Hoarding is characterized as a psychological disorder. People suffering from this disorder often find it hard to discard their possessions since they feel they need to save them. Once the thought of disposing of their possessions hits them, the person gets distressed. Thus, the items end up getting accumulated in their houses. In Perris, CA, 5% to 7% of the residents are afflicted with this disorder. According to experts, the number could actually be higher since hoarding is secretive.
Hoarding property clean up is a complex task. As the hoard increases, the process of eliminating the clutter requires professional assistance. Professional assistance is vital since the hoard may include biohazardous material that is a threat to the hoarder and the cleanup team.
What Are the Signs of Hoarding?
Hoarding is characterized by a wide array of signs and symptoms. Most of these signs appear in almost all cases. While common clutter is one thing, once you meet a compulsive hoarder, you will know that something is wrong.
- There is no organization in the clutter. The items are stacked randomly while others are just tossed in different rooms
- A compulsive hoarder has a lot of items that hold no value. Old clothes are not given out with the hope of wearing them again. Additionally, broken appliances lay unfixed all over the house.
- The hoarder has a lot of pets that contribute to the mess in the room. The hoarder and the animals suffer in a mess.
- Hoarders live in unsanitary homes. These unsanitary living spaces have dirty dishes and laundry.
- The compulsive disorder makes the hoarder isolated since they are trying to hide a problem. Hoarders cannot invite friends or family over.
- When confronted with the disposal of the items, the hoarder become defensive or angry.
- Attempts to give out the items become futile and makes the hoarder angrier.
Comprehensive Hoarding Cleanup Checklist
Depending on the nature of the hoarding property, you need to develop a checklist for the cleanup strategy. The checklist provides a detailed strategy to ensure the hoarder’s residence is restored to livable conditions. Here are the steps involved in the hoarding cleanup.
1. Assessing the Situation
The key difficulty experienced by a hoarder is the inability to classify their items depending on their value. Thus, the hoarder will accumulate a lot of items, most of which have no value. The hoarder will also accumulate some valuable items. Issues arise when the hoarder cannot differentiate the valuable items from the valueless ones. Before starting the hoarding cleanup, you must assess the situation to determine the types of items mixed in the clutter.
If the hoarder has pets and other animals, the assessment strategy becomes more challenging. You need to remember that there are an estimated 250,000 animals in the US that are victims of hoarding.
While considering the overall situation of the hoarder, safety should be considered. The hoard may foster pathogens that are harmful to human beings. This reality should hit you before making the overall assessment.
2. Create A Strategy
Creating a cleanup strategy is one of the major components of the cleanup process. You have to convince the hoarder that they are living in an uninhabitable situation. The hoarder needs to get convinced that their house needs to be restored to a cleaner and healthier residence. You have to win the respect, confidence, and trust of the hoarder. The hoarder needs to partake in the whole process.
Since the hoarder needs to be integrated into the process, the integration needs to be done each step at a time. They must be included in making the initial decisions on the items on the premises. Additionally, you can agree to move some things from the residence to a temporary storage unit. Such an idea will comfort the hoarder since they will know that their items are safe and have not been thrown away.
The strategy developed needs to incorporate other teams. In most cases, hoarding clean up is challenging and dangerous. Thus, hoarding clean up professionals will come in handy.
Cleaning up the hoard is just the beginning of a battle. The absence of professional mental health assistance will relapse the hoarder. Thus, the hoarder should be provided with professional assistance in all areas.
3. Protect Yourself
If you decide to clean the hoard, ensure you clad in personal protective equipment. The equipment required for the cleanup process includes:
- Gloves
- Mask
- Googles
- Apron or smock
The equipment needs to be designed to protect the user from biohazardous material present in the hoard. Hoard cleanup professionals have this equipment and will begin the cleanup process immediately.
4. Gather Supplies
Before commencing the cleanup process, you need to gather the required supplies. The supplies need to safely, effectively, and thoroughly clean the residence. The required supplies include:
- Deodorization chemicals
- Sanitization chemicals
- Biohazardous waste containers
5. Prepare the Staging Area
The staging area is where the hoard is taken for temporal storage. The staging area offers you a chance of sorting through the hoard and finding the valuable items. Additionally, the area will also offer you options for dealing with the different items on the hoard.
6. Cleaning
During cleaning, commence in the small rooms. Remember that during this phase, you might meet some hazardous waste. The main goal should be to eliminate the items hoarded in every room of the residence.
7. Sanitize the Premises
Once all the clutter has been removed from the rooms, then the sanitization process can begin. Although the hazardous material has been removed, pathogens are still on the premises. Thus, sanitization will thoroughly safely eliminate them.
8. Repair the Property
When the clutter has been eliminated, the damage on the property should be assessed. The home needs to be restored to habitable standards by making the necessary repairs.
Hoarding in Perris has been made easy. Eco Bear is here to help your estate and return it to livable conditions. Contact us today to book an appointment.