If you’re looking into hoarder property cleanup in Huntington Park, you probably already know that you have a big undertaking on your hands. Thanks to television shows like Hoarders, many people are fully aware of the amount of time and energy it takes to restore a hoarder house at 2 its original state.

What Makes Hoarder Houses Such a Challenge?

Hoarder houses and properties are such a challenge because the hoarders who’ve created them are struggling with a difficult mental illness. Hoarding disorder is a disorder that compels the sufferer to hold on to every single item that they obtain. If they’re walking outside and they find a piece of wood that looks interesting, they’ll bring it home. If someone is throwing away a stack of old magazines, they’ll take them home. There is no rhyme or reason to what they’re bringing into their home, so it doesn’t really have anything to do with being a collector. They simply have a compulsion to hoard.

This makes living in a hoarder house challenging. Rooms are co-opted from their original purposes to make way for the ever-growing mass. Eventually, the home starts to fill to the point where it’s no longer possible to live properly in the space. Dishes aren’t washed because there are too many piled into the sink. Bathtubs are filled with random objects. Sanitary habits and grooming routines are thrown out the window because there’s no way to access fresh, clean water or cleaning supplies. Eventually, squalor can take over, spreading trash, rotting food, and other waste throughout the entire space. This is the point where something has to be done or the house and the hoarder’s health could be in jeopardy.

Why Are Hoarder Houses Dangerous for One’s Health?

Hoarder houses are dangerous for one’s health because they hold massive amounts of biohazardous waste. Biohazardous waste is waste that contains microorganisms called pathogens. These microorganisms can cause disease in humans. Some examples of pathogens include E. coli, HBV, Salmonella, and others. The term “biohazard” means that something causes a risk to human health.

In a hoarder house, pathogens are found in matter like human waste, rotting food, standing water, animal waste, animal carcasses, blood, and many other items. Since pathogens spread through methods like skin contact, airborne particles, touching an infected person or surface, and other means, a hoarder house is literally a massive petri dish of dangerous waste. These houses must be cleaned with a strict level of precision and standards in order to ensure that the space becomes safe for living in once again. 

Why Does It Make Sense To Work With Professional Hoarder House Cleaners?

Hoarder houses need to be cleaned using strict protocols that detail how to go about cleaning and removing biohazardous waste. Failure to do so could expose a homeowner to liability if someone becomes ill in their home due to neglect. Hoarder houses should be cleaned by professional cleaning teams that know exactly what to do to clean, disinfect, and sanitize the house back to a safe state.

Professional cleaning teams have PPE gear that protects them as they clean, allowing them to get deep into even the filthiest spots of a home without harming themselves. They wear coveralls that protect them from having any of the waste touch their skin. They wear items like face masks, respirators, and face shields to prevent liquids and droplets from entering their eyes, noses, and mouths. They wear special gloves that protect their hands from random, infected objects they may find when digging into piles of junk. 

Professional cleaning teams also have access to the OSHA-approved cleaners, solvents, and deodorizers that are used to clean and sanitize areas that have been infected with biohazardous waste. They have equipment that allows them to reach every single corner of the home so that no surface is left untouched. They can remove odors from the home that had been lingering for years.

When Should You Call for Help?

There are many instances where it makes sense that you should call for help.

Prevent Loss of Home

Importers have been threatened with eviction if they don’t get their houses in order. Local authorities may have demanded that the hoarders have their homes professionally cleaned in order for them to be able to stay in the spaces. If they don’t pass the authorities’ “clean” test, they could be evicted. Professional cleaning will help ensure that they get to stay in their homes.

Sale

If someone is planning to buy or sell a hoarder house, they’ll need to ensure that the home is emptied, sanitized and cleaned from top to bottom so that the space is fit for people to live.

Dealing with a hoarder house takes a lot of physical and mental energy. Give us a call if you have any questions about what the process would look like for you.