cleaning BTL after squalid tenant/hoarder. Any advice welcome.

[paintandbrush]

(this is a long one) The laziest tenant ever to have lain on a sofa will no longer be gracing our property as of next month. We're talking 10 years of filth- should have been evicted but the dirt was tolerable until last year, when tenant's relative (who was clearly doing all the cleaning) died.

Tenant has now decided to up sticks and leave us with the mess ( bc we cleared up her chaos thoroughly one time a few years back).

We're talking living room and hall (only area we've been in until recently) more or less empty, but (huge) laundry room turns out to be 2 foot deep in rotting discarded clothes, (inc. pair of undies which ripped up the lino as I tried to bin them- stuck to floor with brown substance...) whole kitchen is covered in the remnants of what looks like every takeaway since the London Olympics. Tenant has a bin and chooses not to use it.

adult child [now moved out] has been in trouble with the po so god knows what we'll find in the bedrooms.

We'll clearly have to gut the place, new kitchen bath floors etc.
There are also myriad cats and a dog running about, so needless to say the smell of them and ciggie smoke hits you like a brick wall. Even after painting how the hell will we get it habitable again??? Need the money so want to get this done in one take. Tips please.

PS. Don't give me some guff about pitying the poor creature's hard life, 40-something tenant was privately educated, is clever to the point of stacking history books around the house, socially functional (if smelly) and yet has chosen not to use the bin outside her door.

[EssentialHummus]

Notify t in advance of the property needing to be in the same condition bar reasonable wear and tear when they move out. Take photos of each room / document everybloodything as you enter.
Withhold deposit to cost of removal, repainting etc. I'd personally also be taking court action to try to recover costs from t if house is a complete shit tip / cause them the anxiety that comes with having proceedings brought - contract likely to have specified return condition, though I imagine it's much, much easier if you took an inventory to begin with.

[EssentialHummus]

Sorry - you asked for cleaning advice and I've projected from my darling tenants

[RudeElf]

Get pro company in and claim on LL insurance.

[paintandbrush]

I can't even remember if there was a deposit involved tbh, highly doubt we'd ever see a penny from her for pro services so will probably just have to get our hands dirty, quite literally.

I'm really looking for de-stinkification advice here.

[CocktailQueen]

Why didn't you do inspections?

And why can't you remember if you took a deposit? What does the contract say?

And why the fuck should you clean up what your disgusting tenant has left behind? Ridiculous.

[woodcabernet]

No deposit? What?

Doesn't your tenancy state they're responsible for a professional clean on exit?

[RudeElf]

Youre going to need a professional company at least to de-flea and de-bed bug the place. It will be infested if there were animals and such a lazy bastard owner. No way were they up do date on flea treatment. It will have to come out of insurance. I wouldnt even attempt to clean that as an individual (i am a cleaner).

Hire a few skips and get a company in to gut it. They'll have all the protective gear needed and get it done asap.

[RudeElf]

Youre not insured are you?

[Goadyflattery]

I am in exactly the same situation, I don't know where to start either, will be following if anyone has any good advice. Particularly for getting the toilets from black to white again.

[annandale]

When my parents and i moved into a house owned by a woman who'd let her cats pee all over the floorboards for years, my mum used lightly diluted Jeyes Fluid on the floors. There was still the occasional whiff years later. I'd say consider replacing floorboards but if you stick with them, take everything off the floor and Jeyes on the boards, strip the walls back past the lining paper and use sugar soap on them, obviously anything fabric has to go.

[Goadyflattery]

paint we hired a skip and paid two men to help us clear the rubbish but I think professionals are needed. I am hoping that paint, new carpets and sinks etc will help with the smell.
Are you going to carry on renting? It has put me off and we are selling up, we rent ourselves anyway so I would love to have my own place again.

[annandale]

Toilets - I would have thought just flush, bleach, scrub with a scrubbing brush, bleach again and leave for 2 hours. Do this three times a day.

[Goadyflattery]

I tried that, it's not shifting at all. Some forums suggested draining it and pumice stone but I am a bit worried about damaging the glaze. It's really black, I tried industrial limescale remover too

[RudeElf]

Try coke in the toilets and pumice stone should be ok on the limescale.

Having said that. Toilets arent very expensive. Especially if you get a decent second hand one in gumtree. I got mine for £25.

[donajimena]

Biological washing powder is your friend for floors and stuff. Sugar soap for all other areas including walls etc.
Its not as bad as you but you have to swab everything floor to ceiling.
The worst scenario I ever encountered was dog wee soaked into a concrete floor. Is it that bad?

[WottaMess]

Or loads of biological washing powder - dissolve in warm (not boiling water) to activate then put in loo and leave overnight.

[WottaMess]

Bio for cat pere, then white vinegar and peroxide mixed with tiny bit of fairy - recipes on web - and lots of bicarbonate. But if it's got into wooden floorboards I'd replace them tbh.

[Goadyflattery]

Thanks,( sorry I hijacked paint I got a bit excited to find someone in the same boat!).

I will try those ideas and yes, might have to replace it if not, appreciate the help

[feetheart]

Whereabouts are you? If it's Bedfordshire I used a brilliant cleaning company when we had to deal with the result of tenant subletting and turning flat into a doss house and coining it in
They are used to all kinds of yuck and may travel :)

[paintandbrush]

Wow, thanks so much for all your advice people, this site is a treasure trove! Should've said all floors are concrete and the bathroom's going to be totally ripped out. I swear by sugar soap for walls but need to get urine out of the concrete probably. Tenant only heated the living room so possible damp issues too.

And oh dear sweet lord, fleas/roaches crossed my mind but not bed bugs.

We've had a good few tenants over the years in several houses, mostly DSS and all v. tidy except this one. It's a big family home with huge garden, was nice when we lived there. I reckon the bedroom tax is pushing this one onwards and downwards ;)

[paintandbrush]

the contract did say no pets but we were quite innocent back then, and she sweet-talked us into letting her little Yorkie in. Oops.

[annandale]

if you think you have bed bugs call the council, in fact maybe talk to environmental health anyway. they will deal with them but it's a big job [sorry if you already know this]

[WottaMess]

Indorex is your friend for fleas. But on Amazon - much cheaper than at your vets - and works really well.

[holeinmyheart]

I swear by Dettol mould and mildew remover for mouldy blinds. Put them in the bath unfurled, spray them and use a scrubbing brush and leave for a couple of minutes. Rinse off.
I cleaned a toilet recently. I put two pairs of industrial rubber gloves on and using wire type cleaning scrub, put my hands in the toilet and scrubbed. Then leave lime scale cleaner overnight. We take the cooker apart and use a industrial strength rubbish bag. Put the shelves and glass inside and spray with oven cleaner. Lay on their sides and leave overnight. Wear masks.
Damn dirty tenants.

[paintandbrush]

Ok thanks! Does anybody know if a community care grant or similar would cover the costs of bringing in professionals? Tenant is clearly planning on doing as little as humanly possible and I have neither time nor money.