Advice For Undertaking a House Clearance
Although there are professional firms that will undertake a house clearance for you, they tend to charge a great deal for their services. Instead of paying for a company to do this work, why not do the job yourself? Most people are in the situation of needing to conduct a house clearance because they have bought a property with lots of items inside which have not been taken away by the previous owner or because of the death of a family member. In addition, some landlords need to conduct house clearances after tenants have moved away or been evicted. Unless you have done one before, a house clearance can be a little intimidating. What do you need to know?
- Personal Protection
Heading into a house with things in it that might not have been touched for weeks or months may mean there are nasty potential hazards to watch out for. Make sure that you have plastic gloves you can put on so that you can handle dirty items without contracting any communicable diseases. Old food, built up grime and even faecal matter may all be present, so wear old clothes and you might even want to consider a dust mask if you know the house will be particularly bad inside. It is also advisable to wear stout shoes or boots - just in case you drop anything onto your feet when shifting items outside.
- Removing Items
When you are taking items out of a property, you won't want to lift them a long way. The best thing to do is to hire a skip bin so that you can simply dump the items just outside of the front door on the driveway. Skip bins are by far the most convenient way of clearing furniture from a house. Start with the larger items and load the bin with them before fitting in smaller items around them. When the bin is full, have it collected so that you can continue with the clearance. When lifting anything heavy or bulky, work in a team of two and slide heavy items if it is possible to do so without damaging the floor.
- Beware of Dangers
If you are removing installed equipment, such as kitchen appliances and bathroom suites, rather than free-standing furniture, then you need to beware of two potential dangers. This first is that you will inadvertently rip the internal plumbing and cause a flood to ensue. Don't smash your way through kitchen cabinets and so on, but unscrew them so that they can be removed effectively. When you are near any electrical wiring, such as taking out a cooker or an extractor fan, turn the power off to prevent any chance of an electrocution.