(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The COVID-19 pandemic has raised so much awareness about the threat from transmissible diseases, it's prompted more calls for help from many hoarders or their families.
Tony Moser of Steri-Clean Chicago in south suburban Lynwood specializes in cleaning up the homes of hoarders.
He says many such homes are filled with biohazards and disease. These conditions can be caused by infestations of rodents and insects and rotting food.
Some hoarders have several pets, which can exacerbate lung ailments.
“They spend their whole day breathing in poor air — it destroys the lungs, it really does,” Moser said. “People have animal-hoarding issues, where they have 5, 7, 12, 14 cats, and they’re not really cleaning up. The ammonia smells so bad you can’t even breathe while you’re doing the estimate.”
About 20 percent of homes have some level of hoarding, Moser said. Helping hoarders could be as vital to public health as limiting the spread of COVID-19, he says.