What does junk removal and storeroom clearing include?
The service covers four steps in order: sorting, packing, carrying unwanted items out of the home and handing them to a waste collector, then cleaning the space that has been cleared. It is meant for places that everyday tidying no longer copes with: a storeroom filled over many years, a mezzanine, a spare room, a balcony, a roof terrace, the basement of a townhouse, or an apartment about to be handed back.
UpClean does not buy second-hand goods, and does not treat, recycle or destroy waste itself. Our part ends when the waste is handed to a collection and transport operator permitted to do that work. Anything you want to give away or sell is packed separately, so that you can arrange it with whoever will receive it.
A small corner of light items is a weekend job you can do yourself, with thick rubbish bags, gloves and a mask, three piles for keep, give away and throw out, and a call to the waste collector for your neighbourhood about anything bulky. Work through one area at a time and do not empty the whole storeroom at once. A service is worth it when the volume is large, heavy pieces have to go down a staircase, a service lift has to be booked or nobody at home has the time: it helps avoid injuries and breaches of building rules, and the waste goes to the right place. A storeroom with years of dust, mould or traces of rodents is also better left to specialists who have protective equipment.
How do you decide what to keep, donate or throw away?
You decide, and the Up specialist, UpClean's identity-verified member of staff who does the work, sorts to the rules you set. Sorting takes the most time in a clear-out and matters the most. The rule for each group of items is agreed with you before work starts, and anything doubtful found along the way is put to one side for you to look at again.
| Group | What happens to it |
|---|---|
| Items you keep | Dusted, boxed, labelled by group and put back on the shelves or wherever you say. |
| Items to donate or sell | Clothes, books and household goods still fit for use are packed and labelled separately, for you to take to whoever will receive them. |
| Papers, photos and keepsakes | Never thrown away before you have seen them. They go into a labelled box of their own. |
| Items to discard | Bagged by type (paper, plastic, metal, wood, textiles and household rubbish) so that the collector can handle them easily. |
| Items that need separate handling | Batteries, light bulbs, broken electrical appliances, paint tins, aerosol cans and out-of-date medicines are kept apart, sealed and handed over as the collector instructs. |
What will UpClean not take away?
Some kinds of waste need a specialist operator and are outside this service, for the safety of your household and of our specialists. Cartons, polystyrene, timber boards and leftover materials from small repairs are accepted. The following are not:
- Industrial chemicals, oil and lubricants in large quantities, gas cylinders and fire extinguishers.
- Medical waste and needles, and waste from business premises that is subject to its own regulations.
- Materials suspected of containing asbestos, and large volumes of rubble from construction sites.
- Belongings caught up in a property dispute, until the parties involved have agreed.
How do I get rid of old furniture from an apartment or townhouse?
In an apartment building, moving old furniture out usually has to be registered with building management, done by the service lift and kept within set hours. Many buildings also ask for the lift to be padded and the corridors left clean. UpClean sends the Up specialists' details ahead so that you can register them, brings the protective materials and plans the visit around the permitted hours.
For a townhouse or villa, the specialist checks the route out, the staircase and where a vehicle can stop in front of the house. Large pieces such as wardrobes, beds and old mattresses are taken apart where possible so that they can be carried safely. UpClean does not dismantle anything fixed to the structure of the house, such as built-in wardrobes, kitchens or sanitary fittings; those need a building contractor.
How should I prepare for a storeroom clear-out?
Plan to be there for the sorting, when each group of items needs a decision from you. Once the scope is agreed, packing, carrying out and cleaning can be left to the specialists. Before the day:
- Put important documents, jewellery, cash and valuables away before the Up specialists arrive.
- Label or point out the things you are sure you want to keep and the things you are sure can go.
- Tell everyone in the household, so that nobody else's belongings are thrown out by mistake.
- If you live in an apartment, book the service lift and the moving hours with building management.
- Tell us in advance if the storeroom holds batteries, aerosol cans, chemicals or fragile items, or shows signs of insects or rodents.
How much does junk removal cost in Ho Chi Minh City?
UpClean does not apply one standard rate, because storerooms differ widely in volume and difficulty. For a small job such as a balcony or one corner of a storeroom, send photos or a video and we quote from those. A larger volume gets a free survey at your home. The all-inclusive quote is given in writing and states the scope, the number of people, the vehicle and the time needed; it does not change unless you agree in writing. Five things determine the cost.
| Factor | What we look at |
|---|---|
| Volume to be discarded | Estimated by cubic volume, number of bags and number of bulky pieces. It decides how many trips are needed. |
| How much sorting is needed | Clearing only, or careful sorting with boxing, labelling and rearranging of what you keep. |
| Access | The floor, lift or stairs, the distance to the collection point and the building's service-lift rules. |
| Bulky items | Old wardrobes, beds, mattresses and sofas that have to be taken apart or carried by several people. |
| Cleaning afterwards | A basic sweep and wipe, or a deep clean and odour removal for the storeroom as well. |
Can you clear a home before a move or after a tenant leaves?
Yes. A move is when most households find out how much they no longer use. Clearing it before moving day cuts what has to be packed and transported, and the new home starts out tidier. UpClean can sort and clear the storeroom a few days ahead, then deep clean the old home once the furniture has gone.
Landlords taking back an apartment or townhouse usually find old mattresses, broken tables and chairs, kitchenware and household rubbish left behind. The Up specialist photographs everything as found before clearing, so that the landlord has a record to compare against, discards only what the landlord has confirmed by message, and then cleans so that the home is ready for the next tenant.
What happens once the storeroom is empty?
The space is cleaned and anything found there is reported to you. A storeroom left for years tends to hold dust, cobwebs, rodent droppings or signs of cockroaches and termites. Once the items are out, the Up specialist sweeps, vacuums and wipes the floor and shelves. If there are signs of insects or rodents, we photograph them and advise on treatment, which UpClean's own pest-control technicians carry out. Where the space smells of damp or mould, odour removal can be added to the same visit.
Before-and-after photos and the list of work done reach you in the Up Report, the record UpClean sends by WhatsApp or Zalo after every visit. To keep the storeroom tidy for longer:
- Use plastic boxes with lids in place of cardboard wherever it is damp.
- Raise stored items off the floor and keep them away from the walls.
- Label the contents on the outside of each box.
- Go through old belongings once a year.
Which areas of Ho Chi Minh City do you cover for junk removal?
UpClean works regularly in An Khanh ward (Sala, Thu Thiem, Thao Dien), Binh Trung, Cat Lai, Phu My Hung (Tan My and Tan Hung wards) and Thanh My Tay ward, and in Districts 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11 and 12, Phu Nhuan, Go Vap, Tan Binh, Tan Phu, former District 9 and Nha Be commune. The city replaced its districts with wards in July 2025, but people still use the district names, so we do too. Visits are booked between 7:00 AM and 8:00 PM on any day of the week, within the moving hours each building allows. To start, send photos or a video of the space to 0773 521 104 on WhatsApp or Zalo.
- Deep cleaning
- For cleaning the whole home in the same booking, for example once the furniture has gone.
- Disinfection and odour removal
- For a storeroom that smells of damp or mould.
- Pest control
- If the clear-out uncovers signs of insects or rodents.
- Book a visit
- We confirm in writing by WhatsApp, Zalo or email and send a reminder the day before.
