Bio-One of Raleigh decontamination and biohazard cleaning services

Where to start cleaning a hoarder's house?

To even know where to begin to start cleaning up a hoarded or cluttered home, it is important to develop a routine. Follow these tips to get started.

 

PICK UP TRASH

 

The first step is to pick up trash. Take a trash bag with you and walk around the house. Be sure to go through each room and pick up trash. You know how it can be, things pile up if you don't stay on top of them. Carrying a trash bag with you helps rid of the non-essential items quickly. Try to stay focused on picking up trash. Do not do any cleaning yet. This is your "first pass" through the house. Immediately take the filled trash bags to the trash can or dumpster.

 

PICK UP DISHES & CUPS

 

After you dispose of the trash, go through and pick up any lose dishes or cups sitting around the house. Don't worry about cleaning them, just put them in the sink or dishwasher directly. This will help you consolidate the clutter into one area that you can clean later.

 

PICK UP LAUNDRY

 

Take a laundry basket and start picking up dirty laundry. Do a sweep of the house and deposit laundry by the washer and dryer. You could even start of load of laundry while you are cleaning; just don't forget to put it into the dryer once it is finished.

 

Now, take the empty laundry basket or a box or basket and use it to pick up clutter and items that have been left out. It doesn't matter how you do it, just do it. You may start picking up items that you no longer need. You could even start a donation box.

 

MOVE ROOM BY ROOM

 

Once the initial pass-through is done, focus on doing a room-by-room clean up. Take a storage box with you and pick up items that don't belong in that room. Once you have decluttered the room, start straightening things up - make the bed or tidy up couch cushions.

 

Once the room is picked up, use this opportunity to dust. Leave the kitchen to last so this gives you a spot to consolidate cleaning products and trash.

 

VACCUM EACH ROOM

 

Now that the dust has settled in each room from your dusting efforts and no obstacles are littering the floors (trash, toys, dishes, and clothes), the next step is to vacuum the entire house. Vacuum room by room and be sure to change out the vacuum bag or empty the chamber (depending on the type of vacuum cleaner you own).

 

CLEAN THE BATHROOM

 

Wipe down the sinks and counters with a disinfecting cleaner and use glass cleaner on the mirrors, if needed. Clean the shower or bathtub with a spray. Sometimes you can even spray this down and let it work while you clean another place in the house, then come back and rinse. Clean the toilet using a toilet bowl product that dissolves without any actual work. Let it bubble up in the toilet, then flush. Hold off on mopping the floor while you are cleaning the bathroom. Save this task for the very end after you’ve cleaned the kitchen and then mop both the bathroom and kitchen at the same time.

 

CLEAN THE KITCHEN

 

By now, you’ve moved through the entire house. It is time to clean the kitchen! To start, put away all clean dishes or empty the dishwasher if it is clean. Pick up any loose items on the counter like stacks of mail or bills. Once things are put away, work on cleaning the dirty dishes, or loading the dishwasher. With the counters clear, you can wipe them down with a disinfecting counter-safe cleaner. Wipe down the stovetop and the microwave. Now get out your mop or steam cleaner and clean the kitchen floor and the bathroom floor.

If this process seems overwhelming, please reach out to Bio-One for compassionate help with no judgement. Our teams are training in hoarding clean up. We offer hoarding cleaning services to help you or a loved one regain the comfort of their home. Bio-One Raleigh owners offer free estimates and answer your call personally. Contact Bio-One Raleigh today.

Bio-One Raleigh is owned by Karen & Rick Jacobs. We offer trauma, mold and hoarding cleanup services including biohazard, blood cleanup, suicide/homicide, feces & bodily fluid, animal waste, undiscovered death, and mold testing & remediation.

We proudly serve North Carolina’s Triangle including Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary, Apex, Pittsboro, Holly Springs, Clayton, Carrboro, Fuquay-Varina, Garner, Hillsborough, Mebane, Morrisville, Wake Forest, and Wendell; as well as the following counties; Wake County, Durham County, Cumberland County, Guilford County, Orange County, Chatham County, Harnett County, Johnston County, Nash County, Franklin County and Pill County. We also provide services to Greensboro and other areas throughout North Carolina.

 Bio-One Inc. is the world's first crime scene cleaning franchise. Nationally respected and locally owned, Bio-One has earned its reputation through being trusted to handle the Mandalay Bay mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017, the Pulse nightclub shooting in Florida in 2016, and consulted on the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in 2012. In 2020, Bio-One was once again included in the best and most comprehensive franchise ranking list – Entrepreneur magazine.