HOME TRENDS

The clutter has to go!

Hauling, junk-removal services see increased demand during COVID

Written by LINDA HARKCOM

For the past year, Americans have been cooped up in their homes with more time on their hands than ever before. As they finally have time to clear out basements, closets, attics and garages, they’ve realized that the clutter has to go.

The result has been an increased need for junk removal. Thankfully, there are several local businesses and organizations that can help by hauling away unwanted items and trash.

“Most people do not have the time, vehicle capacity, and often the muscle, to remove large, heavy items from their homes,” said Kris Detrow, executive director of the Home Builders Association of Washington County. “Due to the fact that people are home more, they are taking the time to make major changes to their homes, resulting in a huge need to remove the debris that comes along with all those improvements.”

Junk-removal services are an important service for community members.

“Many elderly and disabled people are unable to manage these things for themselves,” Detrow said.

JDog Junk Removal & Hauling Hagerstown recently opened to help with the increased need within the community. The company is owned and operated by Aaron and Amber Mowery of Hagerstown, and is a franchise that is nationally known for its military work ethic and employment of veterans.

“We met the marketing team, everyone at headquarters and the owners, Jerry and Tracy (Flanagan), and we fell in love with them and their mission,” Aaron Mowery said. “Their goal is to get the veteran unemployment to under 1%, to be by veterans, for veterans.”

Aaron Mowery is a veteran of the U.S. Army. During his service, he was stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado and had a combat tour in Iraq.

“We have two veterans employed with us currently – one Air Force veteran and one Army veteran,” Mowery said. “I personally enjoy having veterans on the team, as it brings back the sense of camaraderie and brotherhood that we had while we were in the military. We've been told multiple times that they enjoy the conversation and the camaraderie that they have again while being on the truck.”

Mowery said his company territory runs from Shippensburg, Pa., through Southcentral Pennsylvania, and from Hagerstown to Martinsburg and Inwood, W.Va., to Winchester Va.

JDog Junk Removal & Hauling Hagerstown recently opened to help with the increased need for hauling services within the community. The company is a franchise nationally known for its military work ethic and employment of veterans. Submitted photo

“We also go over to Frederick, Md., and down to Leesburg, Va.,” Mowery said.

JDog offers removal of almost everything, including appliances, garbage, yard waste and construction debris; as well as cleaning out of storage units, and foreclosed and estate properties; plus packing of storage containers and moving trucks. Workforce solutions (hourly labor) are available, too, as well as deconstruction and light demolition.

JDog does not, however, remove hazardous materials such as gasoline, diesel, aerosol cans or propane.

“For hazardous materials, we suggest calling the fire department, or for propane, local propane stores will usually take the propane tanks,” Mowery said.

The company offers free estimates. Mowery said pricing is according to volume, which translates to the amount of truck space needed for the items. Dumpster service

Dümpster LLC of Hagerstown offers a different option for junk removal. The company, owned by Kevin Sherman, offers roll-off dumpster service and specializes in small, residential dumpsters to assist in cleanup, renovation or demolition projects.

Sherman said he started the company in 2017 because he thought there was a need for small, driveway-friendly dumpsters.

“Homeowners do not want an enormous dumpster for home projects. We offer a special dumpster for concrete, rock and dirt, and five other sizes for regular household waste and debris. By having a dumpster on-site, it speeds up your home or business project by saving time spent running to the landfill, along with the wear and tear on your vehicle. We drop the dumpster, you fill the dumpster, and we haul it away,” Sherman said.

Dümpster LLC is a family business. Sherman said his wife works in the office, and his son drives one of the trucks and assists with other duties.

“We do pride ourselves on being very professional. Our drivers are knowledgeable and courteous,” Sherman said.

The name of his business was chosen with customer service in mind.

“I chose the umlaut (ü) because it represents a smile, and we are a driveway friendly dumpster service. We deliver every dumpster with a Ü smile,” Sherman said. “I also chose it because of my German heritage. My mother came to the United States from Germany when she was 11 years old. The umlaut just seemed to be a perfect fit for Dümpster LLC."

The company services Hagerstown and areas within an approximately 30-mile radius. The dumpster service includes delivery, pickup, seven days with the rental, and a certain amount of weight, depending on the size a customer chooses.

“We do speak with each customer regarding what will be going in the dumpster to try to determine if there may be an issue, such as going over the included weight prior to delivery,” Sherman said. “We place boards under our dumpsters, so they never touch your driveway. We can deliver (the) same day or (the) next day and pride ourselves with having excellent customer service.”

The company can only take concrete if it’s put into a concrete, rock or dirt dumpster. It cannot accept hazardous materials, tires, car batteries or liquids, such as gas or oil, propane tanks, or anything with refrigerant or freon. Sherman suggested that people who have those types of items to remove should contact a local landfill for information on how to dispose of them properly. He said many landfills have areas to take items such as batteries, car tires and refrigerators.

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Unusual requests

Junk-removal businesses haul all types of items, from the very common to the strange and exotic, to very large pieces and jobs. Mowery said his company is most often contacted to haul couches, stoves and refrigerators. Sherman said his dumpsters are requested the most for cleaning out homes, remodeling projects and roofing jobs.

Mowery said larger items his company has removed include a hot tub from a customer's backyard, which he said was heavy and awkward.

