David and Jamie Faust have been charged with heroin possession and endangering the welfare of their children, ages 8, 5, and 3.
Their deplorable living conditions were discovered during a drug raid.
221 Parker Avenue has been shut down and declared unfit for human habitation.
The owners, police say, were using the place as a flop house and heroin shooting gallery.
"When we hit the house, two of the little kids were playing on the porch. We get inside and this place was truly a pigpen," Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said.
"I heard the children crying because I believe they were on the front porch playing at the time that the police showed up. There were about six cars just blocking the street," neighbor Ashley McKeown said.
Police say the home was infested with fleas and roaches and animal waste.
Full and empty bags of heroin and syringes were found.
During their surveillance, police say the three children were left outside on the porch for hours at a time in the cold while the heroin shooting proceeded.
"They were dealing to maintain their habit and to maintain whatever lifestyle they had which was zero," Chitwood said.
"The oldest daughter was very sweet and the middle child, he could have used a little bit of parental guidance," McKeown said.
Heroin addiction is on the rise all across Delaware County and particularly in Upper Darby.
"We've had over 60 heroin overdoses in the last year and a half and almost 20 deaths all related to heroin, just in Upper Darby," Chitwood said.
The children have been turned over to their grandmother.