Jerusalem Municipality employees removed 7.5 tons of garbage from the home of a Jerusalem hoarder after residents of the building repeatedly complained of a terrible stench coming out of one of the apartments.
City Hall inspectors and a social worker arrived at the apartment, where an elderly lady known to social services lives and suffering from compulsive hoarding. They were astounded by the mounds of garbage they found inside.
Inspectors had made repeated requests to the woman to clean up the house, but she refused to cooperate even when they issued an evacuation order against her, according to Clause 58 of the People’s Health Law.
Six employees took two days to clean the house, and special containers were needed to remove the trash. The apartment contained food stuffs in an advanced state of putrefaction, copious amounts of trash, cockroaches, rodents, and in one of the house’s corners – a molten snake skin. The cleaners needed to wear special protection gear including masks because the stench in the house was unbearable.
After cleaning up the house, a private company was hired to sterilize it from the leftovers. Municipality employees are in touch with the woman and are willing to help her in any way possible, a statement from the Jerusalem Municipality said.
The kitchen at a house of a Jerusalem compulsive hoarder before it was cleaned up. (Uzi Bundak, Jerusalem Municipality)The kitchen at a house of a Jerusalem compulsive hoarder after it was cleaned up. (Uzi Bundak, Jerusalem Municipality)The toilet at a house of a Jerusalem compulsive hoarder before it was cleaned up. (Uzi Bundak, Jerusalem Municipality)The toilet at a house of a Jerusalem compulsive hoarder after it was cleaned up. (Uzi Bundak, Jerusalem Municipality)
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