OCD Cleaner Is Shocked At Filthy Flat | Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners | Filth

Expert

cleaner

Linda Dykes has turned her obsession into a business and believes people obsessed with cleanliness have a special set of skills that could help clean up Britain. Everyone needs to kick the ass that doesn't clean. We will clean up Britain. The next volunteer is. Adam, the 22-year-old hairdresser, who is obsessed with symmetry and balance, each of these side sails is in the center of each of the poles because the lines continue up through the sail and then across the side of the mirror, so that The balance is out, it is a much more relaxing feeling if everything is perfectly in order in terms of disorder, disorder and chaos, there is no need, there is no need, everything has a place and if it goes back to its home, then balance and order have disappeared. restored you can't have one on this side because it's mainly your right hand that you get them with so it has to be on that side next to each other perfect if it's not placed in the perfect place I don't feel comfortable it's just that it bothers me all the time, that's all I think about to help him keep his mind calm.

Adam prefers clean, clear surfaces. Any remaining objects must be positioned and aligned exactly. You can spend up to an hour a day just adjusting objects. In this house they can't put you like that, that's horrible, look at that, but that way everything is fine. Now the small triangle on the plugs has to face towards the plug hole. This is how a sync should be organized. I'm quite exaggerated, I know, but. I know, but I don't care because I can't either. His partner James knows how Adam struggles if he can't perform his rituals. If Adam doesn't do what he needs to do, he will become anxious because of his body language. will change and the anxiety will always continue until it ends adam is enjoying the opportunity to bring balance to someone else's chaos definitely my way is definitely the right way anyone else's way is just half nonsense truth different things my ways the right way adam She's going to take four days away from her perfectly lined house to help someone she's never met before.

Helen is a 54-year-old volunteer horse police officer who lives alone in Buckinghamshire with her dog and her two cats. If I had a list of priorities, cleaning and decluttering would be Bottom Line: Life is too short to spend hours and hours cleaning my house. It is not just the lack of cleanliness that has been the problem over the years. Helen has accumulated lots of stuff, from old clothes to paperwork to a large collection of antique horse parts, because there is a lot of stuff. You can't actually get to it to clean it. Helen feels that if she continues hoarding for much longer, she will pass the help point and lose control of her home.

I just lost my mind. and I think recognizing that in myself is important and I need to do something about it. Adam came to Buckinghamshire hoping that his balance with minimalist philosophy could revolutionize Helen's life. Hello how are you? I'm not that bad. I'm Helen. ma'am, nice to meet you, this is the living room a little bit messy, there's um, it's pretty unbalanced, I think it's mainly because there are like boxes of stuff and I can tell you're totally out of your comfort zone. I'm a little bit, yeah, I definitely see it because I can't relax, I have a real feeling that you're totally uncomfortable here, it makes me feel a little bit uncomfortable a little bit, I'm clean and I'm not in a clean environment and it's just wow, it doesn't make me feel good.

I walk in there and I'm like no, no, no, I don't like it, oh my God, this is where you sleep. Yes, that's pretty much it. I sleep and I put away my clothes I definitely put away my clothes I definitely see everything feels like it's getting closer I really have no words I couldn't live in this room Britain's public spaces need help over two and a quarter million worth of rubbish is thrown away every day and Graffiti causes more than a hundred million pounds worth of damage every year, but

obsessive

professional

cleaner

Linda Dykes believes the

compulsive

cleaners

task force can help Britain meet its high standards, as people with OCD They can improve things and with help. from the community we can make Britain a better place today she is taking on the challenge of cleaning up a Victorian underpass in Red Hills Surrey that urgently needs help, the thought is giving me chills, I'm already thinking about it. urine, trash, graffiti, wet, dirty, you name it, it could all be there.

This tunnel links Red Hill railway station to the heart of the city and is used to avoid the busy road that runs through the tunnel. It's a little unpredictable. It's pretty dirty. It's not what you call graffiti litter and graffiti is a major problem, but with the rail network having to reduce its budget by £4 billion by 2014, there are no resources to clean the tunnel, so local councilor Jonathan Essex is taking advantage of the opportunity that lind offers with both. Hands, there is a real opportunity here to take a space from its current state to one that is loved and part of our community again.

