My mom is a hoarder; she has been for the last three years and counting.
I fear for her well-being because it’s a situation that can consume her life.
Three years is a long time to hoard, and its negative impact on her life worried me. This habit started when I moved out. As an only child, she felt I abandoned her, but I needed to learn to be independent and have something of my own. I have tried to get her professional help several times, but she keeps falling back. I didn’t want to move back in, but I wanted to improve her health with an air purification system. Her hoarding isn’t at the chronic stage yet because she can access all rooms somewhat comfortably, but there is no doubt that the air quality is terrible everywhere. To pull this off, I needed air purification help for an HVAC professional. I had to get an HVAC technician familiar with the house since he has been providing home service, checking the air filter every few months, and managing the duct cleaning, which is now getting out of hand because of rat infestation and duct accumulation. I wish I could maintain the HVAC equipment better for my mom, but the landlord is limiting what we can do. For now, we are sticking to an air purification option that can service her favorite room so that she can have better indoor air quality. If she could cooperate, I could move her to a smaller, manageable house with smart HVAC and whole-home air purification in place. But we have to overcome her current situation first, probably clean, reduce clutter and assess the whole HVAC network.