How To Clean Out A House After A Death

• Hire professional trauma cleaners to make the property safe again
• Wait for the will to be read before handling the estate cleanout
• Create a plan for clearing out the property
• Get organised to speed up the cleaning process
• Hire professional cleaners
• Get in touch

When a friend or relative dies, the upsetting situation can quickly become stressful if you are responsible for clearing out their home. Fortunately, professional cleaners can ease each step of the process.

Here at ICE Cleaning, our technicians provide a range of quick, discrete cleaning services, including undiscovered death cleaning and trauma cleaning. They can be on site in an hour in an emergency, wherever you are in the UK.

In this blog, we will go through how to clear out a property when the resident passes away.

Hire professional trauma cleaners to make the property safe again

Should someone pass away in their home, the trauma scene (where it happened) can contain biohazards, like bodily fluids and blood. They are dangerous to be exposed to as they could contain bacteria and viruses.

The area will be more hazardous if the death was unattended and the body has started to decompose. There might also be weapons or drug paraphernalia at the scene if the death was violent or accidental. You can find out more about dealing with an undiscovered death in this blog.

You should not attempt to clean any bodily fluids, contaminated objects, or other hazardous substances yourself. Only professional trauma cleaners with the appropriate PPE, specialist products, equipment, and training should clear up the area.

ICE Cleaning’s technicians are accredited by the National Association of Crime Scene Cleaners, and are fully permitted to handle and dispose of biohazardous waste. They can quickly take care of the trauma scene and then decontaminate the area so you can begin to clear out the property.

Wait for the will to be read before handling the estate cleanout

To determine what to do with the property, find out what your friend or relative’s wishes were for their estate. The will may also contain specific bequests, such as certain items going to specific people.

Make sure you remove these items from the home, first. Then, their loved ones can go through the property and decide which other sentimental items they might want to keep. This could take some time as people consider what mementos they would like.

Create a plan for clearing out the property

Now you can start removing the other belongings from the property. It is recommended that you strategise how you clean the home so you can efficiently get rid of their things and clean the property. Here are some suggestions:

• Decide which rooms you want to tackle first
• Set deadlines and milestones to help you stay on track
• Throw out the clutter to give you time to figure out what to do with the bigger, more valuable items

Get organised to speed up the cleaning process

For each room you clear out, set out four boxes or bags labelled “keep”, “donate”, “have appraised”, and “throw away”. This way you can quickly sift through possessions and will not accidentally get rid of something you might want to keep. This might also help if the clear out process feels overwhelming.

You don’t have to decide what to do with their belongings there and then, however. Lots of people keep some items in storage so they can decide what to do with it when they are no longer grieving. You can get more advice on decluttering after a death here.

Hire professional cleaners

Clearing out an entire property is a big job that requires lots of manual labour, particularly when removing bulky items, like furniture. Consider bringing in cleaners who will have plenty of experience getting rid of lots of items to fast track the process.

If the person who passed away suffered from hoarding disorder, you must bring in professional cleaners. Hoarding situations can be very dangerous, and often contain pests, mould, and biohazards like faeces, and are therefore unsafe to be in.

Should you clear out the property yourself, you could be putting your health at risk. You also might get injured, if a pile of objects collapses, or you trip over an obstruction. Only professional cleaners who know how to clean up after a hoarder dies, and have PPE, should tackle it.

ICE Cleaning’s technicians can provide a discreet, sensitive hoarding clean up service. They will carefully remove the items, dispose of hazardous waste, decontaminate the property, and then neutralise any odours.

We also provide additional services, like pest control, mould remediation, and cigarette smoke odour removal, should they be required.

Get in touch

Our technicians offer a range of high-quality cleaning services for each stage of the clear out process. They are available 365 days a year, 24/7.

Contact us today on 0208 066 0360 or enquiries@icecleaning.co.uk for a free site survey and no-obligation quote for our trauma cleaning and hoarding cleanup services.