When clutter has become unsafe
Hoarding cleanup when there are biohazards
Clutter on its own is something a family or a junk hauler can sort. When there is waste, spoiled food, mold or pests in it, the job needs a biohazard company.
Picked up day and night, seven days a week
Signs it is a biohazard job
- Animal urine or droppings, or many animals kept indoors
- Human waste in containers, bags or rooms
- Rotting food, or a refrigerator that has been off for a long time
- Rodent or insect infestation
- A smell that reaches outside the home
If any of these apply, keep children, older relatives and anyone with breathing problems out of the home.
Do not sweep it up
Sweeping or vacuuming rodent droppings or nesting material can put germs into the air. Health guidance is to soak them with a disinfectant first and wear gloves (CDC). In a heavily affected home, leave it to the company.
A company will usually work room by room, separate what can be saved from what is contaminated, and disinfect as it goes. Ask how it will involve the person who lives there, and whether family can pick out keepsakes before anything is removed.
Be kind about it
Hoarding is often tied to grief, illness or age. If the person is alive, the cleanup goes better when they agree to it and have a say. Ask the company how it handles that, and whether it can work in stages.
If the home is a rental, the landlord will need to know. For landlords and managers covers what they can and cannot do.
Read next
- Unattended death cleanupWhen someone died alone at home and was found days or weeks later.
- For landlords and managersA death or a biohazard in a rental unit in Florida.
- Checking a cleanup companyWhat to ask before you sign, and the state list you can check.
- Questions and answersShort answers to what families ask first.
Ready when you are
Call when the police and the medical examiner have finished and you are ready to talk about the cleanup. A company will ask what happened and where, then explain what it would do.
Talk to a cleanup company
An independent company that works in the Port St. Lucie area. You decide whether to hire it.
Call (772) 918-9847Picked up day and night, seven days a week
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