Hoarding is a mental health disorder that presents many dangers. If entering a property affected by hoarding it is important to understand the risks involved. It is crucial to be aware of the dangers you may encounter.
Fire Risk. With the amount of clutter often present within hoarded homes this presents a fire risk, particularly where there are large amounts of paper and cardboard. Dry flammable items will allow a fire to spread quickly throughout the property, making it more difficult for people to escape before it engulfs the whole building. As we often find, doors can be difficult to open and close due to the volume of items within the doorways this not only means you can prevent a fire from spreading from room to room but also blocks the residents exit from leaving the property. In the event that a hoarded property does catch fire, this can also put the neighbouring properties at higher risk too, this is due to the amount of flammable material that could combust. http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/hoarding.asp
Potential For Buildings To Collapse And Have Structural Difficulties. We frequently attend properties where rooms are packed from top to bottom with hoarded items. This can put added stress on the walls pushing the walls outwards and causing the structure of the home to be compromised. On the second floor overly cluttered rooms will put extra weight on the floors potentially causing them to collapse.
Risk Of Residents Tripping And Falling. Due to the floor being often being covered in large amount of items (sometimes even up to waist height) this creates a huge risk of tripping over, in the most severe cases some people who suffer from hoarding disorders create tunnels out of their items which can ultimately collapse in and crush them.
Pests And Animals. Pets can also be something that people like to hoard, this brings extra dangers such as faeces and urine which can often be hidden by the animals, this can make it difficult to locate and eliminate the smells. Pests such as rats, mice, fleas, bed bugs and cockroaches can also be present in hoarded homes. These pests can bring with them disease and nuisance if they bite they can cause a lot of upset to the residents.
For further information on our hoarding clean up services, please contact us on 0203 6408 247 or email us at [email protected]