on Yelp
Many people have hoarding disorder, and its impact on your life, health, finances, family and home can be devastating. After years of compulsively collecting more items and not getting items out of your living space, your property becomes full. Eco Bear is a women- and veteran-owned and led company offering exemplary hoarder property cleaning services in Yorba Linda, CA, and the surrounding communities. We help people from all walks of life clear the hoards from their property and live in a cleaner, safer and more comfortable home.
What Hoarding Disorder Is
Hoarding disorder is a complicated mental health condition. It used to be classified as part of obsessive-compulsive disorder, but a few years ago, mental health experts agreed that it should be separated from that condition. Hoarding disorder is characterized by three main issues:
- Compulsive acquisition of more items
- Inability to get rid of things
- Distress at the idea of throwing things out or not acquiring more items
Hoarding disorder is a lifelong, chronic condition. Its symptoms can get worse when you’re stressed or going through grief. There are treatments for hoarding, with cognitive behavioral therapy offering the best chance at successfully stopping the hoarding behavior. The tendency to hoard will always be there, which is why ongoing therapy is necessary.
Who Has Hoarding Disorder
Mental health professionals estimate that 2% to 6% of the world’s adults have hoarding disorder. Men and women are equally affected by it. The disorder is more common in people age 50 and older. People of all educational, geographic and economic backgrounds can develop hoarding disorder. More than 75% of people with hoarding disorder also have another mental health condition. Some common co-morbidities include depression, general anxiety disorder, panic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Those conditions make treatment more difficult but even more important because they can exacerbate the hoarding behaviors.
Why Hoarding’s Impact Is Severe
When you accumulate too many items, you can’t do normal daily activities without a lot of hassle and struggle. Items piled on surfaces in your kitchen may make it impossible to prepare and cook a meal. Things stacked on the stairs make it treacherous to navigate. Stacks of items in the bathroom may mean that you can’t bathe or use the toilet. Piles of items may make it impossible for a plumber, electrician, repair technician or emergency medical technician to get into your home and provide you with urgent help. If your home were to have a fire, you might not be able to get out, and firefighters would have a difficult time of getting in and finding you.
How Hoarding Affects Your Loved Ones
Hoarding disorder doesn’t only affect you. If you live with children, they’re at risk of being removed by Child Protective Services. If your elderly parent lives with you, Adult Protective Services may remove them. Your family members may be frustrated by the hoarded property even if they don’t live with you. It’s difficult to host family or friends for dinner or a movie night in a hoarded home. Children living in a hoarded home may develop mental health problems and be unable to socialize normally with their friends. Your neighbors may get angry if the hoard spills outdoors or attracts pests and vermin to the neighborhood. You may lose important relationships and have a smaller social support network because of the hoard.
What Hoarding Can Do to Your Home
In addition to the hoard making it difficult for you to use rooms the way they’re intended and to exit your home in a hurry, hoarding has additional impacts on your home. Water damage from lack of maintenance or foregone repairs may lead to mold growth and structural issues. Pests may also cause structural damage. For example, mice and rats chew through drywall, wood, plastic, wiring and insulation. The weight of a hoard may weaken joists and beams. If this is combined with water or pest damage, the home may be at risk of serious damage. When repair technicians can’t get into your home, your furnace, air conditioner, heat pump, appliances and other systems may stop working. This also increases the risk of a fire.
How Eco Bear’s Hoarder Property Cleaning Services Work
At Eco Bear, our skilled cleaners make quick work of clearing hoarded properties in Yorba Linda. We begin with an assessment of the property. We need to know the size of the hoard, where it is on the property and what’s in it. This information helps us arrange for the right number of dumpsters and the correct crew size for the cleaning.
During the cleanup, we set aside salvageable items and other valuables. If an issue arises, we’ll communicate with you. There’s no need for you to be onsite when we clean the hoarded property. If you’ve inherited a hoarded property or own a rental property that was hoarded by a tenant, we’ll stay in touch with you if you’re not in the area. We provide documentation of the cleaning and remediation process for code enforcement and insurance purposes.
We’re comfortable working with Humane Society agents if the hoard includes pets. Many hoards have hidden pest infestations. We partner with local pest control companies so they can get rid of the pests as we remove the hoard. We fully remediate the property, including cleaning and disinfecting all surfaces.
What Makes Eco Bear the Right Choice for Yorba Lina Hoarder Property Cleaning
We’re trusted providers of hoarder property cleaning services in Yorba Linda. Our licensed and bonded company works quickly to clean your home and property. There’s no judgement. We treat you with compassion and do everything possible to ensure that your property is safe, sanitary and comfortable.
