For someone that has never suffered from or had to deal with hoarding it may look like a big mess! Many people think that the hoarder just doesn’t want to clean the mess but there is a lot more to it then cleaning. The items that are in the home of the hoarder are important to that person and all of it holds sentimental value. None of the items that are in the home are garbage to the hoarder. Hoarding is a disorder and just like any other disorder it has to be treated by a professional. Hoarding can be brought on by some type of trauma or can be from an OCD behavior. The disorder will cause the hoarder to believe they need an item or they put a value on it that is unrealistic. They can also believe that they are actually just collecting items but when it’s time to get rid of something they won’t do it. A hoard can get out of hand if it is not treated and cleaned properly. There are instances that homes have been condemned and the house deemed unlivable. There are other instances that a person in the home was not able to receive emergency treatment because the medical personnel could not get to them. Hoarding is a serious problem and if you have a loved one or know someone that hoards you should have some tips on how to get the home cleaned.
American Hometown Services Lists Tips for Cleaning Up After a Hoard
Gloves & Masks Are Necessary to Clean a Hoarder’s House: When you go into a place that a person has been hoarding, you need to be careful. Most of the time the home is full of items like bags, toys, clothes and left over food. All this can lead to pests such as rodents and cockroaches to be living among the stuff. Rodents carry disease that can be a danger to the people that are in the home so using gloves and a mask is a must. The other problem is from the food and potential water damage that are often times in the home. The water damage and food can lead to mold growth that can be dangerous is inhaled. The best thing to do is to hire a professional to do the cleaning for safety issues.
How to Declutter a Hoarder House; Sort & Separate: When you are trying to sort all the items in the home there needs to be some kind of order. The items in the home are going to be in several different piles. You want to sort out the things that the hoarder wants to keep while working with a professional so they know some boundaries. You can make a pile of items that can be donated which is a great way to make the hoarder feel better. The last pile which will most likely be the biggest is going to be the pile of garbage. The garbage pile can be loaded straight into a dumpster or truck to be taken out.
Get Professional Hoarding Cleanup Help: If you want to have your home cleared of a hoard it is best to hire a professional. We have the tools and experience to clean the house in an orderly manner. The cleaning team will come out and remove all the debris and garbage and do the standard cleaning when everything is cleared out.