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Hoarding disorder is a severe condition that affects millions of people worldwide. It is a pattern of behavior that involves excessive accumulation of belongings, often to the point where living spaces become unsafe and unlivable. Various factors, including anxiety, depression, trauma, and other mental health issues, can cause it.
✓ Hiring a professional hoarder house cleaning service is necessary if you have this problem or know someone who does. Cleaning a hoarder’s home can be dangerous, overwhelming, and emotionally draining. Fortunately, professionals can do a better job of clearing away unwanted clutter while maintaining a safe environment for the task.
✓ The following article discusses the importance of these safe and professional services and why they are necessary for people who struggle with hoarding.
The Risks of Cleaning a Hoarder’s Home
Cleaning a home filled with waste items collected over several years is challenging and hazardous. The accumulation of belongings and debris can create various health and safety hazards, including:
- Fire hazards: The accumulation of flammable materials, such as newspapers and cardboard, can create fire hazards.
- Structural damage: The weight of the accumulated items can cause structural damage to the property.
- Infestations: Pests and rodents are attracted to clutter and can create an infestation problem.
- Mold and mildew: Moisture can build up in a hoarder’s home, leading to mold and mildew growth.
- Biohazards: Hoarded items may include human and animal waste, rotting food, and other biohazards.
Therefore, cleaning up such houses without the proper training, equipment, and safety precautions can put the cleaners and homeowners at risk.
The Benefits of Safe and Professional Cleaning Services
Hiring professionals for the task can bring several benefits, such as:
- Safety: They follow safety protocols to ensure the cleaning process is safe for everyone involved. They use personal protective equipment, such as gloves and masks, to protect themselves from biohazards and other contaminants. They also follow proper disposal procedures for hazardous materials, reducing their carbon footprint.
- Efficiency: These professionals have the training, experience, and equipment necessary to clean a hoarder’s home efficiently. They can quickly and effectively sort through the clutter, remove unwanted items, and deep clean the house.
- Compassion: These specialists understand that hoarding disorder is a chronic health condition and that cleaning a hoarder’s home can be emotionally challenging for the homeowner and their family. Subsequently, they approach the cleaning process with empathy, respect, and compassion.
- Restoration: Safe and professional cleaning services can help restore such homes to safe and livable conditions. They can also work with the homeowner to develop a plan to prevent hoarding from recurring.
- Knowledge and expertise: They have the critical ability to identify and manage the various risks of hoarding. They can also help the homeowner understand the underlying causes of their behavior and offer support and resources for addressing it.
Items They Can Remove From the Property
In addition to removing clutter and debris from a hoarder’s home, professional services can help remove other items from the property that may be taking up space or pose a safety risk. These items typically include:
- Boats: Old or broken-down boats can take up a lot of space on a property and may be a safety hazard. Professionals can safely remove these items and dispose of them properly.
- Vehicles: Rusty, old, or non-functioning vehicles can also take up valuable property space and may be a safety hazard. Expert cleaning services can remove vehicles and eliminate them in an eco-friendly way. Some sell cars still in running condition, helping you make a few quick bucks.
- Hot tubs: Old, leaking, or non-functional hot tubs can be difficult for many homeowners to remove and dispose of. Hoarder cleaning companies have the expertise to safely remove these tubs from any property and dispose of them properly.
- Yard scrap: You may find that old lawnmowers, gardening tools, and other outdoor equipment can take up valuable space on your property and may be a safety hazard for residents. Expert cleaning services can remove this yard scrap quickly and efficiently.
- Electronics: Outdated electronics, such as computers, TVs, and other devices, can also take up space and pose a safety risk. Hoarder cleaning services can properly remove and dispose of these electronics, ensuring any personal data is securely erased before disposal.
- By removing these unwanted and unsafe items from a hoarder’s property, professionals can help create a safer, cleaner, and more livable environment for the homeowner. Invariably, hiring them can be among the most prudent decisions anyone can make.
Choosing a Reliable Company Matters
Selecting a trustworthy and experienced hoarder house cleaning service is crucial as it ensures your home is taken care of during the decluttering process. Also, these specialists already have plenty of experience removing such scrap from various places, residential and otherwise, making them a boon to homeowners and businesses alike. Here’s what to look for in a respected specialist before hiring them.
- Certification: Seek a company that is certified and licensed to perform hoarder house clearing, as this can be a sensitive issue for many. Check if they are a member of any organizations to ensure their authenticity.
- Experience: Choose a professional with plenty of experience dealing with this disorder and cleaning hoarders’ homes. You can ask for references and read online reviews from previous clients to determine if an expert suits your needs.
- Safety protocols: Ensure the specialist you wish to hire follows safety protocols, including wearing personal protective equipment and disposing of hazardous materials safely. Removing dangerous items like batteries and rusty equipment will make a vast difference.
- Compassion: Always pick a company that approaches hoarder houses with empathy, respect, and compassion. Since this is a sensitive and severe issue, many people struggling with it will appreciate genuine kindness from professionals cleaning their property of unwanted items they collected over decades.
- Customized cleaning plan: Seek professionals that develop a customized cleaning plan based on the homeowner’s needs and preferences. It will help speed up cleaning the property of everything that does not belong there.
Conclusion
In conclusion, remember that hoarding disorder is a severe health condition that requires professional intervention. Hiring safe and professional hoarder cleaning companies can be a significant step towards getting the help you need.