Just put them out. Whoever takes them if they plan on using them will need to drain the gas and clean the residue. The person who picks them up may also just plan on using them for scrap. If they are not taken then you can put in the dumpster only after you have drained any remaining gas from them.

You can always add " may or may not work" to the sign. You might be surprised at the things people pick up. When we moved we put a small safe at the curb the night before the township was scheduled to pick up appliances etc. During the night someone took it - and it didn't even have a door on it. People also took rusted lawn tools, broken patio furniture, half of a bed frame. I thought it was great because at least it wasn't going to the land fill.

Yeah, I agree with maire, just put a little sign taped to it that says "may not work" or something. Most people will probably assume if something is at the curb, it may not work. Likely, they are still OK. Often times, old lawn mowers go to the scrap yard anyway. My neighbor just put out a dryer to the curb and they didn't even get to take it off the dolly when someone came by and got it directly from them and they even helped to load it onto their truck...HA! But anyway, a lot of people are handy and can fix things.

This weekend, we drove by a washing machine set out by the side of the road near our cottage, that said, "Might work?". It's mild optimism made me smile.

There's a good possibility that a good cleaning of fuel system will provide many more years of service.

I agree. A good cleaning, draining the gas.....maybe ...a new carburetor for the mower....

I've picked up those items. DH got them working. Then I left them for the renters. They're going to destroy them any way, why buy new...right! The sign should read...."worked last time I used them 6 years ago". Nuff said...

"If a lawnmower and a weedeater" .... I was hoping for a joke!

Just add to the FREE sign: hasn't been used in years.

:)

Moni

My brother has found many lawnmowers and weed eaters at the curb, fixed them and used them for years. You don't need to put a sign saying free. The global assumption is if it is out at the curb, it's there for the taking.

one year, we put an old wheelbarrow at the curb on our big trash day. Bottom was rusted out like Swiss cheese and the wood handles were dry rotted. someone took it.

Nickel, me, too. I figured the next line would be “walked into a bar”.

Or, "had a baby..."

No, they should still work. They may need to be drained and new fuel and oil put in but that's not a biggie!

I expected a joke too! :).

Reading through your comments, reminded me I have a wheelbarrow too, with a flat tire. It's in perfect condition except for that. Bright orange. My son bought me a really nice garden cart/dolly thing for Christmas so I don't need the wheelbarrow now. I may put my Dyson Animal out there on a non rainy day too since I no longer have carpet in the house. Chewie's long fur clogged it and I kept meaning to take it to repair because it cost so much I couldn't bring myself to throw it out. Then I tore up all the carpeting in the house. My mom's old sewing machine needs to go too. It's from the 1950s I think, all metal with a case. I don't sew. Neither do my kids. I'm clearing out everything I don't use.

There's a good chance that the scrap guys will pick it up and they don't care if they are working they just want them for the scrap value. Which is much better than putting them in a landfill! They get re-purposed. Any time you have something that can be put out for the scrap guys do it rather than send it to the dump to go in a landfill.

They will separate the plastic pieces, the iron, the aluminum, and the copper. They will take every little piece of wire and strip off the cover to get to the metal inside. Each bit can be recycled at a scrap yard.

So just put it out there.

I don't know if it's changed lately but I've seen lots of articles in recent years talking about how much material people think gets recycled from their curbside bins and drop-off points that actually winds up in landfills all the same. It's a lot more than people think, it's the dirty little secret of the refuse business.

Not unlike Goodwill and other places that take people's junk without question, the guys that go around looking for stuff to pick up are looking for items of value, however minor, they can realize by selling it. Stuff that requires more than a little effort or that's of questionable value gets trashed by all but the most impoverished collectors and will wind up in landfills. They're poor folks looking to make money, not people working to better the environment.

I was given a weedeater that had been unused for several years. I drained the gas, refilled it, pulled the cord three times til it started. Been using it for the past 12 years.

YMMV

Good joke answer Elmer!

If a lawnmower and a weedeater were the only applicants at a company where there were two job openings, might the interviewer hire just one because they determined the other just couldn't cut it?

I have a Bernina, a serger, and a 1950's Singer machine that you would have to tear from my cold dead hands. Nothing beats the simple easy tension on that machine, it stitches everything flawlessly from lingerie to denim without adjustments ;0)

Point being: someone might be very glad to have it.