Attic cleanout in Whittier

Attic cleanout is a job Louie Villareal, owner of Cast Out Hauling & Junk Removal, handles himself in Whittier and the LA and Orange County cities around it. He goes up through the hatch and brings down what has been stored overhead for years, then hauls it off. Call or text (562) 781-9101 for a price. What sets an attic apart from a garage cleanout is the climb. Everything comes down a ladder or a narrow set of attic stairs, one piece at a time, and Louie does that part so you don't have to.

Most attic calls come from people who finally need the space or need the house empty, like a family getting a house ready to sell or a landlord clearing a rental between tenants. The pile is usually light but bulky. Cardboard boxes gone soft, old suitcases, a crib, rolled rugs, a chair somebody meant to fix. Louie takes it as it sits.

Attic jobs take Louie into houses from Norwalk and Downey to Fullerton and Brea, and the climb through the hatch is the same in every one. Before you call, the full list of towns Louie drives to around Whittier shows whether your attic is on his route. When an attic has to be empty before a sale or a move-out, he's open 24/7 and can sometimes fit in same-day work, though he won't promise it. His turnaround is a "24 hour turn around."

What goes on the truck

• Moving boxes and storage bins
• Holiday decorations and artificial trees
• Old luggage and suitcases
• Stored dressers and headboards
• Lamps, fans and mirrors
• Kids' clothes and baby gear
• Rolled rugs and old bedding

Text or call (562) 781-9101 about yours.

From the full list of what goes on the truck: garage, attic and basement cleanouts.

What comes out of a typical attic

Most attics Louie clears hold the same kind of load. Stacks of moving boxes that never got unpacked. Bins of kids' clothes and old school papers. Artificial trees and yard inflatables from past holidays. Old luggage and a mirror wrapped in a sheet. Now and then a dresser or a headboard that somebody muscled up the stairs years ago and nobody wants to carry back down. A box fan with a cracked blade or a few old lamp shades might be tucked in the far corner by the eaves.

The pieces weigh less than a garage full of tools, but the work runs slower because every item rides down a ladder. Cardboard that has sat up there through a few summers often splits when it's lifted, so Louie carries the weak boxes from underneath. Most of it falls under the household boxes, bins and stored furniture Louie hauls.

Where the attic boxes end up

Anything still usable goes to a local donation center first. That means the lamp that works, the clean storage bins, the decorations still in their boxes and the chair with four good legs. Things that can be recycled get recycled when possible. What's left goes to the landfill, like the crumbling boxes and water-stained papers.

If you want something kept, set it aside or tell Louie before he starts. Family photos and old paperwork turn up in attic boxes more often than people expect. Look through the boxes marked "misc" before Louie loads them.

How Louie gets it down from the hatch

Louie starts at the top. He goes up the pull-down ladder or the attic stairs, brings each piece down by hand and walks it out of the house to load it. Nothing has to wait at the curb. He carries it out from where it sits, down the hall and out the door. Tell him where the hatch is when you reach out. It might be in a hallway ceiling or up in the garage. Clear a path from the bottom of the ladder to the door and the trips go quicker.

Most attics he handles alone. When one is packed tight enough to need more hands, he brings a small crew. For a rental, Louie works out the time and the access with the property manager, and the manager can tell him which unit and which hatch to use. He gives an hour window for when he'll arrive, so whoever is letting him in isn't stuck waiting all day.

What stays in the attic

Some things Louie won't haul, attic or not. Old paint cans, pool chemicals, gas cans and anything holding fuel count as hazardous, and he leaves them where they are. A gas can stays in the attic even if it's the last thing up there. The same goes for asbestos. If something up there in an older house looks like it might be asbestos, it stays put.

Concrete and dirt are off his list too, along with anything that would have to be scooped up with a shovel. In an attic, that mostly means loose debris that can't be picked up by hand. Boxes and furniture are fine. A floor covered in loose material that would need a shovel is not part of the job. Point out the paint and chemicals before Louie starts so they stay out of the load and out of the way.

What an attic cleanout costs

The minimum is $120. Above that, the attic gets a single price, and it comes from the space the load fills on the truck. Once it's loaded, that price doesn't change. A few boxes and a lamp make a small load. A full attic with a dresser and a crib takes more space, and the number reflects it. A half-empty attic usually lands lower than a packed one.

Louie lists two add-ons. Upstairs is +$25 and a carry over 50 feet is +$50. Louie tells you which one applies before he climbs the ladder, and nothing gets tacked on later. If you're a senior or served in the military, bring it up when you call, since Louie offers a discount for both. The quote itself is free. Call or text (562) 781-9101.

How the price works

Call or text (562) 781-9101. Louie looks at how much room it takes on the truck and gives you one number for the whole job. The number doesn't change once it's loaded. Jobs start at $120. The only add-ons: upstairs +$25, carry over 50 feet +$50. He tells you before he starts. More on how pricing works.

Where Louie does this

All of the surrounding LA and Orange County cities. See every town Louie covers for attic cleanout.