day from hell scrubbing out a hoarder house

had one of those days that makes you question why you got into residential cleaning, started at 8am with a deep clean on a 3-bedroom hoarder mess, the guy had newspapers stacked to the ceiling and god knows what under the carpets. spent the first two hours just hauling out 20 trash bags of junk before i could even touch the mop. my ocedo steam cleaner crapped out halfway through the kitchen, which was caked in what i hope was just old food, and im out here in the Chicago area my whole career dealing with these winter grime builds. by noon i was soaked in sweat and covered in dust bunnies bigger than my fist, and the client calls saying they want it sparkling for a showing tomorrow. saw a similar rant in the House Cleaning Business facebook group last week, but man this ones got me beat. gonna need a stiff drink after this shift.

never go into a hoarder job without backup gear, i learned that the hard way when my vacuum seized up last year.

sounds rough, what brand steamer were you using? i stick to bissell for reliability.

fuck these clients who think cleaning is magic, we aint miracle workers hauling their trash.

picturing you knee-deep in that mess, bet the cat pee smell lingered for days haha.

we all been there, those jobs test your soul.

man i feel your pain, chicago winters make everything stickier too.

for hoarders, start with sections and document everything for the invoice.

try using enzyme cleaners first on those mystery stains, cuts the time in half.

break it into zones, charge extra for the haul-away.

how bad was the bug situation? seen roaches scatter like confetti.

damn, that sounds like my last gig, took 12 hours solo.

pro tip: wear a respirator, saves your lungs from the mold spores.

what kinda protections you using for that dust? n95 minimum imo.

those jobs make me wanna quit, clients dont get the effort.

chuckle if the showing flops cause of pet odors they ignored.

solid advice on enzyme stuff, ill try that next time.

we in the same boat, hoarders everywhere these days.

the industrys flooded with cheap cleaners who half-ass it, pisses me off.

did you quote for multiple days? dont undervalue the pain.

sharkbites for cleaning? nah, stick to pros only on these.

i rage at clients who hoard then complain about dust.

been sweating through similar messes all week.

yeah chicago grime is next level, hang in there.

these stories make me grateful for my office gigs.

hoarders are the worst, total energy vampires.

what was the worst find in there?

document with pics, protects you from complaints.

melissa maker has vids on tough cleans, check em.

enzymes and steam, combo works wonders on old gunk.

proud i finished a similar one last month without puking.

clients like that deserve the mess they made.

try hepa vacs, traps the fine dust better.

i hit 50k this year avoiding hoarder jobs.

damn straight, pick your battles wisely.

that steam failure sucks, i carry two units now.

saw a post on r/CleaningTips about hoarder protocols, useful.

the haul alone shoulda been extra charged.

we all dread these calls, solidarity.

what enzyme brand you recommend?

halfway through and client bails, classic.

yeah, knees ache just reading this.

pissed at how these jobs wreck your schedule.

steam plus vinegar mix for the win on kitchens.

hoarders gonna hoard, we just clean the fallout.

respirator and gloves, non-negotiable.

break it down, you got this.

chicago winters? add salt residue to the mix.

picturing the dust clouds, lmao.

always scope the job first, saves headaches.

damn, sounds exhausting, take a break.

we feel ya on the sweat factor.

clients undervalue the physical toll.

try sectioning off rooms to manage sanity.

same crap, different house.

hoarders make bank for us if priced right.

what was under the carpets? nightmares.

i finally ditched solo hoarder cleans.

yeah man, back support is key.

solidarity from another cleaner.

these jobs build character, or break it.

document everything, CYA always.

proud of pushing through these.

melissa makers tips saved my last one.

undercut by apps now, rage.

clients expect perfection for peanuts.

yeah, the grime buildup in chi is brutal.

zone cleaning method changed my game.

we all got war stories like this.

damn, hope the drink helps.

what kinda trash volume?

enzymes are gold, dont skip em.

frustrated with client expectations too.

picturing the scene, hilarious in a dark way.

big corps ruining rates for us.

hang in there, better jobs coming.

same exhaustion after long days.

the industrys a grind, no doubt.

we feel the frustration.

solidarity, brother.

what gear failed exactly?

yeah, chicago messes hit different.

clients like that suck the life out.

we been there, powering through.

damn, total crap-show.

hope you charged premium for that hell.