One interesting aspect of Auri’s videos is that she sometimes reveals the story behind the person she’s helping. She says, more times than not, there is mental illness involved.
Auri Kananen has what some have called one of the grossest jobs on the planet. The Finland-based woman cleans some of the most filthy living spaces in the world, but at no cost.
“I just enjoy it that much because I've combined two of my favorite things, cleaning and helping others,” Kananen tells Inside Edition Digital. “These people, usually they have money problems, they eat poorly, their homes are messy, they sleep poorly, they have all kinds of issues. They need their money more than me.”
Some cleans have been more shocking than others.
“There was this sink in Germany, and there was growing mushrooms and moss, and I just loved it," Kanenen says excitedly. "When I saw it, I was like, ‘I had to go there right away!’ I've never seen anything so beautiful.”
In another kitchen, Kanenen encountered a fridge full of cockroaches. "I just never saw anything like that," she says.
She shares cleaning transformations on social media, where her videos have attracted over 20 million followers. Kanenen gets flown worldwide to work her magic and usually cleans alone. But there are times when family members, friends and even social media followers join her for bigger projects.
But Kanenen has also experienced the negative side of social media.
“People are so angry to me,” Kanenen says of some of the comments left about her decision to wear everyday clothing, no masks and no hazmat suit to clean.
“I get emails, TikTok comments, YouTube comments. And it's hard to explain, but it's only dirt. It's not that serious. And the people are living there," she says. "They are living there every single day, and they are fine.”
Though Kanenen often comes in close contact with rodents and insects, she's not bothered by such encounters. “I just get used to it. Hey, I feel like they are more scared of me than I'm scared of them,” she says. “I was cleaning in Germany, and the house was full of spiders,” she recalls. “I've never seen so many spiders. But, what can I do? I have to help this person, so I just have to deal with them, and they're not going to do anything for me, even if they are crawling under my clothes.”
Kanenen sometimes shares the stories of the people she helps. She often notes that those in need of her services suffer from mental health struggles.
“Usually it's depression, or sometimes they have a trauma. They have abusive relationships, or they had lost their kid, or something has happened,” she says. “Many times, they don't even want to stay alive. They just rather be gone. It's hard to understand for many people.”
For anyone struggling or for someone with a home on the verge of getting out of hand, Kanenen has tips. The first? Ask for help.
“If they tell about it to someone, that helps," she says. "You can tell somebody, ‘I'm having troubles.’”
She also suggests getting rid of as much clutter as possible.
“People have too much stuff. It's impossible to clean if your home is cluttered and full of stuff, so get rid of all the extra stuff. It's easier to clean, it's quicker," she says.
Although Kanenen's job is a dirty one, she says she will help others as long as there is a need for it.
“I want to clean the rest of my life; it’s so satisfying,” she says. “If my videos go viral and people see it, they ask for my help. So it's worth to do these videos, for sure.”