The underpass is a mammoth task, so today Linda is joined by fellow

obsessive

cleaners

Michelle and Chaser, here's a mother of two tunnel hunters. she is so obsessed with hygiene that she washes her hands up to 60 times a day I spend half my life washing my hands when I leave the house I wash my hands and come home or I wash my hands it's a pain in my life I can just 'I can't help it Michelle is so afraid of germs that she cleans her house for up to eight hours a day. She could easily polish my kitchen floor four to five times a day.

I admit I'm crazy about cleaning, but I can't help it. There's no other way. It's bad down here, isn't it? Isn't it pleasant Isn't a glass pleasant also on the floor? What does garbage bring to animals? Creatures. My God. It makes me nauseous when I see cobwebs and animals. and whatever is crawling I can't say: watch out for the rats, then I'll go away. Behavioral psychologists believe that a dirty environment can magnify antisocial behavior; if a place appears untidy and unkempt, the greater the risk of further harm. and vandalism it's pretty neat there it's not nice wouldn't you want it to be a trip home every day like having dirty water in your hair and glass everywhere it's just not safe I feel physically sick right now I feel like my skin is dragging me I feel dirty in there I feel like everything is dirty and Smith feels like a toilet tunnel I may have Chaser and Michelle on edge but Linda is determined that we will make a difference simply because we are not afraid of hard work and we'll do the job right we won't leave here until it's finished it'll be complete it's obsessive

compulsive

denise's first day in chipping sodbury her strategy is to reduce the trip hazards in 81 year old frank's house who hasn't done it has tidied up in almost 10 years, so cleaning the living room is a priority.

I have a system here that is all cooking. Obviously we can't put it in the kitchen because we can't get in. All this is charity. There are things like your new shoes and things you probably don't even know you have. There are many reasons why people hoard, such as grief, but psychologists suggest that some of the UK's three million hoarders do it instinctively, such as like squirrels hoard nuts, there is an evolutionary evolution It is beneficial to collect as much stuff as possible Frank, why do you have so many boxes of tissues and boxes and boxes of tissues?

Well, I forgot I bought them. I guess I tend to have them buy things and overbuy and I think that's where it all goes wrong. Okay, so you just buy things because they're cheap and you just think I usually buy things when they're on sale and, um, you end up having a lot more than you need. This is just difficult. Is this a difference between what you need and what you want yes, but you don't want or need all these things well, I want all these things, I don't need them. Denise's OCD means she spends up to 21 hours a week dusting her house to preserve it.

She frees herself of dirt and in Frank's house she feels the compulsion to take measures to protect herself. Now I feel safe, I don't know why, but okay, let's do it, oh my God, I think we're going to have to take out the whole city, actually, oh. God, that's bad, but it's not just the living room that's a tripping hazard for Frank, the kitchen needs cleaning too, whatever it is, okay, I don't want you to see what I'm doing, start maybe start by there, look at Frank over there. Right now, don't save, please, don't save food and this is all expired food, right, go, please, am I attacking you a little bit?

I think you've attacked me from the beginning but I couldn't be good at for a better person oh bless you frank if you don't use it throw it away that's a fixation and I appreciate we have one of those frank yeah well done . I think of Denise as Marilyn Monroe with a 303 rifle where did you find her? To be honest, what I could have done when I came in here is just take all the stuff and put it in the closets and just close the doors, but that's not how I work. I would be thinking what is that.

The closet looks like the inside, that's an OCD problem, but it's my way of being. I like everything in order and I'm going to do that for Frank. I'm determined to do it for Frank in Buckinghamshire. Adam is starting out at messy Helen. at home as she only has four days and there is no extra help, Adam decided to deal with the bedroom, living room and dining room as these will make the biggest immediate difference to Helen's daily life, so at the end of today what We are going to achieve a cleanup. spacious living room your strategy is to avoid the mess that Helen will allow and put away what's left which is cappy the cats used this as a bathroom the cats used a house as a bathroom since they accidentally locked themselves in the living room while Helen was away the two of them cats I've been using the rug as a litter tray, how did you feel when you found it?

Could you smell it before you? Well, of course, you could smell her before you. Oh, she came in and was just amazing. Yes, yes, that's bad, but they must have done it. I used it a lot, it's actually yellow too and maybe I think it turned that color too because of the things I used on it. I admit it's not nice, I probably hate it, I probably don't want to be here to be honest. but I'm going to ignore that it's just a case of yes, there's cat food behind it, sure what and that's not, and you don't think it's a big deal, all efforts to sort it out have failed and the carpet is going to have to be industrially cleaned. , but one thing they can address now is the TV stand.

