What hoarding cleanup costs in Seattle

How it is priced

By the truckload, because that is the only honest unit for a house where nothing can be counted.

Quarter $241, three-eighths $338, half $431, five-eighths $513, three-quarters $587, seven-eighths $661, full truck $732. Disposal is included at every rung.

Most hoarding jobs are several full loads. A one-bedroom flat that has filled over a decade is commonly two. A house with a basement and a garage is more, and it is usually more than one day.

The way to get a real number is a walkthrough video rather than a description. Nobody, including the person who lives there, can estimate this accurately in words — and nobody is expected to.

How the day is run

Plainly, and without commentary. A few things we hold to:

• The person whose home it is stays in control. Nothing is a surprise and nothing goes out of the door over an objection.
• We go room by room, finishing one space before starting the next, because visible progress in a finished room is what makes the rest possible.
• Anything that looks like documents, photographs, money or jewellery is set aside, not binned. This happens in every one of these jobs.
• Phased is normal. Several shorter days work better than one long one for most households, and the price is per load either way.
• It is not discussed with neighbors. Unmarked work, no comment at the curb.

What is different about these jobs in Seattle

Two things, and both change the plan rather than the price.

Damp. Nine months of wet weather work on a house where the windows have not been opened and the gutters have not been cleared. Paper, cardboard and fabric at the bottom of a stack are not merely old — they are damp, heavy and often moldy, especially in a basement or against an exterior wall. This means the volume weighs more than it looks like it should, the lower layers cannot be donated, and ventilation and protective equipment matter.

The basement. In most cities a hoarded house is a hoarded ground floor. Here there is usually a full basement underneath it, reached by a narrow stair, and it is generally the worst of the property because it is out of sight and because it floods slightly in a wet winter. Plan for it as its own job. Families routinely book for the house and then discover the basement is half the work.

The third, smaller factor: a lot of these properties are hillside houses with a long exterior stair run to the street and no parking. Every load makes that trip. There is no stair charge and no long-carry fee, but it affects how many people come.

The named items inside the volume

A two-load house with a failed fridge in it comes to $732 + $732 + $164 = $1628.

Where the contents are bagged rather than bulky, the bag tiers are sometimes the cheaper unit: 30 bags is $385 and 50 bags is $575. Ask for both numbers.

When there is a deadline attached

Many of these calls come with a date on them, and the date changes the sequencing rather than the method.

• A sale or a listing. Everything queues behind the clearance — photographer, inspector, contractors. Book the loads across consecutive days rather than spread over weeks.
• A tenancy ending. Washington sets out a process for handling property left behind at the end of a tenancy, with notice and a waiting period. Check the current requirements before removing anything, then clear in booked loads with a receipt.
• A health or safety notice. Work to the specific requirement first — usually egress, exits and walkways — then the rest.
• Someone moving into care. The keep list matters more than the schedule. Photograph and set aside first, clear afterwards.

What we cannot take

Said plainly so it is not a surprise on the day. Household hazardous material goes through its own channel — solvents, pesticides, automotive chemicals. Paint we can take at $30 a one-gallon can and $52 a five-gallon bucket, but flag it when you book. Biohazard situations need a specialist remediation company before a removal crew is the right call, and it is better to say so than to arrive and stop.

Tell us what is there beforehand. Nobody is shocked, and the only thing that goes wrong is a job that has to be halted because the right equipment is on another truck.

Getting a number without a site visit

1. Video every room, slowly, including the basement, the garage and any outbuilding. Do not tidy first.
2. Say what the access is — the exterior steps, the internal stairs, whether a truck can park.
3. Say what must be kept, even loosely. Documents, photographs, specific furniture.
4. Say whether there is a deadline.

You will get a load count and a price before anyone comes to the door. For a household that has been dreading this conversation for years, having the number in advance is usually the thing that gets it started.

Frequently asked questions