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Mine the house.

Rare-earth magnets hide in everyday things. Search every room, open up what you find, and decide what it holds. Fill the bin, then take it to the recycler.

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0 / 24 discoveries0 / 15 rare-earth finds identified

Cutaway drawing of a two-storey family house with its rooms open to view

Click the drawing to explore · Scroll to move down the pageTap a discovery to see what’s inside.

Garage

Cordless drill: a rare-earth magnet. Brushless cordless tools use a permanent-magnet motor, and compact high-power motors like this one commonly use neodymium magnets. The exact alloy depends on the tool.
E-bike: a rare-earth magnet. An e-bike’s hub motor is a brushless permanent-magnet motor built into the wheel. Hub motors commonly use neodymium magnets for their strength and size.
Grandpa’s table saw motor: no permanent magnet. Older table saws typically run on an induction motor: copper windings and a steel rotor, with no permanent magnet. No rare earths, but plenty of copper worth recovering.
Old shop radio: another kind of magnet. Its speaker has a magnet, but older and larger speakers typically use ferrite (ceramic) magnets: heavier for the same pull, and not a rare-earth source.

Kitchen

Refrigerator door: another kind of magnet. The door gasket hides a flexible magnetic strip that pulls the door shut. It, and the souvenir magnet on the door, are typically bonded ferrite.
Microwave oven: another kind of magnet. The magnetron that makes the microwaves sits between two ring magnets, typically ferrite. A strong find, but not rare-earth.
Stand mixer: no permanent magnet. Most stand mixers use a universal motor: brushes and copper windings on both rotor and stator, with no permanent magnet. Some newer models use DC motors that do.
Toaster: no permanent magnet. A toaster has heating elements, a spring and a latch, and no motor or speaker: no permanent magnet to find, though some use a small electromagnet to hold the lever.
Smart speaker: a rare-earth magnet. Compact speakers commonly use neodymium magnets so a small driver can still move plenty of air. The alloy depends on the design.

Living room

Soundbar: a rare-earth magnet. A row of slim drivers in a narrow bar: thin speakers like these commonly use neodymium magnets. The alloy depends on the design.
Game console: a rare-earth magnet. Consoles with a hard disk drive carry its voice-coil magnets, commonly neodymium. Consoles with only solid-state storage don’t have them.
Robot vacuum: a rare-earth magnet. Its suction fan and wheels are driven by small brushless motors, which commonly use neodymium magnets. The alloy depends on the model.

Teenager’s room

Headphones: a rare-earth magnet. Each earcup holds a driver with a magnet. Many headphones, such as the documented Sony WH-1000XM4, use neodymium magnets.
Gaming PC: a rare-earth magnet. If it has a hard disk drive, its voice-coil motor holds neodymium magnets. Its fans and speakers may hold more.
Smartphone: a rare-earth magnet. Its speakers, vibration motor and camera stabilizers all use tiny magnets, commonly rare-earth because space is so tight. The alloys depend on the phone.
Camera drone: a rare-earth magnet. Each rotor spins on a brushless outrunner motor, which commonly uses neodymium magnets for power at low weight.
Electric guitar: another kind of magnet. Its pickups are magnets wrapped in fine copper wire, typically alnico or ceramic. Some modern pickups do use neodymium.

Bathroom

Hair dryer: another kind of magnet. Most hair dryers turn their fan with a small DC motor that has ferrite magnets. Some high-end models use brushless motors with rare-earth magnets.

Home office

Laptop: a rare-earth magnet. Thin laptops fit speakers and fan motors into very little space, which commonly means rare-earth magnets. Whether a particular laptop does depends on its design.
External hard drive: a rare-earth magnet. Inside is a hard disk drive. Its voice-coil motor uses a pair of magnets, commonly neodymium. Its data needs securing before any recovery.

Main bedroom

Smartwatch: a rare-earth magnet. The tap you feel on your wrist comes from a tiny vibration motor whose magnets are commonly rare-earth.
Wireless earbuds: a rare-earth magnet. Each bud holds a tiny driver, commonly with a neodymium magnet, and the case uses small magnets to hold them in place.

Attic

Box of old hard drives: a rare-earth magnet. Every old hard drive carries voice-coil magnets, commonly neodymium. Data first: drives need secure sanitization or destruction before recovery.
Old hi-fi speakers: another kind of magnet. Big speakers from decades past typically use large ferrite (ceramic) magnets. Heavy, but not a rare-earth source.

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