Updated November 2026 · Removal Guide

Carpet Removal Cost in 2026: What Retailers Include vs What DIY Costs

Q: Does Home Depot remove old carpet?

Its installation service page, read 5 November 2026, lists "Removal and haul-away of your existing carpet" among what the service includes, and says "Basic carpet installation is free on carpet and pad purchases of $699 or more." Its cost guide still says "Furniture moving, removal and disposal are priced separately." Ask for removal on the written quote, as included or as a priced line. See Home Depot carpet installation cost.

Q: Can I remove carpet myself?

Yes, for carpet held by tack strip around the walls, which is how stretched-in carpet is installed: cut it into strips with a utility knife, pull it off the tack strip, roll and bag it, then lift the pad and pull the staples. Glued-down carpet is harder, because the adhesive has to be scraped off the floor. The U.S. EPA lists adhesives among the products that may contain asbestos, so if you do not know what an old adhesive is, have it tested before you scrape or sand it.

Q: What do I do with old carpet after removal?

Four routes: your city's bulk or curbside pickup (rules and any fee are set locally), a $29.95 Bagster bag from Home Depot that WM collects for a fee set by ZIP code (the bag holds up to 3,300 lb), a transfer station or landfill (gate fees are set locally), or a carpet reclamation partner listed by Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE), which also lists California drop-off sites. If your installer hauls it away, you need none of these.

Q: Should I remove carpet before the installer comes?

Only if the quote charges for removal. If removal and haul-away are included, as Home Depot's service page and Empire Today say, doing it yourself saves nothing. If the quote lists removal as a line, you can take it out yourself and ask for the line to be dropped; check first whether the installer wants the old pad and tack strip left in place.

Q: What if I find hardwood floors under my carpet?

Look for water stains, gaps, soft spots and missing boards before you decide. If the boards are sound, refinishing them is an option to price against new carpet. If you want carpet back over them, see carpet over hardwood cost.

Carpet removal cost is whatever your installer’s quote says: no major US carpet retailer publishes a removal rate (checked 5 November 2026). Home Depot’s carpet installation page lists “Removal and haul-away of your existing carpet” as part of its service, and says basic installation is free on carpet and pad purchases of $699 or more. Empire Today says its installers remove and haul away the old floor. Doing it yourself costs the supplies: $32.97 for 50 contractor bags and a $29.95 Bagster bag at Home Depot, plus WM’s collection fee for your ZIP code.

What each seller publishes about removal, 5 November 2026

Home Depot service pageIncluded in the service

Home Depot cost guidePriced separately

Empire TodayInstallers haul it away

Lowe'sQuote after a measure

Contractor bags (50)$32.97

Bagster bag$29.95 + collection

Check a removal quote against doing it yourself

Floor area (sq ft)

A 12x12 room is 144 sq ft.

Quote’s removal line ($)

Enter 0 if the quote says removal is included.

Quote’s disposal or haul-away line ($)

Contractor bag packs (50 each)

Husky 42 gal. contractor bags, 50-count, $32.97 at Home Depot.

Use a Bagster bag

$29.95 for the bag at Home Depot; WM sets the collection fee by ZIP code.

Your quote: removal plus disposalenter your quote

Doing it yourself: supplies$32.97

Supply prices read on homedepot.com 5 November 2026; local prices vary. The quote and the collection fee are your numbers: no retailer publishes a removal rate.

Six ways to get the old carpet out

Pick by who installs the new carpet and how you will get rid of the old one. Where a price is shown, it is a published one; everything else is set by your installer or your town.

Route	Who does it	What you pay	Best when
Installer removes it as part of the job	Home Depot (service page lists removal and haul-away); Empire Today (installers remove and haul away the old floor)	Inside the quoted job. Home Depot: basic installation free on $699+ carpet and pad	You are buying the new carpet from them
Removal quoted as its own line	Independent installers; Lowe's quotes after a measure; Nebraska Furniture Mart says take-up and removal may need extra labor charges	Whatever the line says: none of them publishes a rate	You want it done, and the line is small next to your time
DIY, city bulk pickup	You, then your city or hauler	Bags ($32.97 for 50); pickup rules and fees set locally	Your city collects carpet at the curb
DIY, Bagster bag	You, then WM	$29.95 bag plus WM's collection fee for your ZIP code	Several rooms, no truck, room on the driveway
DIY, transfer station or landfill	You	The local gate fee; bags	You have a truck or trailer
DIY, carpet recycling	You, then a CARE reclamation partner	Set by the partner	A partner near you takes post-consumer carpet

What to ask before you pay for removal

Ask whether removal and haul-away are included, and if not, the price as its own line; whether the pad and tack strip come out too; whether stairs cost extra (Home Depot’s service page says custom or spiral stairs need additional labor); and whether furniture moving is included. Home Depot’s own pages disagree: the cost guide says furniture moving, removal and disposal “are priced separately”, so get the answer on the written quote. For the rest of the job, the carpet installation cost calculator takes a removal rate you enter, and carpet labor cost per square foot shows what the labor line should cover.

How to remove carpet yourself

What you need: a utility knife with spare blades, pliers, work gloves, knee pads, a flat pry bar, a dust mask and heavy contractor bags.

