Watch the amazing transformation of the flat that had bags filled with rubbish
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A 45-year-old woman, from Tivadale, West Midlands, contacted cleaning specialists N Gervais when the council received complaints that a strong smell coming from her flat.
Sally-Ann Howell hadn’t seen her floor in four years as she had bags filled with rubbish, cat litter, bottles of urine and cat faeces in her flat.
Cleaning company, N Gervais sent Hoarding specialists Tee and Caz, from Birmingham. They arrived at Sally’s home to clean up.
Caz said: “We offer people like Sally like a great service. Plenty of aftercare, commitment, confidentiality, support TLC. I’d say we’re gentle in our approach.”
“We respect their homes and their things. It shouldn’t be deemed as a ‘house clearance’ because it’s their possessions, their lives.”
“The majority of us have some form of a care background, whether it be mental health, learning difficulties or working for the NHS.”
Sally – who calls herself a hoarder – said: “There are a lot of people who have such a terrible time getting rid of a piece of paper – I’m not that sort of hoarder.
My hoarding is to do with me being stressed out with my anxiety and my depression, that when having a lot of stuff, I just think, well I need to get rid of it but I never do because my mentality cannot cope with it.”
“But yes, I do class myself as one. A lot of people deny it, but I don’t.”
“How does my home makes me feel? I would say it makes me feel disgusted with myself. And it got to a stage where I just wanted to end my life because of it. I couldn’t cope anymore.”
“My hoarding actually started in the middle of 2010. My cat passed away, all of a sudden had a heart attack, and that’s when it started, leading from him and then depression and anxiety.”
“I’ve been in the flat for 15 years and things would be untidy but I used to vacuum and clean and I looked after six cats at that time.”
“Then I started going out with someone and started having problems with him and then another cat passed away.
And it just snowballed from there. It would just build up and build up and then it gets to a stage where you can’t cope anymore.”
Tee said: “It’s definitely a biohazard clean. When I come in, there is this smell. There are piles and piles of black bags, which I believe is rubbish. I’ve got concerns because I know that there is bottles of urine. This is extreme. This is very extreme.”
Sally said: “I suffer with bladder problems, the stress of incontinence and I couldn’t get to the toilet in time so I started having accidents and it got to the stage where I was using bottles and filling them up more than I was getting rid of them.
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Hoarding specialists Tee and Caz worked hard for a month to fully declutter Sally’s flat and the transformation was unbelievable.
Sally said: “My life has improved dramatically. I feel a lot healthier, happier. It feels strange because you do get used to it after four years, but now it’s all clear I still have a shock to be honest, thinking, ‘Wow it’s all gone.’”