Hoarding is generally a private matter, kept secret by the hoarders themselves. The person may alienate his/herself and refuse to let other people enter the property. This may become difficult for the home owner to prevent in the case of an emergency situation. When a storm of detrimental proportions hits, it may expose a hoarding home to the public.
Storms can cause property damages, many cases of which can be out of the home owner’s hands. If the home owner needs to call service professionals to assist him/her with the property, those professionals will need to have access to the home. These workers will learn the undisclosed condition of a home of a hoarder. In such cases, the storm remediation process may be deferred due to the obstacle at hand.
The excessive clutter can be a hindrance on not only service companies but also on the hoarder. Studies reveal that about one in 20 people has a hoarding disorder, according to the International OCD Foundation. Despite the degree of damage of possessions, a hoarder will still continue to hold on to the damaged goods due to this mental condition. The home may not be in the best of conditions due to the excessive amount of items. Garbage and other items hidden away with the clutter may lead to a weakened home structure. In the case of a storm, the weakened structure may not hold up as well. The clutter also adds to fire hazards and can even prevent residents from escaping the home or help from entering.
After a storm, there may be various forms of property damage such as fire or water damage. Restoration companies will be unable to access the home and efficiently address the damages. Unaddressed water damage can put a home at risk for mold, and in turn the person will be at risk for respiratory problems and other health risks, as well.
Professional services are in existence to alleviate the problem. There are professional hoarding cleanup services, such as Address Our Mess, which specialize in cleaning up hoarding homes. The difference between these companies and companies that solely focus on junk disposal is the compassion and understanding the company offers. Companies hired to dispose of possessions are trained to specifically do so, not to deal with an individual fighting to keep possessions. Hoarding cleanup companies have trained, certified staff that deal with various hoarding situations each day. They understand that the hoarding disorder makes it difficult to let go of items. With that understanding, the staff will work with the individual to sort, organize and choose which items to keep and which to discard. In addition, not all discarded items will be thrown away, but rather some can be donated if the owner chooses to do so.
It is important to have the home in adequate condition to ensure the safety of its inhabitants. A clutter free home reduces threats to safety and even makes the help of others more accessible when it is needed. Minimizing home clutter will make an emergency situation, such as perilous natural disasters, less of a threat to the immediate safety of the residents, and at the very least, less clutter will also save the individuals from having to undergo any embarrassment they may feel if they do need external assistance resolving property damages.