Clear the room. Move out what the installer will not move. Home Depot's service page lists moving basic furniture as included; ask your installer what they move.
Cut the carpet into strips. Score it with a utility knife into strips about three feet wide, parallel to a wall. Use a fresh blade.
Pull it off the tack strip. Start in a corner, grip the edge with pliers and pull up and away from the wall. Once a strip starts, pull it by hand.
Roll and bag each strip. Roll tightly, cut the rolls to lengths you can lift, and bag or tie them for your disposal route.
Lift the pad and pull the staples. Pad is usually stapled to a wood subfloor or glued to concrete. Pull it in strips and remove every staple. Wear a dust mask for old, crumbling pad.
Check the tack strip. Leave sound tack strip in place if your installer will reuse it. Broken or loose strip is cheap to replace: Home Depot listed Halex tack strip at $39.97 for 100 four-foot strips (13 October 2026).
Look at the subfloor. Mark soft spots, squeaks and raised nail heads for the installer. Floor repairs are extra labor on Home Depot's service page.

Glued-down carpet

Glued-down carpet has no tack strip: it is cut into strips and pulled up, and the adhesive and any attached cushion are scraped off the floor before new carpet goes down. It is slower and harder work than stretched-in carpet, and it is common on concrete. The U.S. EPA lists adhesives among the products that may contain asbestos. If you do not know what an old adhesive is, have a sample tested before you scrape, sand or grind it.

Getting rid of old carpet

City bulk pickup: many towns collect carpet at the curb, with their own rules on roll length, bundling and fees; check your town’s site. Bagster: the bag is $29.95 at Home Depot and holds up to 3,300 lb; you schedule collection with WM, and its site gives the fee for your ZIP code. Transfer station or landfill: gate fees are set locally. Recycling: Carpet America Recovery Effort lists carpet reclamation partners by area and California drop-off sites.

Questions

How much does carpet removal cost?

It depends on who installs the new carpet, because no major retailer publishes a removal rate (checked 5 November 2026). Home Depot's carpet installation page lists "Removal and haul-away of your existing carpet" as part of its service and says basic installation is free on carpet and pad purchases of $699 or more, while its cost guide says removal and disposal "are priced separately". Empire Today says its installers "remove and haul away your old floor" as part of the job it quotes. Lowe's quotes after a measure. Doing it yourself costs the supplies: $32.97 for 50 contractor bags at Home Depot, plus a disposal route (city bulk pickup, a $29.95 Bagster bag plus WM's collection fee for your ZIP code, or a transfer station). Enter your quote's removal and disposal lines in the checker on this page to see what doing it yourself would keep.

Does Home Depot remove old carpet?

Can I remove carpet myself?

What do I do with old carpet after removal?

Should I remove carpet before the installer comes?

What if I find hardwood floors under my carpet?

Sources and method. The Home Depot, Carpet Installation service page (re-read 5 and 13 Nov 2026) (basic carpet installation free on carpet and pad purchases of $699 or more; the service includes in-home measure, delivery, moving basic furniture, removal and haul-away of existing carpet, installation and a lifetime installation warranty; custom or spiral stairs, significant floor repairs and heavy specialty items need additional labor; checked 13 November 2026); The Home Depot, Carpet Installation Cost Guide (average cost per sq ft: carpet $1 to $4, padding $1.01, installation $0.69 for basic install; furniture moving, removal and disposal priced separately; checked 13 October 2026); Empire Today, how it works (coupons page) (an All-Inclusive Price Estimate after an in-home measure; installers move furniture, remove and haul away the old floor, install and clean up; checked 5 November 2026); Lowe's, Carpet Installation (no published per sq ft install price; quote follows a free in-home measure; checked 13 October 2026); Nebraska Furniture Mart, Flooring Services (take-up, removal, stairs, spindles and furniture moving may require extra labor service charges; no prices published; checked 13 October 2026); The Home Depot, Husky 42 gal. contractor bags (50-count) listing ($32.97 for 50 bags (66 cents a bag); checked 5 November 2026); The Home Depot, WM Bagster Dumpster in a Bag (holds up to 3,300 lb) listing (bag price $29.95; the collection fee is paid to WM separately; checked 5 November 2026); WM, Bagster (check collection fees in your area) (collection is scheduled with WM after the bag is filled; the collection fee is looked up by ZIP code and is not published as a national price; checked 5 November 2026); Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) (finder for carpet reclamation partners by area, and California drop-off sites; checked 5 November 2026); The Home Depot, Halex 1 in. x 4 ft. Carpet Tack Strip for Concrete Subfloors (100-pack) (price per 100 strips, pre-nailed for concrete; the wood-subfloor version was the same price; checked 13 October 2026); U.S. EPA, Learn About Asbestos (vinyl floor tiles, the backing on vinyl sheet flooring and adhesives are among the products that may contain asbestos; checked 13 October 2026). No retailer or installer we checked publishes a carpet removal rate, so this page prices none. Retailer terms are quoted from their own pages, read on the dates shown (Home Depot and Lowe's in a browser, because both refuse automated fetches). Supply prices are Home Depot listings read 5 November 2026; local prices vary. The quote checker adds the lines you enter and compares them with the supplies you choose.