Hoarding cleanup in Tacoma is the careful, room-by-room clearing and sanitizing of a home by an independent cleanup company, at a pace the person living there can accept. The first step is to talk with a company and agree on safety priorities and on what must be kept before anything leaves the home. Biohazard Network can connect you with an independent local company; we do not do the work, and you hire the company directly.
Hoarding is a recognized condition, not a character flaw. Whether you are a family member or a property manager, good help starts with respect for the person and their belongings.
Clutter versus biohazard
A home can hold many belongings without being a health risk. It becomes a biohazard job when something in it can spread illness. A biohazard is any material that can carry germs, such as body fluids, animal waste, rodent droppings or used needles. Household cleaning is not enough then, because the wrong method can spread the problem: the Washington State Department of Health1 (DOH) warns that cleaning rodent droppings can raise dust that exposes people to hantavirus, a virus carried by deer mice.
Respect, pace and consent
Where the person living in the home can take part, they should decide what stays and what they let go. Ask a company how it works with the person present, whether it can slow down or pause, and how it handles a change of mind.
Keeping what matters
Agree in advance on what must never leave the home: identity and legal papers, photos, medicines, keys and valuables. Ask how the crew sets those items aside and who should receive them.
What to do first
If someone has died in the home, the cleanup waits. The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office is the county’s death investigation office: it determines the cause and manner of death and investigates deaths in Pierce County that are under its jurisdiction. Police or the medical examiner control the home until they release it, meaning they say it can be entered and cleaned. Our page on unattended death cleanup in Tacoma covers that situation.
Otherwise, you do not need to clear anything yourself. Do not sweep or vacuum where rodents have been, which DOH1 advises against, and do not pick up sharps, meaning anything that can pierce skin, such as needles and syringes.
How the cleanup company works, room by room
Ask the company to start with safety: exits and hallways, then the kitchen and bathroom. After that, the crew can move one room at a time, sorting with the person or family. Ask it to explain each step:
- Protective equipment: gloves, suits and breathing protection wherever there is a biohazard.
- Containment: sealing off a work area so dust and germs do not reach clean rooms.
- Removing affected materials: porous materials, meaning things that soak up liquid such as carpet, padding and mattresses, may not be safe to keep once contaminated.
- Disinfection: using products that kill germs on surfaces after cleaning.
- Odor work: done after the source is gone; see odor remediation in Tacoma.
- Biomedical waste: Washington law defines this by a set list that includes discarded blood and sharps waste. The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department2’s Infectious Waste Management program permits and inspects businesses that generate, transport or treat infectious waste, so ask who will haul it.
- Records: photos and a written list of the work, which you can request for your files and any insurance claim.
What may be separate
Repairs, pest control, and water, fire or mold restoration may be quoted separately or handled by another business; see how biohazard cleanup fits with restoration.
How to check a company
Before you hire, ask how the company follows OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens standard3, 29 CFR 1910.1030, a federal workplace rule on germs carried in blood and other body fluids, and the ANSI/IICRC S540 Standard for Trauma and Crime Scene Cleanup, written by the IICRC, a non-profit organization for the inspection, cleaning and restoration industries. You can look the business up yourself on the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) tool called Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business, and our certifications guide explains what each of these means.
What affects the cost
Every home is different, so ask for a written estimate after a walk-through. Cost depends on:
- Volume: how many rooms, and how full they are.
- Sorting pace: working slowly beside the person takes more crew time.
- Biohazards: mold, rodent droppings or sharps need extra protective steps.
- Hauling: how many loads leave the home, and how biomedical waste is handled.
- Repairs afterward: flooring or fixtures, if included.
- Travel: for a second property reached by the Pierce County ferry, vehicles and passengers must be ticketed and in position 20 minutes before departure, so ask how the company plans around it.
Will insurance help?
There is no promise of coverage, so start by asking. The Office of the Insurance Commissioner4 (OIC) says you can ask your agent or company whether a loss is covered without filing a claim. If the home itself was damaged, dwelling coverage typically covers repair, and a homeowner policy generally includes limited coverage for debris removal. Damage that built up slowly is another matter, since the OIC says most homeowner policies don’t cover gradual leaks. If you do claim, you can choose your own contractor for covered repairs, but the OIC warns that signing a contractor’s assignment of benefit form could affect your rights.
Usually covered: Homeowner insurance protects your home and belongings from damage caused by specific risks, says the Insurance Commissioner’s page on how home insurance works5. For damage from those risks, dwelling coverage typically covers repairing or replacing your damaged home.
Usually not covered: Standard homeowner and renter policies exclude wear and tear and neglect: insurance covers sudden accidents, not ongoing issues, and you must properly maintain your home, says the Insurance Commissioner’s smoke damage page, which lists what standard policies exclude.
Ask your insurer: “What does my policy cover, and does that include cleanup and repairs after hoarding in my home?” Source: Filing a homeowner insurance claim (Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner)4
Help in Tacoma
Animals in the home
City of Tacoma Animal Control covers animal concerns within the city’s limits, and contacting it is about the animals’ care, not blame. 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. A seized animal may be placed with an animal care and control agency, unrelated foster care or a nonprofit humane society.
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 you fear your parent may not be safe, DSHS’s Adult Protective Services investigates self-neglect, which state law describes as a vulnerable adult not living in a facility failing to provide themselves the goods and services needed for physical or mental health. You can report online at any hour, without proof or your name. If the person is in immediate danger, call for emergency help.
When a home is reported unsafe
In Tacoma, permits and code sit with Planning and Development Services, whose Regulatory Compliance division, made up of Permit Compliance and Code Compliance, works for a safe, clean, livable environment for residents. You can reach the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department2 at (253) 649-1500; under state law, a local health officer must prevent, control or abate nuisances that harm public health. The department’s Healthy Housing program offers tenant and landlord resources but is not a hoarding complaint program.
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.