Hoarder cleaning in Clapham, Battersea and Balham.

A hoarder clean is two jobs in one. First the clearance: sorting, bagging and removing what has built up, in categories agreed with you before anything moves. Then the clean: heavy-duty work on every surface the clearance has just uncovered, plus odour treatment, biohazard protocols or pest coordination where the property needs them.

It is not tidying, and it is not a deep clean under another name. The teams that do this properly understand that the accumulation usually has a reason sitting behind it: a bereavement, a spell of poor mental health, age, a disability, or simply years with nobody calling round. They work slowly, they ask before anything is binned, and they do not comment.

In this part of South West London the second half of the estimate is the building rather than the volume. A second-floor conversion flat off Abbeville Road or a mansion flat on Prince of Wales Drive means everything leaves by hand, down a shared staircase, past the neighbours, into a van that has to be standing somewhere legal in a controlled zone. A team that prices on volume alone has not seen the stairs.

The plan is agreed before a single bag is filled, so nothing on the day is a surprise. The team walks the property with you, or with whoever is authorised, and settles three piles: keep, donate, dispose. Sentimental and valuable items are flagged and put aside. Post, identity documents and financial paperwork are bagged separately and handed to you to go through in your own time, never binned on somebody else's judgement.

Clearance then runs zone by zone. Bulky items leave with a registered waste carrier, or in a skip where there is a legal place to put one, which in SW4 and SW11 usually means a permit from Lambeth or Wandsworth and a suspended bay rather than a space outside the door. Charity-suitable items go to a shop or a collection. Sharps, out-of-date medication and anything contaminated are separated out and go down their own route.

The deep clean starts once the rooms are empty. Floors, walls, ceilings, fittings, appliances, inside every cupboard and drawer, and behind and underneath everything the accumulation was hiding. The water here is hard, so kitchen and bathroom surfaces that have not been touched in years carry scale that has to be descaled rather than scrubbed.

Odour is treated with ozone or hydroxyl equipment where it is needed, which deals with the smell at source instead of covering it. In a converted house the team also checks whether it has reached the communal hallway, because if it has, the neighbours already know and the managing agent may be part of the conversation.

Where a property has crossed into biohazard, and a fair number have, the affected rooms switch protocol: heavier protective kit, hazardous waste consigned properly, and clearance paperwork at the end.

The hardest part of arranging this is usually the first sentence rather than the money. Saying out loud what state a property is in takes something out of you, and shopping for three quotes makes you do it three times.

So we take it once. We brief the team before they ring you, and they arrive at the walk-through already knowing the rough scope, the floor, the stairs and the deadline. Nobody makes you start again from the beginning.

We also match the case to the team rather than sending whichever van is free. A deceased estate on a probate clock, a resident who is still living there, a landlord with an inspection booked and a social care referral all need a different pace and a different manner at the door.

None of that costs you anything. The team prices the job and you pay them, and we are paid by them for the introduction. Before the visit we tell you which firm is coming and what we checked on them.

We do not carry out hoarder cleaning ourselves, and we will not pretend otherwise. We refer it to vetted specialist teams who cover South West London and travel. Which team gets the job depends on what the case actually needs, who can be at the property in the window you have, and whether anyone is living there.

Lead specialist for hoarder cleaning: a vetted specialist team that covers South West London. Hoarder work goes to a team we have checked for insurance, DBS status and a registered waste route, and one that will work at a resident's pace instead of clearing the fastest way it can. We check insurance, waste licensing and, where the property is occupied, DBS status, and we tell you the firm and what we checked before anyone attends.

Also available: a second vetted team on the same checks and a travelling specialist team. Used when the first team is committed elsewhere, or when the job needs a bigger crew or a longer run of days. Used where a job needs certification, equipment or capacity that the South West London teams do not hold.

You don't pick the team yourself. On our call after you submit the form we match your case to the right one, tell you who it is and what we checked, and hand over the brief. You pay them directly. We never add a markup.