Any professional or very experienced cleaners around?

[DeepBluePanda]

First thread and hoping someone will be able to advise.

A relative died very recently and I have inherited their house. Totally unexpected and very much appreciated. Unfortunately they hoarded and its taken me almost three weeks to just clear everything out. The hoarding itself isn't my issue, my issue is the thick layer of dust everywhere. When I say thick, I mean it. I've tried 'dusting', using vacuum cleaner (just destroyed two filters) and of course wiping down with wet/damp microfibre cloths and although initially surfaces seem clean, when they dry they dry streaky and there is still dust caked into everything. I have no idea how to properly clean so that it doesn't come back!

There are several pairs of really good quality shoes in the bedroom that I would like to donate to a local charity but the shoes are one of the areas where although I've wiped them down several times I just can't seem to get rid of the blasted dust. Why does it keep returning?

Decorating will take place asap after Christmas/New Year but I'm trying to deep clean everything first, and feeling like I'm not doing a very good job of it 😣

There must be a method to deal with this and I'm really hoping someone can help me out.

There will be a lot of dust in the air (stirred up by movement/cleaning) which then settles and looks like it’s coming back. Using the wet microfibre cloth helps to “capture” the dust without stirring it back up.

Make sure the spaces are well ventilated as you are dusting - keep windows as wide open as possible. If there are rooms you haven’t yet dusted, keep the doors closed to keep the dust contained.

Work from the top down in each room and dust absolutely everything - ceiling and walls using a swiffer, light fittings, tops of doors and door frames, any surfaces where dust could accumulate.

what’s happening with the shoes? Are they still being stored in the dusty house?

Good luck!! Xx

All of the above.
2 other thoughts.
There are sponges you can buy that you use wet and then rinse out under the tap.
Use an air compressor on the shoes to blast the dust away. Do it outside only!

Thanks so much for replying.

@mambonumberfive I've tried all that you suggested during the week and seemed to work, but then when I returned last night it was just as bad. The shoes had been left in the house, but I wrapped them in plastic bags before I left. When I checked earlier tonight they were streaky and didn't look particularly clean so I brought them home with me and will try to clean them over the weekend. Reason I left them in the house was just because I didn't know where to put them at home - there are about ten pairs and all really good quality. I'd planned to buy some of those fabric shoe bags to keep them in once cleaned properly but as I said, they're still streaky 😣

@Guildford321 What are the sponges you mention? Are they different from other sponges? Using an air compressor on the shoes to blast the dust away sounds promising! I have a couple of canned air thingies for my computer so will try one of those...👌

These are the sponges https://www.dunelm.com/product/pack-of-3-ribbed-dusters-1000253870?defaultSkuId=30925576&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Utility_Cleaning-PMax_%5BGOO-PLA-HOMEHYGIENE-CLEANING%5D&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20593945374&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1Pr53uCAkQMVVZNQBh1zOxDcEAQYASABEgJB__D_BwE

Keep damp dusting, keep pairing down. Each time will be less.

@DeepBluePanda might take another round or 2 to properly capture all the dust, keep persevering! Are you seeing all the dust coming up on the damp cloths? It should be getting less each time. If you can empty each the room of as much furniture/items as possible this will help speed it up too. Are there particular areas that are worse than others?
If you have (or can buy/borrow) an air purifier this will help speed it up.
Alternatively if you can open the window and run a fan this will help circulate in some cleaner air. Appreciate current weather in the UK is maybe a bit chilly for this right now (next week supposed to warm up a little).
If there are any nooks and crannies that are too hard to reach then a hairdryer on cold setting works really nicely to blast away the dust.

What material are the shoes?

Maybe not for the shoes, but sugar soap solution that is used to prepare surfaces before decorating might cut through the grime.

id also try a bit of fairy liquid in your water and change it often

A bowl of soapy water.
Several cloths.
A bottle of Elbow Grease- can get from b and m etc.
Wash, not wipe. Spray elbow grease onto cloth, wipe down. Wash again and wipe dry.

Or just wash, wiping doesn't really work. But dry off area afterwards.

Would getting an air purifier work? It might help get the dust out of the air.

Vacuum wise you need a "shop vac" we have a wet and dry one as we have renovated 2 houses ourselves. It is basically this one which is Screwfixes own brand. The filter is a large drum thing and I just scrape out the crud and it is good to go again. You don't have to use bags but you can.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb774vac-1300w-16ltr-wet-dry-vacuum-220-240v/826kh

I have never had to clean a hoarder house but I do love watching professionals clean them especially where it is beyond disgusting with them blocking toilets and then using the bath and blocking that. Mainly because I am curious as to how the hell you clean all that up.

