Compulsive hoarders who have difficulty discarding items often benefit from hoarding cleanup services. Landlords who have compulsive hoarders as tenants or real estate agents who want to have hoarders' homes cleaned so that the houses can be resold can also turn to hoarding cleaning professionals for help. The process of hoarding cleanup is usually different from regular house cleaning, and the right cleaning professionals know how to manage the process carefully. Here are a few specific steps that hoarding cleanup projects often involve.
Separate Items into Different Piles
Compulsive hoarders often don't want to part with their items, and hoarding cleaning professionals can separate belongings inside a home into different piles so that the hoarder may have an easier time parting with certain items. One pile may consist of items to keep. Another pile can be for trash, while the third pile can be made up of items to donate. The hoarder may be willing to part with more items if they know certain things will be given to other people for good use instead of being thrown in the trash. Mental health experts can also be brought in to offer guidance if a hoarder is having a particularly difficult time parting with their things.
Clear Blocked Entranceways
Extreme hoarding can block access to rooms and hallways within a home if too many items are allowed to accumulate. Once the items that are standing in the way have been better organized or removed from the home, there will be fewer obstructions that can interfere with moving through the living areas. If a fire or another emergency occurs inside the home, the person living there will be able to evacuate the building easier if the hoarding cleanup professionals were successful at removing all blockages.
Remove Hazardous Waste
Waste that can be dangerous to a person's health may also be lurking in the home of a compulsive hoarder. Raw sewage may have backed up into the home through sinks and toilets or might be present if the hoarder has poor hygiene habits, and hoarding cleanup professionals can use special equipment and safety gear to remove the waste safely. Bodily waste from any animals or pests living in the home can also be cleaned so that the premises will be safer to inhabit. Harmful chemicals can additionally be removed from the home by hoarding cleaning professionals.
Perform Standard Cleaning Tasks
The hoarding cleanup professionals can also perform standard cleaning tasks to get the home back in order. Dusting, mopping, carpet shampooing and other common cleaning tasks can be done on a deeper level to remove the heavier layers of filth that often form in the homes of compulsive hoarders. By removing the layers of filth through standard home cleaning, the floors, walls and other surfaces can look clearer and much better in quality.
Many homes that have been ravaged by the effects of compulsive hoarding are not beyond hope. Hoarding cleanup can save a home from further destruction and help restore the premises to a habitable condition.