Hoarding Cleanup

Home and apartments are the most common places NCSC crews see hoarding. Homes filled with mass amount, knee high piles of clutter or junk are typical services we provide.

A typical home or apartment situation characterized by hoarding may resemble an accumulation of clutter or possessions that fill rooms and clutter surfaces. Possessions can range from everyday items like clothes, books, and papers to more items considered clutter (e.g. collections of animal cages, old furniture, and even garbage). Clutter can make navigating a home or apartment difficult, thus resulting in hazardous living conditions.

It’s important to have a professional and certified crew properly remediate the property.

Garages and/or storage units are prone to hoarding even for individuals who exhibit no hoarding behaviors in their home, car, or other settings.

Hoarding that occurs inside a garage or storage unit can resemble knee, waist, or ceiling-high clutter that can be difficult to access items within. Clutter can be an assortment of items, from everyday items like tools, outdoor furniture to junked cars or old appliances. The clutter can dominate the space, rendering it unusable or unsafe to walk into.

Since it’s more visible or out in the element, hoarding situations in backyards or outdoor properties are rarer occurrences. However, they are still very possible. Most hoarded backyards accumulate medium or larger tools, old furniture, tools, and even animal cages. Clutter creates unsightly and hazardous piles that block access to the yard and making the space unusable.

Signs of hoarding even around the outsides of a building can vary greatly and can be sometimes difficult to detect. Some situations may be difficult to determine because they involve collections of large items, for example hoarding cars or car parts. These are generally the most physically intensive jobs because they involve moving heavy, large items. Be aware that some situations can be considered someone’s collections; the line is very delicate and intervention should be determined based on the amount of hazards present.

Seniors are prone to issues with hoarding due to their illness or poor mobility as a result of old age.  It can happen in a residential home or commercial building, for example a nursing home or senior facility. Issues will involve the same–clutter, disorganization, and an accumulation of possessions that impede the ability to move around the space or use the facilities. Food, clothing, magazines, newspapers, and other miscellaneous items may be hoarded.

Seniors may already have mobility issues which makes a hoarded situation more dangerous. A widely cluttered room can create a slip-and-fall situation and make it difficult to locate the person should they be living alone and not have access to a phone.

Hoarding can occur in the hoarder’s automobiles when the accumulation of clutter and junk takes up the passenger and rear seats. Clutter and junk can contain various items from garbage, old clothes, toys, electronics, books, disposable or reusable shopping or grocery bags containing additional items, and other miscellaneous items like newspapers.

Hoarding in a car is unsightly and just as dangerous to other situations. Food and other the weight of piles from materials can make it difficult to discern what is actually going on beneath the layers. There may be bugs, dirt, mold, or bacteria under within the possessions that can be biohazardous. The accumulation of stuff also greatly increases the risk of a fire, particularly with hoarders who smoke.