If you know someone who tends to hold on to a ton of junk or keep an unreasonably large number of pets, you may be dealing with someone who lives in fear of losing the things that they love. Unfortunately, this eventually reaches a point of diminishing returns where the effort of holding onto every little trinket or taking in and caring for every little creature they come across takes up most, if not all, of their time, energy and income.

Make no mistake, hoarding is a mental health disorder and one that is estimated to affect 2-6% of people living in the United States. That said, not ever case requires a form analysis by a professional. It is rather easy to figure out if someone has a hoarder’s mindset by just asking the friends and family members that they keep in touch with. Anyone who fills their home with piles of letters, junk and a panoply of objects and creatures throughout the property has immersed themselves in a hazardous living arrangement and they may not be able to see just how bad things have truly gotten. This is why it is vital that you contact a hoarder property cleaning company in Beverly Hill, California the very moment you have permission from them or whoever holds the hoarder’s power of attorney.

How Do You Identify Hoarding?

Hoarding tends to happen slowly over a long period of time until it reaches a point that others wonder how it could have gotten so bad. The Mayo Clinic describes this mindset as one that has persistent difficulty in getting rid of possessions because those possessions might be useful down the line. It might start small, like never throwing out a drink cup from a fast food place, but this tendency will build up and expand with time.

Potential hoarders often have issues with putting off tasks, escaping responsibilities or even getting everything absolutely perfect. Early hoarding behavior usually tends to stay within one room, like a kitchen or bathroom, and progress to additional rooms as one room reaches capacity. The most common hoarding behaviors involve objects, animals or a combination of both.

A few red signs that you are dealing with a hoarder include the following.

• Frustration, outrage or even nervousness when other people touch their things.
• Being unwilling to get rid of anything.
• Owning an excessive number of objects or pets.
• Lacking hygiene.
• Poor upkeep.
• Stacks of mail.
• Secrecy.
• Compulsive spending.

Why Use a Professional Cleaner?

Hoarding is not a problem that is safe for a normal person. In some instances, the hoard has reached unsanitary levels where feces, blood and other biohazards can quickly destroy any viability as a habitable environment. These reasons are why you should contact a professional hoarder property cleaning company in Beverly Hills, California. Professionals know how to get rid of the bacteria, waste and other nastiness that could impact the residence.

Other problems that a hoarder and anyone cohabitating with them might risk include the following:

• Fire hazards.
• Eviction.
• Legal issues, especially code violations.
• Injuries incurred from situations like a “slip and fall.”
• Social isolation.

What Causes Hoarding?

Hoarding can happen at different levels of severity and for several different reasons. The most common explanations for hoarding would be anxiety, depression, some form of obsessive-compulsive disorder, surviving after a traumatic life event, hereditary issues and even the person’s personality. While the onset age can depend on the inciting incident for hoarding to start, it is understood that hoarding only worsens with age.

What a Common Professional Clean Up Looks like

Once hoarding has been identified and permission is granted, you can enlist the services of a professional hoarder property cleaning company in Beverly Hills, California.

After the company shows up, it will tackle each room individually, taking care to be mindful of the hoarder’s mental and emotional state while also preparing the residence to revert to a thoroughly cleaned, hygienic and livable area. This planning process is vital to clean-up and begins by asking questions like “How bad are things?” and “What sort of things did the hoarder collect?” The more information the cleaner has, the better and more smoothly their job can go.

Once a plan has been worked out, the cleaning can begin. This usually starts by discarding common trash like newspapers, years-old letters and actual garbage. After these starting points are dispatched, the cleaner can move on to sorting and organizing everything else, followed by deeply cleaning the residence in a slow and methodical manner.

“How Can I Help?”

While hoarding is not a malevolent behavior, hoarders usually do not see the problem in the same light as other people. Most hoarders fail to see any reason why they need to let go of anything and may become distraught when confronted with even the thought of having something removed or going missing.

Barring cases where the hoarder is deceased or living in another property, dealing with a cleaning crew is likely to be emotionally draining for the hoarder. Do your best to be as caring and compassionate as possible when discussing the issue with the person you love but also stand firm about how it is for the best and that you do not want them to live in such dangerous conditions.

Basically, if you know someone who is prone to hoarding things, do not put off addressing it. Reach out and try to get them to accept your help. Everyone will be happier and healthier after a professional cleaning, especially if the hoarder focused on animals.