‘Hoarders’ Star Cory Chalmers Talks Show Secrets, Most Extreme Case & Celebs Who Need Help

Sometimes folks just can’t cope, and more property owners find themselves under the emotional and physical weight of their belongings in a new season of Hoarders. The Emmy-nominated TV series is back as cleaning specialists and medical professionals tackle some of their most extreme and challenging hoards yet. 

The premiere follows Tim, whose wife is on the brink of divorcing him because of his influx of cars and car parts. Another episode centers on Montie and Sherry, whose daughter Audora has looked into getting adult protection involved for her parents because of the living conditions they’ve created for themselves. 

Cleaning specialist Cory Chalmers takes pride in the show’s longevity and the people who have been helped over what’s been going on 16 seasons. The retired Orange County fire captain and founder of Steri-Clean brings decades of experience in the realm of biohazard and hoarding remediation. There since the beginning, he has continued to travel the country helping clients break through the clutter and try to find that light on the other side. 

Here Chalmers reflects on Hoarders origins, the popularity of the show, and most memorable success story. 

We’re going into Season 16. How was it being there from the beginning? 

Cory Chalmers: Before Hoarders was going to be a show, it was going to be a show on crimes and cleanup. We went to two houses that we cleaned up that had unfortunately happened. One of them happened to be a hoarder. That was intriguing to the production company. Then we did a pilot called Dirty Work all about hoarding. It just grew from there and brought the doctor in and had an intervention. That was honestly in 2008. It has grown from there. It has been a long road for sure. 

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How do you feel the show has grown and evolved with the times? 

I think what is most amazing about this TV show is its longevity. It has withstood everything. Early on, we broke the record for viewers of A&E. Then the other shows came along like Duck Dynasty that blew it out of the water. They are gone, and Hoarders remain. I think it just has this following because it is just a fascinating disorder. Everyone that we work with off and on the show is extremely unique. How they got there and reacted to things. Nothing like COVID or anything can cancel it or make it go away. During COVID, we actually had the highest ratings on Netflix for people downloading and watching Hoarders. It’s just a fascinating show. We try to make a happy ending, but as you know, that’s not always the case. How we get from the beginning toward the end of the show, people get to see exactly what we go through trying to help someone with this very complex disorder. 

Looking back, is there a particularly extreme case you’ll always take with you that sets the tone for the work you’ve done? 

The one that sticks with me is Al. That was the second episode I ever filmed. He was such an interesting guy. He had his son taken away by CPS (Child Protective Services). His wife had just died of cancer. We really didn’t make a lot of progress with him. We went back and did a follow-up. He still didn’t have his son back. The code enforcement officer that kind of brought this on and got him in all this trouble, he actually bonded with after the second show. We got to come back a third time. He got his son back. He was an amazing father. It was an unreal transition compared to what we left him the first or second time. It showed the power of not giving up on people who suffer from this and how we can truly change lives. That is the one that was important to me. 

What were the conditions like when you first walked into Al’s house? 

It was horrendous. It was two floors that were completely full. Plus, the attic was completely full as was the basement. Then his yard was completely full. He lived and worked out of his house, so if you needed a car part or tool like Home Depot, you could call Al because he most likely had it. This was his career buying and selling. I think that was one of the things that was so difficult. The fact it was this huge hoard, but it was the way he was making his money. It was his identity and everything he knew.

Those are always going to be more challenging compared to others who started collecting a year ago. I think it was so fascinating. People saw how stuck he was and how people couldn’t just take everything away because he would not only lose his stuff but income. On the tradeoff, he lost his son. That’s what I kept reminding him. I think that sunk in and got him to work with code enforcement and the doctor on the show. 

Has there ever been a point where you walked into a space and asked, “I don’t know how I’m going to get through this one?” 

