People are fascinated by hoarders. A & E’s reality series “Hoarders” first aired in 2009, treating viewers to a glimpse inside the world of people who suffer from compulsive hoarding disorder. The show is still going strong; the latest season was released in May, 2023.
As entertaining as audiences find the show, however, it documents an excruciating mental illness that causes its victims to live in filth and clutter, unable to stop themselves from piling up mounds of stuff that most people would consider garbage.
Friends and family members and property owners frequently find that helping hoarders is beyond their ability. Too often, their focus is on trying to persuade hoarders to get rid of stuff, clean up their home, or stop adding to the collection of detritus. Sadly, a very small percentage of people who exhibit hoarding behavior get the professional help they need to actually cure the disorder.
Cleaning Up After a Hoarder
Imagine opening the door to a house or apartment recently vacated by a hoarder. The smell hits you first and can be too much for many to stomach. Nausea and vomiting are not uncommon.
If you can make it past the smell, the next hurdle is just being able to pick your way through a room so piled with junk that it’s difficult to find a path through it. Rooms can be piled floor to ceiling with toppling stacks of papers, magazines and newspapers, broken appliances, random cords and outdated electronic devices, plastic containers, old clothing, and other items worthless to anyone but the hoarder. There’s no rhyme or reason to what hoarders deem too valuable to throw out.
In addition to the mountains of material that must be dealt with in a hoarding situation, there are frequently myriad health risks involved.
Sometimes, hoarders take in multiple cats or dogs, and pet waste and empty food cans add to the mess. If the animals have not been removed from the property, there is an added risk of being bitten or scratched.
Frequently, gross filth is present in one form or another. Mold, bacteria, piled up garbage, rotting food, and human and animal waste are among the contaminants hoarding cleaners may face. In such cases, a knowledge of biohazard cleaning is required to avoid contamination and disease. Special care must be taken in disposing of biohazardous waste, and the space must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected in order to be fit for human habitation once more.
To make matters even worse, there is often no access to running water in the home. The level of filth and foul odors in cases where the hoarder’s water has been long turned off is unfathomable.
It’s no wonder that when faced with having to clean up a hoarder situation, the average person is completely overwhelmed with no idea where to start.
Professional Hoarding Cleaning Help
Los Angeles hoarding cleaning services from Sterile Pros can help restores properties made unlivable because of hoarding. The job of hoarding cleanup is simply too big for most people to handle. Professionals deal with such cleanup operations on a daily basis and are prepared for the worst.
Sterile Pros specializes in hoarding and gross filth cleanup and biohazard remediation. Their teams use personal protective equipment and go in armed with industrial strength cleaning products and hospital grade disinfectants.
As professional hoarding cleaners, the experts at Sterile Pros are licensed to safely transport biohazardous waste and dispose of it in a manner compliant with local, state, and federal regulations.
If you have to clean up a property lived in by a hoarder in Los Angeles, the kindest thing you can do for yourself is to call Sterile Pros. Professional, discreet, and thorough, Sterile Pros can restore your property to safe, livable condition.