| MayMay | Posted: 10 March 2013 - 10:14 PM |
Right now I am in Houston. I came to Houston to help my aunt and uncle clean out their friend's level 5 hoarded home. I normally don't post while I'm out of town. But I really need some help and advice. Today was my first full day here in Houston. And today I went to my aunt and uncle's friend's house to look around and see how bad the hoard was. I already knew that the hoard was a level 5 before I even got there; because my aunt and uncle told me about it. What they didn't tell me, was that the hoard was going to possibly be dangerous to our health. The house is very similar to Shanna's house, from that one episode of "HOARDERS". My aunt and uncle's friend has no running water and no working toilets because of septic tank issues. So she has resorted to using buckets as toilets and old jugs to put her feces and urine in; like Shanna from "HOARDERS" did. Her house is basically covered in nothing but human feces and urine. So my question is... Should I call a biohazard team to come and help with the clean-up? Because I remember on that episode of "HOARDERS" with Shanna, they had a biohazard team there helping them. And I also remember Matt saying that if some of the stuff was to get on their clothes and skin, then it could make them very sick. And I don't want anyone getting sick from the clean-up. Right now my aunt and uncle's friend is staying with some of her family members; because I told her that I didn't feel comfortable with her staying in that house because it is dangerous to her health. So what should I do in a situation like this? A situation like this has never happened before. Should I call Adult Protective Services? Because even after we clean out her house, there is no way she would be able to live in it again. Her house is so damaged. 🙁 I am not a professional extreme cleaner yet. But I will feel really bad if I can't properly help her. 🙁 | |
Replies (21)
| BioRestore24 | Posted: 13 April 2013 - 12:31 PM |
If there is anything we can do to save the house for this Hoarder I would be willing to send a trained crew over to cover cost only..Labor at 400.00 per day for two people and $100 for misc expenses. This house can be saved , we have done it before and for the little money that it would take to make it happen , I would hate to see it come to this. I would even take payments over an extended amount of time just to help. Feel free to email if I can help...Kevin at biorestore24.com. | |
| MayMay | Posted: 27 March 2013 - 09:53 PM |
Thank you Mary-Ohio. You are so sweet. 🙂 | |
| Mary-Ohio | Posted: 27 March 2013 - 07:02 PM |
MayMay, | |
| MayMay | Posted: 26 March 2013 - 10:42 AM |
Thanks Dianne. 🙂 | |
| Dianne | Posted: 26 March 2013 - 09:49 AM |
Hi MayMay, Thanks for the update. Your assessment of the situation has been exactly right throughout the process. So although you weren't able to get things cleaned out you did help the hoarder tremendously. She is out of an environment that would have killed her. And you prevented the likely injuries of others who would have been cleaning. She is very fortunate to have family nearby willing to have her live with them. You put into motion the best possible outcome for a very tough situation. Great Job!! 🙂 | |
| Tillie | Posted: 26 March 2013 - 09:46 AM |
Sorry MayMay 🙁 But the good news is that the hoarder is no longer living in that dangerous toxic house. | |
| MayMay | Posted: 25 March 2013 - 05:25 PM |
I have some BAD NEWS. 🙁 Today a code-enforcement officer came out to the hoarder's house to do an inspection. And the outcome of the inspection was not good at all. 🙁 The hoarder's house got condemned and code-enforcement says it might have to be torn down. 🙁 | |
| Tillie | Posted: 24 March 2013 - 05:49 AM |
YEA! WTG! snow! 😀 | |
| MayMay | Posted: 23 March 2013 - 09:34 PM |
BREAKING NEWS: I just found out that there is going to be a huge snow storm; yes that's right, I said snow storm; where I live. and the storm is supposed to start tomorrow around noon. So because of it, I have decided to change my flight home. So instead of leaving to go home tomorrow afternoon, I will be going home on Wednesday morning. Which means that I will get to be here in Houston when code-enforcement does the inspection on the hoarder's house. 🙂 | |
| Tillie | Posted: 18 March 2013 - 06:03 PM |
What Dianne said.... (((hugs))) | |
| Dianne | Posted: 18 March 2013 - 04:22 PM |
Sweetie, you went down there with every good intention. You didn't let anybody down. So very sad but the hoarder did this to herself. And there we all are if we let ourselves continue. :*( | |
| MayMay | Posted: 18 March 2013 - 03:45 PM |
BREAKING NEWS: This clean-up is officially out of my hands. 🙁 Today we met with an APS caseworker and they want to get code-enforcement involved too. So next week a code-enforcement officer is going to be coming out to do an inspection. And if the house doesn't pass the inspection, which I'm pretty sure it won't, then it will be condemned. I feel really bad that I'm not going to be able to be there when code-enforcement does the inspection because I will already be back at home in Ohio. 🙁 I feel like I let everyone down. Especially the hoarder. 🙁 | |
