Located in Orange County, Costa Mesa is a vibrant city with a mix of an incredible arts scene and renowned shopping just a mile from the beach. The Los Angeles suburb has a diverse population of 112,000 people.
Hoarding in Costa Mesa
Hoarding disorder is a condition in which a person has difficulty parting with items because of a need to save these items.
Hoarding can become so bad that it becomes a health issue. Sometimes neighbors will complain to the city, and other times a family member will intervene to get the hoarder property cleaned up.
What Does a Hoarder Hoard
Hoarders will collect items including old appliances, junk parts, newspapers, magazines, food, trash, old clothes, and more.
Not only is there visible debris left behind, but there can be hidden problems of mold, animal droppings, and other debris. This of course is an unhealthy situation and can even be dangerous.
Cleaning Hoarder Property in Contra Costa
There are steps that must be taken to thoroughly clean and repair the property. These steps are:
- Assessing the situation
- Creating a cleaning strategy
- Preparing the staging area
- Protecting yourself from health issues
- Gathering supplies
- Cleaning process
- Deep cleaning the property
- Repairing the damage
Assessing the Situation and Creating a Plan
A professional hoarder property cleaning company will first assess the situation. Looking through the property to determine what types of items are being hoarded. If there are rodents or other types of animals that don’t belong, they will create a plan for their removal.
The type of cleaning strategy will depend partly on if someone is living in the home or if the home is empty of residents. The main goal will be the removal of items and restoring the home to a healthy and livable condition.
If the home is occupied, a plan will be developed that involves the residents and or family members. Before cleaning begins, you will need a staging area so the items can be sorted. This is where family members can sort through everything and decide what they want to keep.
In addition to the staging area for sorting property, a large commercial dumpster will need to be brought in. This will be used for throwing away all discarded items, ruined carpeting, damaged drywall, and other debris.
The Health Issues
There are numerous hazards when cleaning a hoarder property that include:
- Animal and human waste
- Dead animals
- Poisonous spiders
- Mildew
- Needles and old medical instruments
- Leaking chemicals
- Rotting food
- Asbestos
- Noxious fumes
- Falling stacks of hoarded items
A professional cleaning company will know the health issues involved in cleaning a hoarder’s property. Many times a hoarder will neglect any cleaning at all, which also includes kitchens and bathrooms.
Once everything has been removed, an assessment is needed to determine the type of health issues and damage. There could be rodent droppings and rodents living on the property. Rodent droppings can carry diseases and special precautions will be necessary. All of this needs to be cleaned up first.
Rodents could have been living in old furniture, in stacks of newspapers, in the trash under the sink, in old appliances, and just about anywhere there is a quiet nesting area. Poisonous spiders could be hiding in some of the items.
There is also a good chance there will be mold, including black mold, which is a real health danger. Moving items or carpeting can release mold spores into the air.
Specialized Cleaning
This is not your ordinary cleaning. It takes a professional cleaning company that specializes in hoarder property cleaning. And this takes special products that include:
- Special containers to keep biohazardous materials
- Medical grade sanitization products
- Commercial deodorization products
Getting rid of mold also takes equipment, like gloves, masks, goggles, and the right kind of cleaners to get rid of mold. You do not want to breathe in mold spores or get it on you.
There is the chance that there are hazardous materials or residues from hazardous materials that have to be removed safely before any damage can be repaired. This will be a part of the sanitization process.
Repairing the Damage
Once all items and hazards are removed, the amount of damage can be assessed. There can be mold growing on and behind walls, tiles, and under floors. This type of damage usually means removing portions of walls and tiles and replacing them.
Carpeting and carpet padding underneath has to be inspected. They could have stains, mold, tears, and hazardous waste residue in which case they will have to removed and replaced. Repairing the damage is the final step in returning a hoarder property back into a habitable property again.