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“We had to take the hot tub up and over the retaining wall that it was sitting inside of, up to the flat surface and then into our truck,” Mowery said.

Sherman has encountered some unusual requests, too.

“This maybe is not the biggest single thing, but we had a local contractor rent over 25 dumpsters to clean out a hoarder home. That’s a lot of junk,” Sherman said.

Mowery said the strangest thing his company has been called to remove so far was an unused queen mattress and box spring that a customer wanted taken away.

“This to us was not a normal request; however, we do not ask questions regarding what the client wants taken,” Mowery said.

While very odd, it was not as exotic as a request Sherman recalled.

“I guess that would have to be the mounted bobcat that literally scared the heck out of me when I first saw it,” Sherman laughed. Repurposing items

Not all items hauled by the two businesses end up at the landfill. Sherman said Dümpster LLC recycles metal and other materials, if possible.

Mowery said JDog Junk Removal & Hauling’s goal is to keep 60% to 80% of the things it removes out of the landfill.

“We strive to repurpose everything that we can,” Mowery said. “We work with a number of local nonprofits that we are able to donate to, whether it be in the form of the items themselves such as furniture, clothing, appliances, etc., or monetarily from the selling of certain items. We work with Come All Who Are Thirsty, a local nonprofit in Sharpsburg, Ordinary Vet in Smithsburg, as well as Platoon 22 out of Frederick, Md.”

Both companies have put COVID protocols in place to keep their employees and customers safe. JDog is offering low-touch or no-touch service, and employees wear masks.

“We pride ourselves on no-contact rental, if you choose,” Sherman said. “You can call in your order and then pay online to accept our terms and conditions. Our drivers will follow the directions you’ve provided to drop your dumpster. When you are done, just call us and we will come take it away. Of course, we still work with folks in person, too. Whatever your comfort zone is, we will try our best to accommodate.” Brooke’s House

while providing women with purpose and life skills. Kevin Simmers, founder of Brooke’s House in Hagerstown, said the organization began offering junk-removal services in 2018.

Brooke’s House is a nonprofit organization born from a promise Simmers made to his daughter Brooke to open a sober-living house unlike the ones where she stayed, if she remained drug-free for one year. She died April 14, 2015. Kevin Simmers fulfilled the promise he made to his daughter by creating Brooke’s House in her memory.

Brooke’s House offers a 16-bed, transitional, sober-living home for adult women in the early stages of substance-abuse recovery. The organization provides a community-based, safe, stable and emotionally supportive living environment for the women by providing them with a tranquil, home-like facility, state-of-the-art treatment and recovery services, and resources to help residents achieve their dreams of living drug-free and productive lives.

“My wife and I will probably do this for the rest of our lives. We lost our daughter, which is tragic, and it’s our way of giving back, so other ladies won’t have to go through what our daughter went through,” Simmers said.

When the organization broke ground for the facility in 2018, need was met by opportunity.

Dümpster LLC of Hagerstown specializes in small, driveway-friendly dumpsters. Submitted photo

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Brooke’s House junk removal program not only serves the community by removing unwanted and unneeded items, but does so while providing purpose and life skills to women at the sober-living home. Submitted photo

"We were looking for things to do. We have a 16-foot box truck. People would start donating furniture to us, and if it wasn’t in a condition suitable for our needs, we would tell them we could haul it to the dump for them for a donation to Brooke’s House. It just evolved from there,” Simmers said.

By creating social enterprises within Brooke’s House, the organization has an avenue of independent, self-supporting revenue for the home where residents learn new skills and a work ethic. In addition to junk removal, the organization also has Brooke’s House Chocolate, and a dog bathing and grooming service.

“All of the women participate. It helps them develop a sense of purpose and life skills, like interacting with the customers, handling cash for payment and either disposing of items at the landfill or the store,” Simmers said.

The organization will haul anything except hazardous materials and tires.

In addition to picking up items people no longer want, Simmers said his organization has cleaned out all kinds of spaces, including apartments, hoarders’ houses, homes of people who have died, warehouses and attics.

“We take everything and leave it in a condition where they can have it for sale or rent or whatever they are going to do with it,” Simmers said.

The only charge for the service, Simmers said, is that the organization asks for a donation, as well as the costs to cover the fees from the landfill. Customers receive a receipt for the donation.

“It’s a great way for the community to support Brooke’s House and get something in return,” he said.

If someone needs items hauled that they wish to donate to a different organization, Simmers said Brooke’s House will haul it, as long as the customer is willing to make a donation to Brooke’s House for the service.

This spring, the organization plans to open a thrift store, which will be connected to the junk-removal program.

“People can call us to pick up a donation, and we will decide if it is something we need, or if it can be sold in the thrift store, or if it needs to go to the dump,” Simmers said. “John Barr at Ellsworth Electric is donating a warehouse to us and we should be open sometime in the spring.”

Simmers said the thrift store, which will be open on Saturdays, will be in a warehouse on East Lee Street in Hagerstown. — Places

For more information

Brooke’s House brookeshouse.org | 240-452-8172 facebook.com/brookeshouseofwashingtoncounty Dümpster LLC 240-447-6974 facebook.com/mygreendumpster JDog Junk Removal & Hauling Hagerstown 844-GET-JDOG or 301-331-3801 jdog.com or facebook.com/jdoghagerstown