I have never seen a TV stand. to get in there, are you happy to do this? oh no, I'm going to clean it up, but I'll show you how to do it. I'll explain it to you well, but you don't need to talk to me. through it I know how to clean well maybe it's not a case of talking to you to see the difference. I'm not defensive but I don't understand why you have to analyze it because to me it's just dust, why? It doesn't matter, I just don't know because I don't need or want to analyze it because I think about the bigger picture, the things it could lead to, you're breathing it in you, no one, you don't know what's inside. the dust could be anything and if cats breathe it in, god knows what that could lead to for cats, it's really ingrained in you, isn't it?

Yes, you can't because that's disgusting, yes, just because it's disgusting now. things are being sorted it's the dirt and the massive cleaning what we're going to need to do is a lot more than I ever thought there would be in Red Hill it's big clean up day Hi guys, who is Linda working with Two other cleaners, Chaser and Michelle, to help the community fix their Victorian underpass. Are you all ready to take on this challenge and get in there and start cleaning? That wasn't good enough. Are you careful with your steps? Guys, they're a little slippery.

While Linda puts half the volunteers to work scrubbing the bricks, I want all of this removed from the walls simply because walking up here is not a pleasant experience when you get wet and get yelled at, the other half start picking up trash, a Of the ladies it's a little scary. bad, I'm fighting for the dust, my nose is running now, Michelle, does all the dust bother you? Your throat feels a little itchy, yes my throat is dry, I think it's because of all the particles we just breathe in, yes, and also every time. you sweep, you get dust on your face, yes definitely, now the sweeping and garbage collection is complete.

Linda wants to beautify the brick walls. The industrial jet washer will not remove graffiti, but it will erase dirt from the floor. You're sure? You don't want your seats on no thanks, I put one of them on before it takes forever to put it on no, I'd rather not get wet guys, are you ready? Yes, okay, obsessive cleansers may have special skills, but being in a dirty environment can dramatically increase their anxiety levels and their responses may vary. All that dirt you just sprayed is all in your hair,how are you going to deal with that, all the dirt from above was flying towards us, I felt like I was vomiting. coming at me and I hate that my hair is messy, I hate that my skin is dirty, I don't care about dirt, to be honest, I'm a cleanser, you know, you should expect to encounter dirt, oh my gosh, look. down one minute one minute you're just covered yeah, I enjoyed it, I know you enjoyed it, I got the mess you're in, even though I know I can fix my mess, I know that's why I use seats so I can do all the work I want, Not worrying about what's underneath, I know, but that's all. sitting on you right now he's sitting you want to take off your scarf and shake it out and just throw it away oh my god look at your jacket oh god look we're in a sorry state, terrible, absolutely terrible, I'm not in Buckinghamshire.

Adam is finding out more about how Helen's house came to be so dirty and messy that I haven't really done anything around the house because I lost my husband about five months ago to cancer. He's been sick, so I didn't really have a lot of time to do housework because obviously all my time was donated to, you know, do everything we could for Tom while he was still here, of course, yeah, but now maybe it's time to move on, time to move on and um, yeah, yeah. To help Helen move on, Adam has devised a simple strategy to deal with the piles of clothes he's been keeping in the bedroom.

The inbox, everything you want to keep. The exit box. Give them to charity. The last box is everything you can't. let's really decide now, let's get started, there are around three million hoarders in the UK, but the reasons why people hoard are unclear, it can be genetic or triggered by trauma, although it can cause distress and isolation. Research suggests that the horde can also provide considerable comfort when it was Last time you used that goodness, why are you saving it? Because I made it at home next. Adam demands empty space and clear surfaces, and by cleaning up the mess, he feels more in control and his anxiety is reduced.

When was the last time? I saw the floor, um, you have to think about it over a year ago, over a year, you haven't seen that piece of carpet for a year, no, why, because of the things on it, it baffles me, it baffles me, it really does, it's brilliant to get caught up in it. and just getting rid of stuff, it's me letting my ocs go crazy and just being able to sort and clean things up and put everything back together and at the same time I'm helping someone in need so I'm having a lot of fun. brilliant i love it at chipping sogbury denise is cleaning up the mess in frank's house to reduce tripping hazards, to do this she is throwing out large amounts of frank's mess and has already filled two bins, anything you want to put away goes in the box , this is going to be an important job, this above wants to clean the room that bothered him the most.

