Dealing with a hoarding situation is not an easy task for both the hoarder and anybody else involved. There are many reasons why a person decides to hoard items, all of which need to be taken into consideration.
This article is going to dive into detail about how you can clean up a hoarder’s home. It is not an easy task, both physically and mentally. But with perseverance and a lot of helping hands, cleaning up a hoarding situation can be done yourself.
Entering a Hoarder’s Home
The trick is to stay as calm and emotionless as possible
The first time entering the house that a hoarder is residing in can be a trying experience. There are typically a large amount of items in piles, rotting food, animals, etc. With that said, it is VERY important to stay cool and collected which will help everyone else keep calm. The hoarder is often extremely embarrassed, so acting emotionally will only make the situation worse.
Once you have entered the home, it is important to go through as much of the house as possible. This will allow you to look at the contents of the home and come up with a game plan to get the hoarder’s house cleaned out.
Cleaning out Hoarder’s House
This is the most difficult part of this process, but obviously the most important. While some people may think that removing items from a hoarder’s home is easy, it is anything but that. The amount of labor, man-hours, and dump fees required is often-times staggering.
We have found that approximately 4-7 people on a hoarding cleanup job is ideal. Assign 2 people per room, and work from the bottom-up so you can safely walk through the house as you go. Instead of bagging individual items, it is typically easier & more cost-effective to purchase heavy duty trash cans and shovel the items into the trash cans.
The average time it takes to clean out a hoarder’s home really depends on how long the person has been hoarding and the amount of items in the home. We have found that it takes the average homeowner & a crew approximately 1 week to complete, start to finish.
Disposing of items from a Hoarder’s House
The biggest time consuming variable is not cleaning out a hoarder’s house, but the way you will dispose of the debris & items. Typically, you will either haul the items to the landfill yourself or hire out a dumpster.
When hauling the items to the landfill by yourself, you will want to have a large enough truck such as a box truck to haul a decent amount of the debris. At the landfill, you will need to hand-unload the debris, which takes more time. This is the most effective option to dispose of the hoarded items but takes the longest.
A more popular hoarding cleanout option would be to hire out a dumpster from a dumpster rental company. You can typically pack more debris into a dumpster, and you don’t need to unload it yourself. A downside to dumpster rental is the dumpster rental companies sometimes run behind on schedule. This means you may be sitting with a full dumpster waiting for a new one for a few days.
Cost of Hoarding Cleanup
You may be asking at this point, how much does this all cost? The cost of a hoarding cleanout depends a lot on whether you have friends/family doing your labor or you hire employees. Another large variable is the dumping and hauling fees in your area.
The typical hoarding cleanout cost is broken down below. We assume that the hoarding situation has been going on for 10+ years, and an entire house is filled with items.
- 160 man-hours @ $20/man-hour = $3,200 labor
- 4, 40 yard dumpsters including overweight fees = $3,800 dump & hauling fees
- Miscellaneous material & PPE = $850
- Total average hoarding cleanout cost: $7,850
Hire a Hoarding Cleanout Service
As you can see, cleaning out a hoarder’s home is no easy undertaking. It costs a significant amount of time, labor, and disposal costs. An alternative option to cleaning out a hoarder’s house yourself is to hire a professional hoarding cleanout company to do it for you.
You may wonder how much a hoarding cleanout service costs, but we have found that we can do the work at often-times CHEAPER & FASTER than you can do it yourself.
How is this possible? Because A+ Enterprises Junk Removal is a full-service junk removal company, we specialize in this type of work. We have our own employees who are extremely experienced in hoarding cleanup. Our company owns 2 dumpster roll-off trucks and our own dumpsters, which allows us to work faster & more cost-effectively than dumpster rental companies.
With A+ Enterprises, there is no middleman required for your hoarding cleanout. We are the start-to-finish hoarding cleanup solution, and we handle every step of the process ourselves.
If you are interested in having our company clean out a hoarder’s home, simply fill out the contact box below or call us at 570-373-9996.
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I hired Sal to remove a huge pile of dirt at the property. Sal and his team came on time and finished the job beautifully. They are reliable, honest, and excellent on their workmanship. I would highly recommend to anyone. Thank you Sal. AAA+++
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January 15, 2020Would definitely recommend this company for anyone needing junk removal! Super nice owner. He and another young man came to my home and were very efficient getting rid of our junk in about 90 minutes. If you’re looking for a junk removal service, definitely check out this company. Thanks, Sal!
Shannon Meier
August 10, 2019I got a 100% accurate estimate from the owner and he dispatched a crew to clean out my house the next day (!). The guys were professional and very nice and personable, making a tough situation much easier to handle. Moreover, they worked until the job was done way over my expectations. This company has the best prices in our area and they are complete pros. I would recommend them to anyone...don't hesitate and call A+ first! They will be my first call in the future! Added 3/1/2020: So 18 months later I had to clean out a 2nd floor apartment and 3rd floor attic. This attic was stuffed floor to ceiling with junk and the apartment full of furniture. Sal had a crew there within 24 hrs of my call and cleaned it out in ONE DAY! They even swept up and went through with garbage cans to completely clean the house. I value good service and A+ always delivers...I recommend them to my friends and family and have now used them 3 times. Each time the price is far less than I expected and the work is way better than I'd expect. If you have a job that you're afraid to deal with...call them!!!!! It is the best call you'll ever make! They have always come through for me. Thank you!!!!
