Hoarding disorder is more common than you might realize. Although several reality TV shows have sensationalized hoarding and highlighted some of the most extreme cases of hoarding disorder, they haven’t overstated how serious this mental health condition is. Hoarding disorder affects between 2% and 6% of adults in the USA and around the world. If you’re living with hoarding disorder in Malibu, CA, you’re not alone. Chances are good that someone you know or work with has it, too. Eco Bear is a team of experienced professional cleaners offering hoarder property cleaning services in Malibu and the surrounding area. You can turn to us for thorough, professional and compassionate hoarder property cleaning and a full restoration of your property.
Diagnostic Criteria for Hoarding Disorder
Mental health professionals decided that hoarding disorder was its own disorder, separate from obsessive-compulsive disorder. This condition is listed in the ICD-10, or International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition. The diagnostic criteria for hoarding disorder are:
- Compulsive need to collect or acquire more items, even if those items have no value
- Inability to get rid of items or remove items from the property
- Feelings of intense distress at the thought of removing items or not acquiring items
Many people with hoarding disorder deny they have a problem. Your family or friends may point out that your home is full. You may realize your home has too many things, but you may also feel powerless to do anything about it. Hoarding disorder isn’t a sign of being lazy or unintelligent. It’s a mental health condition, just like anxiety and depression are mental health conditions. There’s no shame in seeking professional help from Eco Bear for Malibu hoarder property cleaning.
Who Has Hoarding Disorder
Men and women develop hoarding disorder in similar numbers. People from any profession, location, background or education level can develop hoarding disorder. There are some characteristics that increase your risk of hoarding behaviors. These are:
- Family member with hoarding disorder
- Live alone
- Over the age of 50
- Presence of another mental health disorder, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder
Not all people with hoarding tendencies will develop hoarding disorder. Your spouse or partner may help keep your acquisitions in check. However, the loss of a partner, a traumatic event, serious injury or illness could trigger the hoarding behaviors or worsen them, leading you to meet the diagnostic criteria for the disorder.
How Hoarding Disorder Impacts Your Life
Hoarding tends to get worse as a person gets older. When you’re a young adult, your home might be described as disorganized or messy. By the time you reach middle age, your home could be full. Essential parts of your home, such as the bathroom or kitchen, may be inaccessible or not usable for their intended purposes. The entrances to your home may be partly blocked. You may have narrow paths between rooms. Stacked items and things on the floor increase your risk of an injury. Items in the way of burners, outlets or gas-powered appliances increase the risk of a fire. Some other ways hoarding impacts your life:
- Possible removal of children or senior family members because of unsanitary or unsafe conditions
- Inability to have broken items repaired
- Difficulty getting out in the event of an emergency
- Loss of important social relationships
- Lack of money because of excessive shopping or paying for storage units
- Threat of eviction from landlord or city
- Fines from building or health code violations
- Complaints from household members, family or neighbors
What Happens If You Have a Hoarded Property in Malibu
If your hoarded property in Malibu is reported to the city, you’ll be given a deadline to remove the debris and get the home in a safe and sanitary condition. If your household includes children or elderly family members, they could be removed by child or adult protective services if the property isn’t up to health code standards.
Renters may be evicted by landlords due to hoarding and the related damage to the property. If you own the property, the city of Malibu could condemn it and force you off the premises if it isn’t cleaned. The Humane Society or animal welfare agents may remove animals and pets from hoarding situations.
Why Hoarding Disorder Requires Professional Help
Psychologists and psychiatrists offer cognitive behavioral therapy and medications that help with the symptoms of hoarding disorder. You can get the disorder under control and live a life without hoarding behavior. However, you’ll also need to get your hoarded property in Malibu cleared. Eco Bear is the right choice for hoarder property cleaning in Malibu. Your property didn’t become hoarded overnight. Our skills and experience allow us to clean hoarded properties within a few days.
Who Benefits From Hoarder Property Cleaning in Malibu
We help all types of people who have a hoarded property in Malibu. We help those who:
- Can’t clean because of a disability, illness or injury
- No time to clean
- Live out of state
- Don’t know where to start
- Difficulty deciding what to remove
- Lack of knowledge about proper disposal
- Inherited the hoarded property
- Are a property manager or landlord with a tenant who hoarded the property
- Want to move or sell and need the hoard cleaned
How Eco Bear Cleans Malibu’s Hoarded Properties
We begin by visiting the hoarded property in Malibu. We’ll give you a written estimate. Our competitive rates are 50% lower than what other businesses charge for hoarder property cleaning in Malibu. We handle all the logistics. On the first day of cleanup, we bring in the dumpsters, recycling trucks and specialty services, such as tow trucks for vehicles. The property will be cleaned, sanitized and fully remediated within a few days.