Independent contractors, licensed in California

7 services · California

Hoarding Cleanup Services in California

What each job involves, how urgent it really is, and what to do before anyone arrives. The tag on each card is the honest answer on urgency — most of this can wait, and a couple of things cannot.

Where you are

Each of these points at a different job, and getting it wrong wastes a visit.

Worried about a family member

It helps enormously if they know and have agreed. Start with an assessment. Hoarding Assessment →

Ready to start but cannot do it alone

Room by room, at your pace, with you deciding what goes. Sorting and Clear-Out →

The property has gone past clutter

Waste and contamination are a health matter, handled with the right protection. Biohazard Hoarding Cleanup →

Cleared, but what is underneath

Kitchens, bathrooms and floors that have not been reachable for years. Deep Cleaning →

Clearing after a death

Slower, with more time spent looking for what matters to the family. Estate and Probate Clearance →

It has filled up again before

The clear-out is the visible half. Keeping it that way needs a plan. Aftercare and Maintenance →

What this work actually involves

Hoarding disorder is recognized in the DSM-5. It is not laziness and it is not a cleaning failure, and that matters practically rather than just politely: a clear-out done to somebody rather than with them very often refills within a year. Work that lasts is work the person agreed to, at a pace they could manage, with them deciding what goes wherever that is possible.

Most of the job is sorting rather than clearing. Cash, jewelry, documents, medication, photographs and things of real value turn up regularly in what looks from a doorway like trash — and a company that does this properly is looking for them rather than filling a truck. Ask how that is handled before you book anybody; the answer tells you most of what you need to know about them.

There is usually real damage underneath. Floors that have carried an unusual load for years, plumbing and wiring nobody could reach, water damage found only when the volume comes away. The clear-out is the start of the work rather than the end of it, and a quote that covers only the removal is not covering the property.

And the honest part, which most companies in this trade will not say: the clear-out alone is not the answer. Hoarding is a condition, there are clinicians and groups in California who work with it, and a cleaning company is not a substitute for that. The companies worth calling will tell you the same thing.

How it works

Three steps, and you decide at the end of them.

  1. 1

    You call and describe the problem

    Tell us what you have noticed and where — the room, the smell, the noise, how long it has been going on. Give us your ZIP code and we will match you to a licensed company covering your area. There is no form to fill in.

  2. 2

    A local company takes it from there

    They discuss the problem with you directly, arrange a time to inspect, and agree the work and the price with you before anything starts. That conversation is between you and them.

  3. 3

    You decide whether to go ahead

    You are under no obligation. If the quote or the approach is not what you wanted, you are free to say no and call someone else.

Find your town

What the work involves locally depends on where the ductwork is and how hard the system runs.

All California towns →

Call now How it works