A house is just a container holding stuff, so we can always remove the stuff. The bigger concern is the structure itself. We’ve had several episodes where the container itself has had structural damage. Either we couldn’t go into parts of the house, or in the Tiffany episode in Wisconsin a couple of seasons ago, we had to call a structural engineer. Then I had to go to Home Depot and buy some braces and go in the basement and literally shore up the house before we could let anyone in. That’s a little nerve-wracking knowing you’re underneath a house that has tons of stuff above you. I know every house can be emptied. I would never see that as something so overwhelming I wouldn’t want to take it on. For me, the bigger the challenge the bigger the reward. 

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For me, the heartbreaking thing is when there are animals and children involved. Take me through how you weather those delicate situations. 

Fortunately, the show has gone away from animal episodes because of the side effects of that. People feel just like you. You can show children and people living there, but when we show animals for some reason, it touches more people. We were actually getting death threats because we weren’t in the few days we were there saving every animal. Legally, we can’t do that. We can start the process. We can get animal control involved and can start that process, but it does take a judge making an order to take animals away. When we did run into this and run into it off the show, we did get animal resource groups involved right away. At the end of the day, it is about saving the animals first and saving the house second. There are so many cases involving animals that are truly heartbreaking. 

Is there anything you can tease on a case you’re tackling? 

I just left one last week in Florida. That was a pretty severe case. A level five hoard where rooms were completely inaccessible. The sad part is there was mold. We found a snake, possums, and huge spiders in the house. One of the things that I disagreed with the hoarder is on all the jewelry we kept finding. Most of it was costume jewelry. She kept saying how valuable it was. Finally, we called a master jeweler to assess her jewelry. We had this folding table full of jewelry, and she was right. There was about $40,000 worth of jewelry just on that one table and that wasn’t even a dent of what we collected. Another reason we have to be mindful of what’s in the house and sort through it very carefully. 

How is it for you to see the show be so popular that you’re getting recognized out and about? 

I’m not good with that part. I almost get embarrassed when people recognize me. I’m just not wired that way. I love helping people and love the awareness the TV show brought to the disorder, but when I get recognized in public, it’s almost embarrassing. I’ll take photos with people and meet them, it’s just not in my nature to be someone people recognize. I’m just proud the show has made such an impact in the world that I am recognized because we’re doing great things. 

Do you have a particular unique Cameo request you’ve received online? 

My favorite one was a wedding proposal. It was an engagement, and he had it all planned out. He had me ask the question. Because of the Cameo I actually gave them my private information and after he proposed to her, we actually FaceTimed. I congratulated them and have since been invited to the wedding, which I might actually go to. It was nice to be part of that experience. 

Holidays are coming up. What’s a big tip you want to give people? 

The best thing you can focus on is holidays are about family, friends and people and not things. The things will never be as important when you’re looking back on your days. Enjoy the time with people. Don’t worry so much about gifts and filling your house with decorations and stuff. Just enjoy those moments with family and loved ones because that is what truly matters. 

What can you tell us about the follow-up episodes? 

That’s what I’m excited about. Fans always ask to know how hoarders are doing. Unfortunately, we had a hard time finding past hoarders, partly due to some passing away because the show has been around for so long. At the end of every new episode starting October 7, we will also be airing the “Where Are They Now?” episodes. Each week you will see a follow-up after the new episodes. I think that is important for viewers to understand how difficult this is. You’ll see some failures and successes. I’m actually heading out tomorrow for an episode, and I’m excited to see if she succeeded or not. 

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What do you see for the future of the show? Is there anything you haven’t done yet you want to do like a celebrity edition? 

We stick to the format that works. I’ve worked with several celebrities off the show. For obvious reasons, I don’t think they want that exposure. I would love it if they did because I feel it’s important. The fact this affects people from all walks of life. It doesn’t matter if you’re rich, poor, black, or white. Everyone is affected. I wish a very well-known celebrity would come out and say, “It’s okay. We all have our issues, but there is help out there.” Not sure that will happen. I’m not sure what new direction we can go,  but I’m sure the show will continue because it has such a huge following. I think people love to see the chance we can instill with people in just a few days and give them the tools to move on with their life and get a fresh start. 

Hoarders Season 16 premiere, October 7, 8/7c, A&E 

Hoarders: Where Are They Now?, October 7, 10/9c, A&E