Hoarders Clean-Up

7/9/2021 (Permalink)

During a water mitigation call, crews discovered the hoarder condition as shown above

According to The Mayo Clinic, “Hoarding disorder is a persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions because of a perceived need to save them. A person with hoarding disorder experiences distress at the thought of getting rid of the items. Excessive accumulation of items, regardless of actual value, occurs.” Many people with hoarding disorder do not find their habits to be a problem. Hoarded items are often things others would throw away or look at as junk or garbage such as old newspapers, junk mail, or packaging.

Hoarding can lead to homes filled with extreme clutter to full capacity from years of accumulation, making living conditions unsanitary and crowded. Bugs, fleas, rats, and other vermin may be present, at which point an exterminator would need to be called. At times, hoarding may spread to outside the home as well, to storage facilities, or even the garage or yard.

SERVPRO of Arcadia encounters hoarding situations several different ways. Often, we are called for a fire or water loss and find the hoarding situation when we arrive on-site. We will communicate with the insurance company regarding their contents coverage, and after approval, contents can be disposed of, packed out and possibly cleaned, dried, and stored by the SERVPRO of Arcadia or relocated to a storage facility so work on the fire or water loss can begin.

Another way we encounter hoarding jobs is through calls from landlords, case workers, real estate agents, or family members, often after the death of a loved one. In these situations, the crew will see if they should look for any items of importance while they clear the property out of all possessions. Sometimes family members will come and try to help the hoarder sort through their contents as well.

Each case is very different, and hoarding jobs are often sensitive situations, but SERVPRO of Arcadia is here to help make it “Like it never even happened.” If you encounter a hoarding situation at one of your properties or with your insureds, call  SERVPRO of Arcadia today.