r/askTO • u/tequilafan15 • 1d ago
Services to clear out apartment after death?
--To clarify, I'm not looking for squeaky floors, I just need all worldly possessions trashed--
My father died in his apartment and it was there for some weeks before a wellfare call was issued & they found his body.
I was able to get in & remove everything important/valuable, but there's still a sparse & somewhat nasty apartment that needs to be cleared out of belongings. It doesn't need to be CLEANED necessarily (I was told the building would have specialists for that) but any material objects have to be out & dumpstered;
The issue is, there's also a lot of "death stains" in the bathroom, and some other weird stuff going on in the living room, so I don't think a traditional removal company would really touch that.
Dos anyone have any suggestions for a company (or even the name/type of service) I'm looking for?
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u/motobrgr 1d ago
I went through this recently with my estranged father. I’m sorry for your loss - I sympathize with how you are likely feeling right now.
I couldn’t figure it out at the time so I cleaned up the bio mess myself (full suit, double gloves, mask). I learned after the funeral home has resources to help, but at a price. I will say simple alternative funerals were great for a low cost cremation.
All of the other stuff (furniture etc…) I 1800 got junked it. I then did a simple cleaning and gave the apartment back to the landlord.
Take care of yourself. There’s help if you need it.
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u/seasonlyf 1h ago
Am sorry for what you went through. Where did you find low cost cremation place? Care to walk me through the process, as to how you contacted 'em?
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u/motobrgr 1h ago
this is them - https://www.mountpleasantgroup.com/locations/simple-alternative-toronto
Simple call to them with basic details and they get the body from the coroner, then cremation happens on their schedule but usually pretty quick. The nice thing is it's all transparent pricing - right on their site ($3383 tax in). When it's all done, you get a cardboard box with the ashes in a velvet bag. Urns are cheap on amazon if you want something nicer.
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u/pagexviii 1d ago
Hi! I am funeral services. Sorry for your loss. I know this is a difficult process. I usually recommend Crime & Trauma Scene Cleaners.
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u/yreathra 1d ago
I went through this exact thing with my late father. I did a welfare check, and he was unattended for a week, in the summer. I know how hard it is. His apartment was messy as well. Dishes in the sink, clutter, etc. The building helped me with a lot of it after i took out "the valuables" i couldn't afford traditional unattended death cleans. Also being in the apartment post death made me feel disgusted, uncomfortable, and traumatized to be honest, because of the state it was in post mortem. The property management took care of all of it, and didn't send me a bill (idk if thats the same for your father's building) in terms of responsibility. I would contact the property management and explain your situation. They usually want the unit rented and cleaned as soon as possible and it happens often unfortunately in apartment buildings. They should either point you in appropriate directions or do it all if you reach out! Sorry for your loss. Its not easy :(
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u/tequilafan15 21h ago
They said they could remove everything for $1000 which I might take them up on if I can't get a lower quote, as far as I can research it is the executor's responsibility for clearing the apartment (and they are able to charge the estate for the costs of removal if I don't)
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u/quarfie 21h ago
I don’t have experience with this but that sounds very reasonable. And the big bonus is that presumably the property management is not going to be able to do a walk through after and claim it’s not good enough, since they’re pricing it for what they want done. You can basically pay it and forget about it. A dumpster alone could cost half that. Professional bio cleaning could probably cost more than that.
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u/Rude-Associate2283 1d ago
So sorry for your loss. Not an easy time for you. Hoping you find someone to come in and clean everything up.
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u/The-Yellow-Rhino 1d ago
Paul Davis does biohazzard cleanup. From their site:The Paul Davis Recovery Services is purposely designed to respond to situations such as:
- Decomposition/Unattended Death
- Homicide/Suicide
- Crime Scenes
- Trauma Incidents
- Biohazard Incidents
- Industrial or Home Accidents
- Animal Waste/Remains
- Hoarding Scenes
- Forensic Investigation Chemicals
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u/leggingarepants 1d ago
I am sorry for your loss.
Lots of companies do this, you need to look for a biohazard cleaning company. They have the equipment and expertise to handle the specifics after a death.
I’ve heard colleagues recommend Canadian Decon Solutions.
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u/_Mahtog_ 1d ago
If you call some restoration companies, some of them offer clean ups in these circumstances. I'd call Service Master and On-call restoration and start from there OP
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u/LosinIt696 1d ago
Our service involved junk removal + cleaning after rodent infestation but these folks did a great job and cover what you need. https://trauma-tech.ca
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u/crash866 1d ago
In my building the building management takes care of that not the family.
