The Clutter Image Rating scale
Professionals often describe the severity of hoarding using the Clutter Image Rating scale, which runs from 1 (a tidy room) to 5 (a room overwhelmed by possessions). It gives families, support workers and clearance teams a shared way to talk about the situation.
What Level 5 looks like
At Level 5, rooms can no longer be used for their purpose. Belongings may be piled high, exits and walkways blocked, and essential facilities — cooking, washing, sleeping — inaccessible. There are often serious risks: fire hazards, structural strain, pests, damp and contamination from food waste or animals.
Why Level 5 needs specialists
Clearing a Level 5 home safely takes proper assessment, protective equipment and a staged approach that keeps the building sound as weight is removed. It frequently involves biohazard handling and sanitisation too. This is the work our extreme hoarding cleanup service is built for.
There is always a way forward
However severe a home has become, it can be cleared — calmly, safely and with respect for the person living there. If you are facing a Level 4 or Level 5 situation, please reach out. We have done this many times and we will not judge.
Here to help
Need help with a hoarded home?
Talk to us in confidence. No judgement, no obligation — just a clear, fair plan.