Daryl Williams
March 2, 2020 -
I highly recommend A+ Enterprises. Sal the owner called and was great. Joe and Richard were prompt, efficient, honest, respectful, kind and took their time listening to what I wanted done. They really went above and beyond to make sure I was satisfied. I couldn't believe they came, did the estimate started the job and were out of my house in under two hours! And I had lots of stuff to get rid of...lol!!! I will DEFINITELY recommend to others and use again. Thanks for a job well done!
Lou Ann Naughton
November 18, 2020I would highly recommend this company. Very respectful employees. Worked efficiently, were conscientious and very careful. Fairly priced and made this cleanup of 50 years worth of “things” easy.
Kathleen Doyle
October 10, 2020I can't say enough about Sal. He was very patient, knowledgeable, and went out of his way to ensure my company was taken care of. I absolutely recommend anyone to use this company. They get in and out very quickly and offer a great price. They also stick to their word which is very rare now-a-days!
Mark Van Dyke
October 25, 2019 -
I was looking for someone to haul away some things from a home remodeling project. I called A Plus and within 10 minutes I received an email and was able to call the owner right away. He sent his crew out the next day and took care of my hauling needs with a great price. I cannot tell you how pleased I am at the prompt, courteous service I received from both the owner and the crew. I highly recommend them. Mary Gadomski
gadomski
June 4, 2020Top notch. I called and spoke with a Guy named Sal. Very friendly and excellent Customer Service, 100%. I was set up in minutes. The pricing was great. Delivered it next day. When it was time for pick up I advised that I would be working and not able to hear the door so just knock hard. I went out on my Lunch break wondering what the heck? And the Dumpster was gone. Great service. Great Price. I called about 6 Dumpster Rental places and of all of them, A+ Was definitely the best and Props to Sal. Great Service. Truly is A+
Baby Cakes
June 10, 2020Contacted Sal to have some old boxes removed, called me the next day to set up a time to estimate the work. Came first thing the next morning and gave me a great quote. We agreed on a wonderful price and literally 15 minutes later he was here with his truck cleaning out our boxes. He was done quickly and efficiently! Very nice man, We will be contacting him again in the near future! My family and I highly recommend!
Lakin Parsons
October 17, 2020 -
Absolutely amazing! Highly recommended! I recently moved to Pennsylvania and purchased a fixer upper in Luzern County. I had a large pile of debris from the house that I needed to get rid of. I called A+ Junk Removal and spoke with Sal. He was extremely professional and very personable. He was able to work with my schedule which was greatly appreciated. Sal also contacted me through text to remind me of my scheduled appointment. Joe and Andrew showed up on time to give me an estimate for my junk pile. They gave me a great price and got right to work. Both Joe and Andrew were very polite and extremely professional. Very friendly as well. They did an amazing job! I couldn’t have asked for a better crew to come and do this job for me. I am extremely appreciative for Sal, Joe and Andrew. I highly recommend this company and will definitely use them again on the future. Thank you so much A+ Enterprises!
Rebecca DeKonty
March 26, 2020The price was amazing and the workers were professional. They completed the job within a short period of time and I’m having them come back for more work. Thanks A plus
Maurice Oates
May 22, 2020EXTREMELY PLEASANT AND PROFESSIONAL! Gave them a call to remove some old furniture and assorted boxes of junk. They said the had a crew in my area the next morning and could be here at 9am. Arrived right at 9 on the dot and got straight to work. They battled through all my cobwebs and work quick and efficiently. No trouble or damage from moving some big items in narrow areas. The price they quoted was great value for all the work they did. I have already and will continue to HIGHLY recommend them.
Michael Machion
August 3, 2019 -
I got a 100% accurate estimate from the owner and he dispatched a crew to clean out my house the next day (!). The guys were professional and very nice and personable, making a tough situation much easier to handle. Moreover, they worked until the job was done way over my expectations. This company has the best prices in our area and they are complete pros. I would recommend them to anyone...don't hesitate and call A+ first! They will be my first call in the future!
Daryl Williams
September 26, 2018Great service! Was able to schedule a pickup very easily and quickly - at my convenience. The crew was very professional and worked quickly- with great results. Thank you!
E R
December 13, 2019I had called them to remove an old couch.. not only did the accommodate at a reasonable rate, they had it removed within hours!! Called 2-3 different places, tied prices w 2, however the customer service was phenomenal!! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!! Thank you so much again!!
Jennifer Mieczkowski
January 22, 2021
