Hoarder Clearance Dublin: A Discreet & Non-Judgemental Guide

Start here: nobody is going to judge you

If you've found this page, you may have been putting off making the call for a long time. Perhaps it's your own home and you've reached the point where you want it back. Perhaps it's a parent's house and you've just seen inside it for the first time in years. Perhaps you're a landlord, a social worker, a housing officer or an executor, and you've opened a door and closed it again.

Whatever brought you here, the first thing to know is that heavily cluttered and hoarded homes are a normal, regular part of our work in Dublin — in every kind of house, on every kind of street, for every kind of family. We have seen rooms you can't walk into and kitchens that haven't been used in years, and we have cleared them without fuss. Nobody on our crew will comment, photograph for their own use, or treat you or your relative with anything other than respect. Our only interest is in getting the property safe, clear and usable again, in a way that works for the people involved.

This guide explains what a hoarder clearance in Dublin involves, how we sort so nothing important is lost, how staged clearances work, what you should keep, and how to get a quote without anyone having to see the property but us. The service page is here: hoarder clearance.

What a hoarding-related clearance can involve

Every property is different, but most of the hoarder clearances we carry out in Dublin involve some combination of the following.

Severe clutter in living spaces. Living rooms, bedrooms and hallways filled to a point where paths are narrow or gone, furniture is buried, and the floor hasn't been seen in years. Newspapers, magazines, post, bags, clothes, boxes, containers, collections.

Kitchens and bathrooms that can't be used. Counters and cookers covered, fridges full of out-of-date food, sinks and baths used for storage. These need extra care and the right protective equipment.

Rooms that can't be accessed at all. A spare bedroom or a dining room that has been closed for a decade, with the door only opening a few inches. We clear from the doorway inward until there's a path, then work methodically.

Attics, garages, sheds and storage areas. Often the overflow from the house — and often where the most important things (documents, photographs, cash) have ended up.

Large volumes. A hoarded three-bed semi in Dublin can hold several truckloads. We plan for it, bring a bigger crew, and tell you realistically how many days it will take.

Practical safety issues. Blocked exits, unstable stacks, pests, sharp objects, damp and mould, animal waste, perished food. We assess these at the start, make exits and utilities accessible first, and flag anything that needs a specialist before we continue.

What a hoarder clearance does not involve, from us, is any opinion about how the property got that way.

How we clear a hoarded property

The difference between a hoarder clearance and an ordinary house clearance is sorting. In a normal clearance, most of the contents are furniture and the sorting is quick. In a hoarded property, the things that matter — a passport, a bank book, a wedding ring, a bundle of cash, family photographs — are mixed in with everything else, and shovelling it all into bags would throw them away. So we don't shovel.

Room by room, path first

We start at the entrance and clear a safe path through the house so that exits, stairs, the kitchen and the bathroom can be reached. Then we work one room at a time, usually from the room that will make the biggest difference to living in the house — the bedroom or the kitchen — rather than the room nearest the door.

Three piles, not two

As each room is cleared, everything goes into one of three categories: keep (documents, photographs, money, jewellery, anything personal, anything you've asked us to look for), reuse or recycle (furniture and goods in usable condition, paper, cardboard, metal, textiles, electricals) and dispose (spoiled, damaged or unusable material, bagged and removed). The keep pile goes into boxes and is handed to you or the family.

Agreed in advance

Before we start, we agree with you — or with the occupier, family, housing officer or landlord — what is being kept, which rooms are being cleared, and whether anything is off limits. If the occupier is staying in the house during the clearance, we agree a pace that's manageable for them.

Safe working

Our crew uses protective equipment appropriate to the property, works carefully around unstable stacks, and deals with perished food, animal waste and sharp objects properly. If we come across anything that needs a specialist — asbestos, for instance, or a structural problem — we stop and tell you.

Can a property be cleared in stages?

Yes, and for a hoarded home it is often the best approach. A staged clearance might look like this:

• Stage one — safe and functional. Clear the hallway, stairs, kitchen and bathroom so the house can be lived in and reached by carers, tradespeople or family. Often done in a single visit.
• Stage two — the main living spaces. Living room and bedrooms, with careful sorting. One or two visits.
• Stage three — the rest. Spare rooms, attic, garage, shed and garden.

