specialist
Hoarder and extreme cleaning
Hoarder cleaning costs £500 to £3,000 for most properties, with day rates of £180 to £300 an operative and skips at £250 to £450 each on top. The quote turns on volume rather than floor area, because a three-bedroom house filled to waist height in every room takes longer than a large empty one ever could.
What this covers
What it costs. Hoarder cleaning costs £500 to £3,000 for most properties. Full cost breakdown.
What the job covers
- Sorting and clearing a property room by room, with the occupant
- Separating what is kept, what is donated and what is disposed of
- Waste removal by a registered waste carrier
- Cleaning and sanitising once the volume is out
- Working alongside family, social services or a landlord
What is involved
The sorting is the job and the cleaning is what happens afterwards. Almost nothing here can be shovelled, because the possessions that matter are mixed through the ones that do not, and a team that clears a room quickly usually clears something irreplaceable with it. Paperwork, photographs, cash and medication turn up in every property.
That is why the occupant is normally there. Hoarding is recognised as a disorder rather than a housekeeping failure, and a clearance done to somebody rather than with them tends to be undone within a year. Companies that do this well work at the pace of the person, agree the categories in advance, and stop when they are asked to.
The waste side is regulated. Anything taken away has to go with a registered waste carrier and travel on a transfer note, and where there is contamination, sharps or food waste in quantity, some of it is not general waste at all. A price that looks low is often one where disposal has not been counted.
Choosing someone for the job
Ask whether the occupant sets the pace and what happens when they want to stop. The answer tells you what kind of company it is.
Ask for the waste carrier registration number and check it on the public register. Everything leaving the property is their responsibility and then yours.
Ask how items to be kept are handled. Agreeing the categories before the first day is what stops the argument on the third.
Common questions
How long does it take?
A day for a single room, three to ten days for a whole house. The variable is how much sorting is wanted rather than how much there is to move.
Is the person supposed to be there?
Usually, and it works better when they are. Clearance done without the occupant is faster on the day and much more likely to be reversed over the following year.