Sofas are an essential part of every living room. There is usually at least one sofa in every home and even in most offices. They are a great piece of furniture to use to read a book, watch some TV, have a nap or just relax after a long day. People buy a new one every 10 years on average, meaning that there comes a time to get rid of your old sofa, which can be a tedious task, since they are normally quite bulky and heavy.
Many things can be considered a sofa – they come in all shapes and sizes but they all have one thing in common – they are rarely disassemblable enough to be carried safely and easily. Here are some pieces of furniture that fall under the “Sofa” category:
- Couches
- Armchairs
- Settees
- Futons
- Chesterfields
Your sofa disposal options
As mentioned earlier, sofas become a burden once you decide that you don’t need yours anymore. They are very hard to fit through doors and staircases, let alone to load in your car and get disposed of in a safe and quick manner. If you, however, are absolutely set on getting rid of your old sofa, you have more than enough ways to do so. So warm up and roll up your sleeves and let us walk you through your options. The first thing you should consider is…
Re-using the furniture piece
People rarely wait long enough for their sofa to become completely useless, torn up and broken in order to change it. Actually, over 55% of them don’t. This means that in spite of your decision to get rid of it, it is still usable. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, right? Ask around. Some family members or friends might be in need of a sofa, even if it isn’t brand new. If nobody close to you wants to take it, proceed to your other option of re-using your old sofa – selling/giving it away online.
Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, you have a wide reach and there are plenty of websites dedicated to selling or trading furniture and other items. You can also try to find a charity to donate the piece to. Look up charities online or call your local authorities. If none of these options seem doable, proceed to the next alternative for sofa disposal.
Recycling
To kick it off, recycling a sofa is much harder than you might think at first. It consists of various materials, which are often clumped and held together tightly, meaning it is very difficult to take the piece of furniture apart in order to make it recyclable. So unless you plan on doing the sofa deconstruction by yourself, this option is very likely to be less cost-efficient than the above-mentioned ones. If you still want to do it on your own, however, here is the whole process broken down:
- Remove all the removable parts. (pillows, cushions, armrests, some sofas have drawers underneath – pull them out too)
- Strip the sofa of its upholstery, using a knife or a pair of scissors, and put it aside.
- Get rid of the foam underneath. It is usually glued/stabled/sewn onto the wooden or metal framing.
- Take apart the framing, using a screwdriver/hammer/saw, depending on what the main construction is made of.
- Separate all the materials and sort them into appropriate containers. As you can probably guess, different materials require different containers. You can’t put metal framing pieces in a plastic bag for example.
You see, it is a delicate and time-consuming task that requires lots of tools and physical labour to pull off. It’s up to you whether you want to choose this option for your old sofa. If not, proceed to…
The old fashioned landfill
If all else fails, just throw it away. Simple as that, right? Well, yes, but actually no. As with all the other choices for getting rid of your old sofa, this one comes with complications of its own too. To begin with, if this is your plan of choice, you must first somehow squeeze your old sofa through all the doors, hallways and in the worst-case-scenario – stairways. This endeavour requires at least one more person, if not more. Even if you manage to get the sofa out of your home, you must now find a proper vehicle to transport it to the landfill. Unless you own a van or a truck, you have to hire one. This is pricey and redundant.
Even if you can theoretically hire a van for one hour, most providers of this service will turn you down because this means they lose a vehicle that could be hired for a longer period, hence making them more money.
Hire a professional waste disposal company
There are plenty of ways to get rid of a sofa, however, they all share one common problem – You have to transport and get it out of your home by yourself. This, as mentioned earlier, is a hard and risky endeavour especially if you aren’t physically fit and prepared for it or you don’t currently have an equally fit friend at your disposal to help you with it. If only there was a service that just takes the weight off your shoulders and does everything quickly and efficiently for you from start to finish right?
Well, we, at Rainbow Rubbish Removals are here yet again to save you from your troubles. Not all heroes wear capes and fly in the sky. Some wear caps and ride around in a van. Our sofa removal service is cost-efficient, fast and easy to organise. Just request your personal quote now and we will call you back ASAP to arrange the best dates possible, depending on your schedule. Don’t forget to describe the piece of furniture and your home layout in as much detail as possible, so that our team of disposal experts come prepared. What are you waiting for? Contact us today and forget your troubles!