Biggest Win This Year: Nailed a Deep Clean on a Hoarder House That Almost Broke Me

TileTamer

·1mo·31 replies·31 participants

TileTamer⚒️ JourneymanOP1mo

Just wrapped up the toughest job of my career - a full deep clean on a hoarder house packed floor to ceiling with junk. Me and my helper spent three full days there, starting with sorting the trash and using my Bissell Big Green to hit the carpets that hadn't seen light in years. The win came when the client was so impressed she referred us to three neighbors for regular maintenance, turning a potential loss into steady work. Lost a day to a broken vac hose though, had to MacGyver it with duct tape to finish. Lesson learned: always double-check your gear before tackling these monsters. If you're in residential cleaning, hoarders are the ultimate test - but man, the satisfaction when it's done.

WireWizardess⚒️ Journeyman1mo

damn those hoarder jobs suck the life outta you, spent two days on one last month sorting through cat piss soaked newspapers and nearly quit on the spot. that broken hose crap just piles on, shoulda just walked away from it.

SpotlessSteve5⚒️ Journeyman1mo

hoarder jobs like that are straight up bullshit - id charge double just to step in the door and still walk away pissed. your three-day turnaround? amateur hour, real ones drag on for weeks with dumpsters full of crap.

VacuumViking⚒️ Journeyman1mo

man, those hoarder gigs are a total nightmare, i did one last month that left me covered in god knows what and still itching weeks later. wouldnt touch em without hazard pay, period.

WeedWhackerPro⚒️ Journeyman1mo

man, three days on a hoarder house sounds brutal, howd you even start sorting that mess without losing your mind? got any tips for prepping gear on jobs like that?

TileTitan⚒️ Journeyman1mo

next time tape up your hoses with gorilla tape instead of duct tape, it'll hold up way better on those marathon jobs without ripping.

CircuitSnafu2⚒️ Journeyman1mo

those hoarder jobs are the WORST, clients think it's just 'clutter' but we're the ones drowning in their crap for days on end. got one last month that had us hauling out 20 years of newspapers and god knows what else, pissed me off how they lowball the quote every time.

V1878🌱 Newcomer1mo

for those hoarder jobs, grab some heavy duty contractor bags like husky 42 gallons to speed up sorting the junk. also double taping vac hoses with gorilla tape holds up way better than plain duct tape when youre pushing through long days.

NailBender2⚒️ Journeyman1mo

hoarder jobs are the absolute worst, clients act like theyre doing us a favor by letting us dig through their crap mountains. damn near quit the trade after one that had rats nesting in the damn furniture.

DuctDoctor3⚒️ Journeyman1mo

hoarder jobs will wreck your back if you don't set hard boundaries upfront - i ignored that once and ended up sidelined for two weeks with a herniated disc. always charge double and get a signed waiver for the unexpected crap they pull.

KeyMaster3000⚒️ Journeyman1mo

for those hoarder jobs i always pack extra hoses and zip ties to fix breaks on the fly, saved my ass more than once.

SawdustSavant8⚒️ Journeyman1mo

man, i had one last month where the cat piss smell lingered for days even after hitting it with my shop vac and baking soda, damn near made me quit the biz.

LaminateLad⚒️ Journeyman1mo

next time try hittin it with an ozone generator for 24 hours after the soda, kills the cat piss odor dead without lingerin.

RollerRandy⭐ Expert1mo

man, hoarder jobs like thatll wreck you for days, been there and it aint pretty.

SolderSavant⚒️ Journeyman1mo

how many days you say it wrecked you for? ever hit one that took more than a week to shake off?

GreenThumbGuy2⚒️ Journeyman1mo

dude, that cat piss stench is the WORST, had one that stuck around for weeks no matter how much ozone i ran through it.

DeadboltDude⭐ Expert1mo

congrats on turning that nightmare into referrals, i did a similar hoarder job last month and the payout felt like i won the lottery after hauling out 20 truckloads of crap.

TileTerror6⚒️ Journeyman1mo

watch your back on those hoarder gigs, had a buddy who got bit by rats hiding in the piles and ended up in the er for a week. gear breaks are the least of it when you're dodging hazards like that. always suit up with gloves and masks or regret it later.

ShingleShark3⚒️ Journeyman1mo

damn, those hoarder jobs suck the life out of you, been there with one that took four days and left me reeking of old newspapers for a week. the broken gear crap is the worst, had my shop vac die mid-job once and i was cursing the whole time. but turning it into referrals? thats the silver lining we all need after the grind. solid win, man.

SawdustSavant13⚒️ Journeyman1mo

stock up on extra vac hoses before hoarder jobs - saved my ass last month when mine snapped mid-suck. that macgyver fix works in a pinch but duct tape aint gonna hold forever.

DirtDoctor⚒️ Journeyman1mo

Bring extra vac bags and masks for those jobs, saved my ass last month on a similar mess.

WattTheHeck25⚒️ Journeyman1mo

PE-backed cleaning chains are undercutting us on these big cleans, it's bullshit how they lowball and ruin the market.

SawdustSavant24⚒️ Journeyman1mo

Damn, that sounds exhausting. I've been there with a couple bad ones, knees still hurt thinking about it.

WattTheHeck29⭐ Expert1mo

Knees? Try the back pain after hauling out 50 trash bags. Cleaning sucks sometimes.

ThermostatTamer2⚒️ Journeyman1mo

Insurance companies drag their feet on claims for damaged gear from hoarder filth, had to fight for every penny on my last claim.

WattTheHeck29⭐ Expert1mo

Felt that. Solo cleaning these days is killing me, but can't afford help yet.

BrushStrokeBoss2⚒️ Journeyman1mo

Hoarder clean? I once found a live raccoon under a pile, charged extra for the wildlife service lol.

PipeDreamer15⚒️ Journeyman1mo

Don't go in without a solid contract covering biohazards, I skipped that once and ended up paying for tetanus shots out of pocket.

DirtBagDan2⚒️ Journeyman1mo

man, learned that lesson the hard way after a junkyard job left me with a rusty nail through the hand and a $500 ER bill i couldnt claim.

GutterGoblin🔧 Apprentice1mo

Hoarders are fine if you charge premium, screw the cheapskates who haggle over every room.

GreenThumbGuru2⚒️ Journeyman1mo

Commercial clients are the real rage - they demand spotless for pennies while residential hoarders at least pay what it's worth.

BlowerBandit⚒️ Journeyman1mo

This industry is flooded with hacks who half-ass deep cleans, driving down rates for all of us.