Elbow Grease cleaner which is luminous yellow is really good for cutting through stuff. Screwfix and other places sell gritty scrubbing wipes, I used these when my sister moved into a house that had not been cleaned for a while.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/big-wipes-scrub-clean-wipes/6488f

Your normal home stand up vacuum cleaner won’t cut it - you need a Henry type cylinder one. Should be able to get hold of one in a tool hire place, no need to buy one.

@Guildford321 Thanks for the link to the sponges. I haven't seen those before!

@mambonumberfive (love the username, Lou would be proud 😎) The shoes are mostly leather but some have fabric inserts.

@QuietDownRobyn Thank you for the link to that vac. I've ordered one just now, as well as the wipes 😊I think all the other suggestions, for which I am sincerely grateful, just won't cut it with the amount and thickness level of dust I'm dealing with. Shudders. But this vac and those wipes looks like they're up to the job.

All the furniture, which I have already wiped down with sugar soap and thoroughly rinsed, was donated to our local BHF. Other charities will take the shoes but of course they must be clean. Clothing has already been to laundry and some has been dry cleaned before passing on. I'm afraid everything else has gone or is going into a skip. I'm very fortunate to have been left this house but it is of no use to me and I don't have relatives I could rent it out to and don't want to get into general rental market so it will go up for sale once decorated. Just need to tackle all the blasted dust!

Thank you so much to everyone for your replies. I'll update once I've used the vac a couple of times. It's from my local Screwfix so should be available for pick up anytime as its in stock.

@DeepBluePanda that vac has been a godsend, we had a leak and were able to hoover up the water rather than mopping it up with towels. Default mode for us is dry vac but it takes about 30 seconds to change it to the wet sponge on the drum. I keep the sponge filter on the vac using the tool storage on the back. We have used it outside too.

Mine is an older version of this one, linked below. Slightly more expensive than the one I linked above. The tool storage is slightly different. This one allows you to plug an electric tool into the vac like a sander and when you turn the sander on it automatically turns the vac on. So it acts as a dust extractor. It isn't obvious from the photos but it is the black square box above the yellow port for the hose.

www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb776vac-1400w-30ltr-wet-dry-vacuum-220-240v/665kh

Best of luck, it is not an easy task. I cleared my Grandma's house with my Mum a long time ago, it was hard work.

Wear a high quality mask if there is even the slightest risk of mould being present

a sealed HEPA vacuum makes it a lot easier to clear the bulk without spreading it around. i use an idustmite one for allergies and it doesn’t choke on fine dust, but any proper HEPA unit should help. once it’s all vacuumed, then wipe with sugar soap to cut the grease. good luck!

I would have all the carpets and curtains removed before tackling the dust.

We bought a doer upper, the place was transformed once the carpets were out, they were “gopping”.
A professional company lifted and disposed of them then cleaned all the floorboards.

Clear room, and wash ceiling and walls first, work your way down. Clean small items outside if possible, including rugs.

Well, finally, success! The vac helped enormously. We did empty the room and cleaned what we could outside, thoroughly washing down and buffing dry where possible. Kept the windows open and wore masks when tackling the actual room. Started at the top, used a ton of duster things which were washable so able to reuse, and then threw out when they were beyond saving. The vac sucked up the thicker dust, even from fabrics and footwear (YAY!) to the point that I could literally wash and/or wipe down with wet or damp cloths. And finally, finally, things dried nice and clean without dust streaks.

I cannot tell you how happy and relieved I am.

It took a couple of attempts, probably because initially we didn't take things outside, just tried to vacuum everything in the room, but it worked better thinning everything out and tackling things individually so they were dusted/wiped down/vacuumed/washed/dried. Repeat. And now, all is well. We did all the other rooms in turn, and also I've thoroughly cleaned the vac and used it at home on my own carpets and furnishings and my heck has it done a great job!

Decorating can commence in January without concern. A friend has asked to stay over in the house to have some respite from a currently difficult relationship and that's helpful for us as well as beneficial for her, so no worries about the property being broken into or damage caused by lack of heating as the heating will be on for her and decorating will dry out.

The now cleaned and freshened unwanted furniture has been collected by local BHF and the shoes have gone to new homes courtesy of our local hospice charity and were all nice and clean with new inserts, housed in soft bags to keep from being scuffed.

That vac is still on sale at Screfix so if anyone was thinking about getting one, I highly recommend you do. I will be forever grateful for the recommendation here. Thank you so much.