Hoarding Decisions Infographic

Hoarding Services Costs

Cleaning A Hoarder’s Home

Hoarding is a difficult issue and not an easy one to address.  Cleaning a hoarder’s home is a complicated and time consuming task.  Hiring a hoarding cleanup service can help, but how much does it cost to hire a hoarding cleanup company?

In reality, every hoarded environment is different.  The Institute for Chronic Disorganization (ICD) has developed a clutter-hoarding scale to help determine the degree of a hoard.  Determining the level of the hoard is a great way to get a ballpark estimate for the cleanup cost.  It establishes baseline criteria that hoarding cleanup companies can use to compare with other homes of the same level.

hoarding cleanup clutter hoarding scale
Clutter Hoarding Scale

Scope of Work

Another factor in determining the cost of hoarding services is the exact work to be performed.  Many people have a general idea of what they want completed, but in order to determine a quote, the scope needs to be clearly defined.  It is not uncommon to have a client state that they still need to look through everything.  That statement creates an issue in determining price because it implies that a client will need to look through every individual item.  If a team is working to clean up a hoarded home, the work will be stalled due to a lack of timely decisions being made.  These homes generally cost 3 – 5 times as much as homes where the scope is clearly defined.

Junk Hauling Costs

Hauling off trash and debris can be a significant cost associated with cleaning a hoarder’s home.  Depending on the amount and type of items being removed from the property, this cost can be up to half of the overall costs.  Roll-off containers can be used, as well as roadside pickup services, the local transfer station or dump, a junk removal service, a hoarding services company , or a local landfill to dispose of trash and debris.  The costs of these vary greatly, but generally taking items to the local dump is free for county residents.

Organizing Costs

Other hoarding services costs to consider are organizing costs.  Once items have been removed from the home, the remaining items will need to be organized properly.  Organizing costs vary greatly from home to home and depend on the need to purchase additional furniture or shelving, putting together the furniture/shelving, re-organizing spaces and closets, etc.  Reorganizing costs are generally less than the debris collection and removal phase.

Cleaning and Decontamination Costs

Cleaning and decontamination costs are one of the most undervalued and overlooked costs when cleaning hoarded homes.  Many times, the homes haven’t been properly cleaned in many years, so excessive bacterial growth can be present.  Proper cleaning and decontamination can take many hours or days and can generally start around $1500.  Some houses will require much more cleaning and decontamination, and houses with large amounts of urine and/or feces or contain animal hoarding can be much more expensive.  Click here for CDC information on rat and mice diseases.  Hoarding services can help with all of these services.

Average Cost of Hoarding Cleanup

“In short, hoarding cleanup services can cost $50-$75 per cubic yard plus $50 – $125 per labor hour, plus $.75 – $2.50 per square foot for cleaning and disinfecting.”

For more information on hoarding services throughout the United States, visit https://www.americanbiorecovery.org/.  For a free quote in South Carolina, visit us at https://www.palmettocommercialservices.com.

About the Author

Mike Young Palmetto Commercial Services
Mike Young

Mike Young owns Palmetto Commercial Services, an extreme cleaning company located in Columbia, SC.  Mike has helped in over 725 hoarded homes and has extensive extreme cleaning experience.  Mike currently holds all 3 IICRC Master Certifications, ABRA CBRT certifications, multiple crime scene cleanup certifications, multiple hoarding cleanup certificates, multiple meth lab remediation certificates and an environmental disinfection certificate.  Mike currently helps other cleaning companies by writing clean service SEO blogs.

 

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