in good shape is the kind of thing a reuse store looks for. Habitat for Humanity's ReStore donation page lists the household goods its stores take, and our guide to donating furniture in DFW explains how that side of a pickup works. Pieces that qualify go to local donation partners. Bent blinds, fans with a cracked housing and fixtures missing their glass go to responsible disposal.
If the fan came down in its original box, or with its blades and hardware bagged together, keep them together. A fan in one piece with all its parts is the one most likely to get a second home.
Where the update pile usually sits
It depends on the city. In Carrollton, a lot of these jobs come out of the established neighborhoods, where a long-owned house is getting its first real refresh in years: the original fixtures, the fans with the wicker blades, and blinds that have been up since the house was new. Some of those streets are set up for alley collection, which can put the trailer right at the back gate, so tell us which side is easier to reach. When the update is part of a bigger clear-out, we can clear the rest of a long-owned Carrollton house in the same visit.
In The Colony, the pile often comes with outdoor pieces too, since the porch lights and patio fans near Lewisville Lake take years of sun and moisture. Some streets near the water are tighter than the newer additions, so a note about a shared drive or a narrow street helps the crew plan the approach. We can haul the porch lights and the rest of the load from a home near the lake in The Colony along with whatever else is in the garage, and if the sun-faded patio set is done too, we can carry out the weathered patio furniture from a lakeside yard in the same trip.
In Dallas, it is often a condo or apartment update, where the old fixtures and blinds have to come down an elevator or through a loading dock that needs booking. Tell us what the building requires, and we take the update pile out of a Dallas condo or house on the schedule the building allows.
If the pile has been sitting in the garage long enough to collect company, our garage cleanout checklist helps sort it before the visit.
How the pickup runs
Tell us what came down and where it is. A photo of the pile helps. A crew looks at what you have and gives you a firm number before anything is loaded. The quote is the bill, and disposal is included. We are affordable and priced fair, based on how much there is to take.
Our own crew does the carrying, not gig labor hired off an app that morning. They load the fixtures, fans, blinds and rods, then sweep where the pile stood. If the update is one part of a bigger job, our page on garage cleanouts covers the rest of the garage. Call before noon and same afternoon is typical across the northern suburbs. When you are ready, tell us what you have.
Frequently asked questions
Will your crew take down my old ceiling fan?
Not when it is wired in. A hardwired fan or fixture needs to come down with the power off, by you or the electrician doing the install. Once it is down, we haul it.
Do you take fluorescent tubes and CFL bulbs?
No. They contain mercury, so they go to your city's household chemical collection program or a store that recycles them. We take the empty fixture.
Can you take blinds that are still on the windows?
Tell us when you book. Blinds and curtain rods are held up by brackets, not wiring, so the crew can plan for them. Most people take them down first, which makes the visit shorter.
Will you take a single chandelier or one ceiling fan?
Yes. A single piece is a pickup on its own, though most of the time it leaves with the rest of the update pile in the same visit.
Do old fixtures get donated?
Fixtures and fans in working shape go to local donation partners when they qualify. Broken or incomplete pieces go to responsible disposal.
Pull the bulbs, set the tubes aside for the chemical center, and the rest of the pile from the last update is usually gone in one short visit.