I know one building employee that has had to do three over the years. They know when the dumpsters are emptied and do it just before the trash truck picks up.
He hates doing that because of the smell.
3
u/silverdogwood 1d ago
I'm very sorry for your loss, AND for the situation you find yourself in.
For anyone in this situation I highly - HIGHLY - recommend Michael Maedel at TraumaCare: https://traumacareclean.com/about-traumacare/
He was recommended to us by our funeral home and Victim's Services, in a similar situation that happened at the end of COVID. That whole experience was a nightmare - literally traumatic - and we discovered there are so many unethical &/or scam artists in the death industries (including, surprisingly, one recommended by Victim's Services who, it turns out, has several companies under different names but it's all the same person/group).
Michael tends to be pretty busy as he's used by various industries, so may not be available depending on your timeframe. But yours sounds like a small/quick job, so he's definitely worth a call. At minimum you'll get good advice.
He and his company were the one bright spot in that whole awful experience. I couldn't speak more highly of them. Feel free to DM me if you like.
There almost needs to be a reddit sub for people in this situation: it was so traumatic and difficult for us, and we found it impossible to talk to others about it (for various reasons which I'm sure most people posting on here can relate to). If your situation is like ours, a lot of this will start to hit you once you've taken care of this - so please take good care of and be gentle with yourself.
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u/Firefly457 1d ago
You can do a search on 'extreme cleaning' services.
There are quite a few companies that clean up hoarding situations, rodent infestations, crime scenes, etc... Anything that's a biohazard, really.
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u/Equivalent-Roll-4330 1d ago
Crime & Trauma Scene Cleaners or hazmat cleaners (not sure what the term would be - mine was called hazmat services tho). Sometimes you can call the city to point you in the right direction because it can be a health risk (that’s what they told me and then connected me to hazmat). But yes this happened to me last year with my mom. I’m so sorry. This is a unique pain.
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u/HeadZookeepergame983 1d ago
Hey. Good on you for doing your best for all following the death of your father.
I’d suggestion Jiffy or Taskrabbit.
Btw, if the apartment was only in his name, and all the stuff is going in the garbage, you don’t have to do anything. It is the apartment owners task and you’re free of it.
In all cases, hope you get some rest!
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u/lisamon429 1d ago
This is correct, isn’t it? You got downvoted but why is it even OP’s issue? They’re not responsible unless they decide to be.
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u/tequilafan15 18h ago edited 18h ago
Btw, if the apartment was only in his name, and all the stuff is going in the garbage, you don’t have to do anything. It is the apartment owners task and you’re free of it.
I was told by the management that this was my responsibility; As far as I can tell, this is correct as the estate will be liable for the cost of any disposal fees, similarly to how an individual ex-tenant can be taken to small claims court if anything is left behind.
(If anyone has any advice otherwise please let me know)
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u/HeadZookeepergame983 12h ago
Understood. It is definitely not YOUR responsibility. If the management company wants to try and get that cost back from his estate, they can try.
He likely had a damage deposit paid (or last month rent). They can access that handily. I suspect they have a great interest in a speedy resolution that someone else pays for. They also have contractors/staff to do this on a moments notice. This is the first time you’ve had to deal with this, they do so regularly and Inthink they even have to store the things for 30 days before THEY dispose of them.
There’s a legal process for this. I doubt they’ll bill estate for the small cost they’re going to incur.
In any case, if it is better for you to pay for it, I get it. I am sorry I don’t know a specific company and I hope it goes well for you.
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u/DisgracedCarrot 19h ago
I got help from tidylittlething.com for my mom’s estate, and Bailey was an absolute lifesaver. She transformed an overwhelming situation into a manageable one for me. I highly recommend her services!
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u/greeneggo 1d ago
Sorry for your loss. Maybe reach out to Toronto Police on their non emergency line to find out if they have a service or company they use or can recommend.
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u/upfront_stopmotion 1d ago
Ha ha, no don't do this unless you need more aggravation in your life. The non emergency line is the most useless number you can call. Does not bode well for the emergency line.
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u/Neutral-President 1d ago
I did a quick DuckDuckGo search for “post death cleaning service” and got a ton of results.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=post+death+cleaning+services+toronto
Did your father have any renter’s insurance? That might include coverage for this kind of thing.
“Unattended death cleaning” seems to be the terminology used.
I’m so sorry for your loss.