How we score hoarding cleanup companies in Ontario

Ontario Hoarding Cleanup Directory currently scores 284 hoarding cleanup businesses across the province. This page explains exactly how that score is built, why we weight things the way we do, and where the method falls short so you can read our numbers with the right amount of skepticism.

What goes into the composite score

Every business gets a score out of 100, built from five measured signals. We list them here from heaviest to lightest weight, because the order tells you what we think matters most when you're choosing someone to clear a hoarded home.

• Sentiment, 28%. A synthesis of what recent reviews actually say, the praise and the complaints, not just how many stars they add up to.
• Rating, 26%. The business's aggregate star rating on Google.
• Volume, 20%. How many reviews a business has, log-scaled so that ten reviews don't get treated the same as one thousand, but a small operator with strong feedback isn't buried either.
• Recency, 11%. How recently customers have actually left reviews. A company that hasn't been reviewed in three years tells you less about what to expect today than one reviewed last month.
• Completeness, 15%. Whether the basics are actually listed: phone number, website, hours, and a real address. For a service you're inviting into someone's home during a hard moment, this is not a minor detail.

Why sentiment carries the most weight

Star averages hide patterns. Two companies can both sit at 4.4 stars, and one of them has a spread of routine praise while the other has a cluster of recent reviews all describing the same problem, rushed disposal decisions, items thrown out without consent, crews who didn't show up on time, or costs that ballooned past what was quoted. The average alone won't show you that. Reading what people actually wrote, and tracking the themes across recent reviews, is the only way we've found to catch it. That's why sentiment is weighted above the raw star rating itself, and why it's the single largest factor in our score. Hoarding cleanup is a service people usually hire once, under stress, often for a family member. The difference between "professional and respectful" and "aggressive and dismissive" showing up repeatedly in reviews matters more than a tenth of a star.

Why the other signals matter

Rating still counts for a lot because it's the most direct customer verdict available. Volume matters because five glowing reviews are a weaker signal than three hundred, so we log-scale it to reward consistency without letting sheer count dominate. Recency matters because crews, ownership, and quality can change; a strong reputation from 2019 doesn't guarantee the same team today. Completeness matters practically: if you can't find a working phone number, hours, or an address for a company you're about to let into a difficult, sensitive job, that's a real gap worth reflecting in the score.

The honest limits

We synthesize review content rather than republishing it, and we always link out to Google so you can read the original source yourself. Businesses with few recent reviews produce a low-confidence score, and we label them that way rather than pretending a handful of reviews carries the same weight as hundreds. If a listing looks thin or its "last verified" date is old, treat the score as a starting point, not a verdict.

Scores are earned, not sold or edited

Every score comes strictly from this rubric applied to measured data. Nothing about the ranking is negotiable: paid placement, where it exists, is always labelled clearly and never changes a business's score. Any list where picks or ordering involved editorial judgment discloses that plainly on the page itself, such as our best hoarding cleanup companies in Ontario guide.

Who's behind this

This directory is published by Ontario Hoarding Cleanup Directory, founded in 2026 to make it easier for Ontario families to find hoarding cleanup help without wading through scattered listings and unclear CAD pricing. Hoarding disorder affects an estimated 2.5% of adults, roughly 380,000 people across Ontario, and most families searching for a provider are doing it under real pressure. Editorial oversight of the rankings sits with Amara Whitfield, Editorial Lead. Data is refreshed monthly, and each listing carries a "last verified" stamp so you can see the maintenance is ongoing rather than a one-time snapshot.

Questions about a listing or the method, reach the publisher at 437-529-0012 or through the directory home page at ontariohoardingcleanup.ca.