| MayMay | Posted: 15 March 2013 - 05:08 PM |
Thanks Dianne. 🙂 Yeah I would have loved to have a biohazard team come and help with the clean-up; and I even looked in to having one come out to help. But the only problem was that none of us can afford to hire one to help with the clean-up. 🙁 And that actually played a huge role into my decision to call APS. Because since I couldn't afford to have a biohazard team come out to help us, I felt like there was nothing else that I could have really done in the way of helping the hoarder with the clean-up except for calling APS. Because the house is so toxic and dangerous to our health. 🙁 | |
| Dianne | Posted: 15 March 2013 - 08:22 AM |
God bless her. I totally get that she doesn't want to lose her independence and living alone. We get used to doing things a certain way and it's a hard adjustment to then live with other people and have to think about their needs as well as our own. She is very blessed to have such a loving, supportive family who wants her to live with them. And no matter what the hoard outcome with the house you have done a great job MayMay. Bottom line a hoard cleanup is about the person having better living conditions, having a better mental and emotional outlook and getting ongoing support. Still some work to be done with APS and maybe bio-hazard or a tear down but you have taken good care of the hoarder's well-being. Congratulations!! 🙂 | |
| MayMay | Posted: 15 March 2013 - 12:37 AM |
Hi Dianne, Well right now the clean-up is pretty much on hold. 🙁 There isn't really that much outside work that we can do on the house. The only thing that we can really do right now is just wait until APS comes out to the house on Monday. 🙁 The hoarder is starting to feel a little more comfortable with my decision to call APS. 🙂 She has a family that loves her a lot and would be happy to let her live with them. 🙂 One of the things that made her so mad at me for calling APS was because she doesn't want to lose her independence and the ability to be able to live alone. | |
| Dianne | Posted: 14 March 2013 - 03:05 PM |
Hey MayMay, How are things going with the hoard cleanup? Are you able to do anything at all before APS gets there? Is there outside work that can be done? Is the hoarder any more comfortable with your decision? Take good care of yourself ~~ Dianne | |
| MayMay | Posted: 12 March 2013 - 09:11 PM |
Today I met up with the hoarder, her family, and my aunt and uncle and told them that I think it's a good idea for me to call Adult Protective Services for help. The hoarder was not happy with my decision at all. But her family and my aunt and uncle all support my decision to call APS. So I went ahead and called them. And on Monday an APS caseworker will be coming out to meet with us to talk about the hoarders situation and what will happen next. | |
| MayMay | Posted: 12 March 2013 - 09:02 PM |
Hey Tillie, That is very true. But even though this clean-up is not going the way that I expected it too, I still want to be an extreme cleaner. 🙂 | |
| Tillie | Posted: 12 March 2013 - 10:56 AM |
Sometimes there is no "happy ending" when working with these cases. 🙂 | |
| MayMay | Posted: 11 March 2013 - 04:22 PM |
Hey Tillie, Thanks. 🙂 Yeah tonight I am definitely going to look into calling Adult Protective Services. And then tomorrow I want to meet up with the hoarder, her family, and my aunt and uncle again to talk about what we can do next. Because I don't want to call APS until after I talk with everyone about it. I'm pretty sure that the hoarder will get really mad at me when I tell her that I want to call APS. Because yesterday, when I told her that I didn't want her to stay in her house anymore because I thought it was dangerous to her health, she got really really mad and started screaming at me. But I didn't mind her yelling at me because I would rather have her be really mad at me, then have her staying in a house that is literally full of crap. I would LOVE to have a biohazard team come in and clean out the house. But the only problem is I can't really afford it. And neither can my aunt and uncle or the hoarder and her family. 🙁 That's actually why they asked me to help in the first place; because they couldn't afford to get any professionals that could clean it out. And they knew that I'm interested in becoming and extreme cleaner. | |
| Tillie | Posted: 11 March 2013 - 10:12 AM |
MayMay The best way that you can help these people is to do what must be done. With what you describe a biohazard team are the only ones qualified to enter the house. Matt was speaking from experience, stay out of there! So get on the phone. Maybe someone from the health department can help you get in touch with all the proper agancies. Even after it is decluttered the place will need to be evaluated to see if it needs to be torn down. This is all beyond anything you can help with. (((HUGS))), Tillie | |