Staging has three advantages. It lets the occupier adjust to the change rather than facing an empty house overnight. It spreads the cost. And it means the sorting can be done properly, with time for the family to look through what's been set aside between visits. We quote each stage separately so you only commit to one at a time.

Some families prefer to do it all at once — particularly where the house is being sold or handed back — and that's fine too. A full clearance of a heavily hoarded home usually takes two or three days with a larger crew.

Who we work with: families, occupiers, landlords and services

The occupier. If it's your own home, you set the pace. You can be there for every bag or you can hand us the keys and come back to a clear house. You can ask us to look for particular things. You can stop and start. We've worked with many people reclaiming their own homes and it is, in our experience, one of the most worthwhile jobs we do.

Family members. Usually a son, daughter or sibling who has been worried for a long time. We can meet you at the property, agree a plan, and keep the occupier's dignity front and centre. If the occupier has died, the job is a bereavement clearance with extra sorting — see our bereavement clearance guide.

Executors and solicitors. A hoarded property in an estate needs to be cleared before it can be valued or sold, and the sorting matters even more because documents and valuables belonging to the estate may be anywhere in the house. We provide written confirmation and photographs for the estate file.

Landlords and letting agents. When a tenancy ends in a heavily cluttered property, we clear it back to a lettable shell, with dated photographs for your records and keys collected from and returned to your agent. See end-of-tenancy clearance.

Housing bodies, HSE staff and social workers. We regularly work alongside housing officers, public health nurses, social workers and care teams, and we're happy to attend a site visit beforehand, work to a care plan, and clear in stages so the occupier can stay in the home.

Discretion and confidentiality

People are often more worried about the neighbours than about the clearance itself. So, as standard: we don't discuss the job with anyone but the person who booked it; we don't post photographs; where you ask, we use unmarked vehicles and keep loading quick and quiet; and our crew doesn't comment on what they see. If you'd like us to arrive at a particular time — early, before the street is up, or during the working day when it's empty — tell us.

Photographs you send us for a quote are used only to price and plan the job. If you'd rather not photograph the inside of the property at all, a short description — rooms affected, roughly how full, whether there's a path — is enough for us to arrange a discreet visit and quote in person.

What we take — and what happens to it

Everything that isn't being kept: furniture (sofas, beds, mattresses, wardrobes, tables, chairs), appliances (fridges and freezers including contents, cookers, washing machines), the general household contents (clothing, bedding, crockery, books, newspapers, magazines, post, bags, boxes, containers), spoiled food and perished goods, the attic, garage and shed contents, and the garden. Carpets and curtains can be lifted and removed if the property is being deep-cleaned or redecorated afterwards.

As with every clearance, reuse and recycling come first. Furniture and goods in usable condition are passed on; paper, cardboard, metal, textiles and electricals are separated for recycling; and only what genuinely can't be reused or recycled goes to licensed waste facilities. PropertyClearance.ie is operated by Krystal Klean Express Limited, an authorised waste carrier (Waste Collection Permit No. NWCPO-25-13287-01), and is fully insured.

We can't take asbestos, medical sharps in quantity or large amounts of hazardous chemicals — these need specialist contractors, and we'll tell you if we find them. Household amounts of paint, batteries and aerosols are fine.

Preparing the property for occupation or sale

Once the clearance is finished, a hoarded property usually needs a deep clean — floors, kitchens, bathrooms, sometimes walls — before it can be lived in comfortably, let or sold. We sweep and tidy as standard; for a full deep clean we work with a specialist cleaning partner and can arrange it so the property is ready for the next step. After that come repairs and decorating, and then, if it's being sold, the valuation and the estate agent.

If the occupier is staying, the goal is simpler: a home that's safe to move around in, with a working kitchen and bathroom, and the things that matter kept. That is achievable, and we've done it many times across Dublin — from Finglas, Ballymun and Coolock to Crumlin, Drimnagh and Walkinstown, from Dún Laoghaire and Blackrock to Tallaght, Clondalkin and Lucan, and in apartments across the city. For the broader picture of readying a property for sale or letting, see the property clearance guide.