Diogenes syndrome is a behavioral imbalance in which a person isolates themselves socially and physically. It is a voluntary isolation where the person does not worry about themselves and their housing by amassing vast masses of garbage and household waste. People affected by this syndrome are often elderly or young people who stay alone and suffer from serious psychiatric problems.

Cleaning diogenes syndrome must be done with great care because there is a risk of exposure to parasites or potentially toxic microbes. It is imperative that this is not done by just one person as it could take days, weeks or months depending on the accumulated waste.