Thank you Roxie. Friend's mother is very hard headed and would refuse counseling.

Thank you Tillie. It's a darn shame that my friend would have to make the effort to keep from getting sick and her mother doesn't respect her for it; my friend provides almost free shelter for her mother and this is how she treats her? Horrible! I feel if my friend were to do this in the mother's house, the mother would probably throw her out.

The way that I try to keep "germs" from spreading throughout the house...

Regularly wash door knobs, light switches, fridge handle, tv remotes, faucet handles, etcetera.
Anything that is touched.
Hands transfer "germs" from one person to another when we touch items that were touched by someone who is sick.
We also transfer "germs" from one area to another with our hands.
You can simply use soap and water and a clean rag or paper towels to do this cleaning but you must do it very frequently, several times a day.
Frequent hand washing is extremely important.
Opening windows to allow in fresh air reduces the level of "germs" floating in the air inside the house.
Frequently washing dirty clothing/bedding reduces the amount of "germs".
Regular dusting/sweeping/vacuuming also helps.
Removal and disposal of used tissues helps a lot to reduce the level of "germs".

I am not sure I can be of much help here. It is a GREAT accomplishment to contain the hoard in one room, so I suggest she stick with that.

Does she have a doctor; has she had a complete physical; has social services ever been involved; has the daughter ever tapped into community resources for assistance, such as for counseling or visiting nurse?

Best of luck.

My friends mother lives with her and hoards in just her bedroom. Once in a while the mother attempts to start hoarding in other rooms, but my friend has been able to keep it contained to her mother's bedroom. Her mother is forever sick with colds and refuses to take necessary action to prevent the spread of sickness throughout the house.

My friend doesn't make her mother clean because she doesn't want to hurt her feelings. Is there anything that can be done to keep the sickness from escaping the mother's room, such as disinfectant spray? She's tried Lysol, but it's no longer effective.