Hoarding cleanup is the careful sorting, removal and sanitizing of a home where belongings have built up until rooms are hard or unsafe to use. In Puyallup, an independent cleanup company that you hire directly does the work, and the first step is making the home safe while agreeing with the person living there on what stays. Biohazard Network can connect you with an independent local company; we do not do the cleanup ourselves.
If you are a family member or property manager, it is normal to feel unsure where to begin. Hoarding is a recognized condition, and the goal is a safe home, not a judgment.
What hoarding cleanup involves
Much of the work is sorting: deciding, item by item, what the person keeps and what they decide to let go. Some homes also contain a biohazard, meaning material that can carry germs that cause disease, such as bodily fluids or animal and rodent waste. Ordinary cleaning is not built for that. The Washington State Department of Health1 (DOH) says breathing dust stirred up while cleaning rodent droppings or nests can expose people to hantavirus, and that all droppings should be handled as if infectious. A home may also hold sharps, meaning used needles, syringes or lancets.
Respect, pace and consent
Ask any company how it includes the person in decisions, whether work can happen in stages, and what happens if the person needs a pause. Clearing a home without consent can break trust.
Keeping what matters, and safety first
Before anything leaves, agree on what to watch for: identity and financial papers, photos, medicines, keys, jewelry and cash. Ask how the crew sets these aside. If time or budget is tight, start with clear paths to every exit, a working kitchen and a usable bathroom.
Before the work starts
That office determines the cause and manner of death and investigates deaths in Pierce County under its jurisdiction and of concern to public health, safety and welfare; see unattended death cleanup in Puyallup. In any home, do not pick up needles, sweep up droppings or paint over mold, which DOH also warns against. If the person rents, the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) says not to throw damaged things away yet, because the insurer may want to inspect them.
How a cleanup company works room by room
The crew wears protective equipment such as gloves, eye protection and breathing protection. It works one zone at a time behind containment, meaning the area is sealed off so dust and germs do not spread to cleared rooms. After sorting and removal comes cleaning, then disinfection, which means applying products that kill germs on surfaces. Odor is treated once its source is gone; see odor remediation in Puyallup.
Items with blood, and sharps, can count as biomedical waste, a category Washington law defines. The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department2’s Infectious Waste Management program permits and inspects businesses that generate, transport or treat infectious waste, so ask the company who will haul and treat these items. Ask, too, for photos and a written record of the work.
Before hiring, ask a company how its crew follows OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens standard3, 29 CFR 1910.1030, and the ANSI/IICRC S540 Standard for Trauma and Crime Scene Cleanup. Then look the business up yourself with the Department of Labor & Industries4 (L&I) tool Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business4, and read our certifications guide for what these names mean.
A hoarding cleanup can cover sorting, removal, cleaning and disinfection. Repairs, pest control and water, fire or mold restoration may be separate jobs; biohazard cleanup and restoration explains how they fit.
What affects the cost
- Volume: how many rooms and how much leaves the home.
- Sorting pace: person-led sorting takes more crew time, and it is time well spent.
- Biohazards: extra protective steps and regulated disposal.
- Hauling: the number of loads and where they go.
- Repairs afterward: damage found under belongings may need another contractor.
- Travel: for a related property reached by the Pierce County ferry, vehicles must be in position with tickets 20 minutes before departure, and leaving Ketron Island needs a reservation at least 60 minutes ahead.
The OIC5 says you can ask your agent or company whether a loss is covered without filing a claim, and that policies generally include limited debris removal coverage. It also warns that signing a contractor’s assignment of benefit form could affect your rights.
Help in Puyallup when more is going on
Puyallup, home to Bradley Lake Park and the Puyallup Riverwalk Trail, is an incorporated city, so city offices handle code questions inside its limits.
When animals are involved
Metro Animal Services, operated by the City of Sumner, covers Puyallup. Under Washington law, an animal control or law enforcement officer with probable cause to believe an owner has broken the state’s animal cruelty law may get a warrant, enter and take the animal, which may be placed with an animal care agency, foster care or a nonprofit humane society. Asking for help early can protect both the animals and the person.
When the person is an older adult
Aging and Disability Resources (ADR), a Pierce County program that runs the Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC), is a place to start. If your parent may not be safe, DSHS’s Adult Protective Services investigates self-neglect of vulnerable adults, which can include a person 60 or older unable to care for themselves. Reports can be made online at any hour, without proof and without giving your name; if the person is in immediate danger, call emergency services.
When the home is reported unsafe
Complaints inside the city go to the Code Enforcement division of Puyallup’s Development & Permitting Services, with forms at the permit center in City Hall, and building code violations go to Puyallup Building Services. The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department2’s Healthy Housing program offers tenant and landlord resources but is not a hoarding complaint program, and its contact list sends rodent, garbage and illegal dumping complaints to Pierce County Code Enforcement.
Who to call first
In an emergency, call 911.These official offices may be part of the first steps. They are government pages, not ours.
- Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department (opens in a new tab)For local health questions, such as a home that was used as a drug lab.
- Washington Crime Victims Compensation Program (L&I) (opens in a new tab)If a crime happened, it may help with some costs, such as funeral expenses. It doesn't pay for cleanup.
- Verify a contractor (L&I lookup) (opens in a new tab)Look up whether a company is a registered contractor before work starts.
- Washington State Department of Health (opens in a new tab)State health rules, such as for drug lab cleanup and hantavirus.