Hoarding is a psychological disorder.  People who hoard compulsively collect things, to the point where their homes become filled with just about everything they encounter.  This includes garbage, junk mail, food products, consumer goods, and many other items that can lead to very unsanitary conditions.

No one is completely certain why people are compelled to hoard.  Research suggests that some hoarders hoard to help deal with loss.  Others have suggested that hoarding is a way to deal with the stress of economic hardship.  Whatever the cause may be, most hoarders will attempt to hide or deny their behavior from their loved ones and friends.  Eventually, however, people find out.

If you have a family member or friend who has a problem with hoarding, there are a number of ways to help them cope.  The most direct and effective approach is to clean out their home.

The First Step to Hoarding Clean up

If you’ve entered the home of a hoarder, you’ll know that conditions can be pretty extreme.  Hoarders collect things, and they often forget about them.  To access whether you will need professional help, you should walk through the hoarder’s home and determine exactly what you’re dealing with.

Some things you might find in hoarders’ homes include:

• Spoiled or rotten food
•  Animal waste
• Hazardous chemicals
• Deceased pets
• Fire hazards, such as large piles of paper or trash

What you can do to help a hoarder clean

Try bringing up cleanliness with your loved one in a nonjudgmental way, like by mentioning some of the consequences you see in their home. You might discover that they are already aware of the fact that their home is messy and unhealthy for themselves or their pets. If that’s not the case, encourage them to talk about other people who have successfully overcome a hoarding problem.

Whether you want to tackle hoarder cleanup on your own is completely up to you and dependent mostly on your personal health and budget.  A hoarder’s house is likely to be filthy and infested with vermin, so you can expect that you’ll need to take extra precautions when cleaning.  If you already have a compromised immune system, it would be unwise to try cleaning the home on your own.  If, however, you are in good health and cannot afford professional cleaning, there are a few important things you need to do.

1.  Obtain Personal Protective Gear, such as rubber gloves, goggles, and potentially a breathing mask.
2.  Arrange proper disposal methods, such as curb side pickup or dumpster rental.
3. Gather the proper chemicals and cleaning materials, and start cleaning.
4. The hoarder will likely try to prevent you from throwing things out.  Remember that they have a problem, and remember that essentially everything has to go.

Professional Hoarder Cleanup Help

Hoarders will resist your efforts to clean their home, but there are strategies you can use to help get them started or you can rely on the help from hoarding experts nearby.

Depending on what you find inside the hoarder’s home, you may not want to attempt cleaning it on your own.  In this case, there are a number of professional cleaning services that specialize in Hoarding Clean up.  Services like these have standardized Hoarder Clean up procedures set in place, which usually include:

• Decontamination of hazardous fluids and materials
• Deodorization of offensive smells
• Proper disposal: According to local ordinances and using certified biohazard containers when needed.
• Discretion: Because hoarding is a sensitive, psychological condition, which requires the proper care.

Hoarder Recovery

Hoarding is a psychological condition that can have devastating impacts on your health, safety and relationships. Hoarding can go unnoticed and unrestricted for years, but the first step toward recovery is to clean out the home and remove everything that has been hoarded.  It may take a long time, and it may require professional counseling for a hoarder to eventually agree to have their home cleaned; but, in the long run, it is the best path of action for everyone involved. With the help of a therapist and workshops, individuals can recover from hoarding.

About Vince Sandri

Vince Sandri is a content writer and blogger with more than 12 years of experience. His expertise is in creating content related to disaster restoration, including information about preventing and reacting to natural disasters like flooding, water damage, fire and smoke damage, mold growth, storm damage and more.
Vince has been the main contributor to RestorationMasterFinder.com since 2014. Over that time, he has written numerous service pages and blogs for disaster restoration providers featured on RestorationMasterFinder.com. Vince has done extensive research and covered a wide range of topics relating to disaster restoration to help homeowners, business owners, and property managers better protect their property. He understands the problems that disasters like flooding, fire, smoke, and mold can cause as well as the best ways to respond to these issues to limit the damage.
Vince completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at Aurora University and his master’s degree at DePaul University. He has been writing SEO website pages, blogs, and press releases since 2012. Vince is also a musician and can be seen playing in the Chicago, IL area.