The bathroom of the house. Denise cleans her bathroom thoroughly with a toothbrush every day. Frank. I'll put in my little cent. I want to put this. because you know the bathrooms and yeah, you're paranoid, paranoid, let's go, we should go, yeah, first you think this is really bad. Denise's OCD can cause strong physical reactions to certain triggers such as dirt and mold. Frank, pick up, pick up your sponge, oh my God. right, he didn't wash with it, you kidding what? No, no, no, he hasn't used that in a long time. That one lost your color. I lost my color.

I think he could lose it again in a minute. The sponge. He's gone, but the bathroom hasn't been cleaned in ten years, he's next on the list, I'll do it right, no Denise, I don't do that, no, I'm full of germs, it smells too, but I use it. this every morning, huh, how can you? I would feel dirty when I took a bath. They are one of the germ hot spots in a bathroom and can have up to one hundred and twenty thousand bacteria. Oh, are they plastic? No they can be harmful and they can include e coli and salmonella oh that's bad I guess I'm not trying to make you feel bad but it just makes me feel really bad with the smell and the germs and this like something like skunk and the smell and it just makes my stomach turn.

I'm going to bring out the worst of it now, maybe if anyone has ever had a panic attack, like I have, this is how it makes me feel right now. A little like that. I think she was pretty overwhelmed this morning. Obsessive compulsion can be considered a disease or even a detraction uh for me it's an advantage it's an advantage in the sense that I know that what she says she believes and when she does something she does it with great pleasure oh I'm uh look I'm really surprised that i didn't just leave, but it's a challenge and it's also to help me help frank, but i'm glad i did it now because no, he hasn't done anything to me, he hasn't hurt me.

Actually, he makes me feel a little dizzy. In Buckinghamshire, professional carpet cleaners have arrived to clean Ellen's carpet. The floors were ruined after the cats accidentally locked themselves in the living room, but such a big job can only be done by professionals, so. It's good to see that all the stains are gone and just keep it clean and keep going and keep the momentum going and maybe this will spur us on to keep going a little bit more. There is little they can do while the carpet cleaners are working. So, 22 years. Adam and Helen, 62, take a break.

Things may have been difficult since Helen's husband Tom passed away five months ago, but Adam suspects the mess problems started earlier. Would you consider yourself a hoarder? I'm definitely a hoarder, yes, absolutely. I literally put things in and don't move them, so over time it's obviously been like collecting things and not finding the time to get rid of the old stuff to bring in the new stuff and then not wanting to get rid of it. old things are not a truth I see, I can't understand my brain without wanting to gain something from it or have a reason to make it gain something from it I guess it's negative gain in the sense that I don't have to deal with throwing away things and I think throwing things away is going to be quite painful, yes, yes, because I'm attached to things, yes, so it's something I know I have to do, yes, after having spent three days with Helen.

Adam has managed to get her to the point where she can let some things go to make it as painless as possible. They have decided to donate Helen's old clothes to a charity of her choice. That's another package for you. How do you feel leaving her? some of that goes, yeah, I don't know, these are the people who took care of Tom, oh right, okay, sorry, you're right, yeah, we were talking earlier about choosing the charity, she said she chose this one because It's the same charity he ran. The hospital where she took Tom when Tom was actually awake may be a little difficult for her.

I think you're making him very, very, very, very, very proud of his good turn. You must be making my eyes yes, something in your Helen, definitely, yes, but now. this is all this is all good steps really good steps oh god no, I'm okay, I'm right, okay, tom would have been proud of me, yes, definitely, yes, definitely, how many memories from today are coming. Come to terms with cleaning the house and everything that has happened, never losing memories, but simply accepting the whole process. The Red Hill underpass may be free of trash and dirt, but Linda still isn't happy.

The only problem with the tunnel now is the graffiti and it looks neglected, unloved and not pleasant to walk through to solve the problem of this anti-social graffiti. She called a specialized company to cover the walls with anti-graffiti paint. This high-performance coating is as easy to clean as anything with graffiti on top. It can be cleaned simply with water. Research has also shown that graphics and murals can deter graffiti by eliminating the appearance of the blank canvas, so colored shapes are incorporated into the paint. After two weeks of painting, the cleanup is complete and Councilor Jonathan Essex is opening the underpass for The local community thank you very much and this tunnel is now reopened.

It's much cleaner and nicer. The tunnel used to be a blot on the landscape, but after the cleanup team brought the community together, it was completely transformed. I am very proud. I think it shows. absolutely amazing it looks much brighter, cooler, feels really nice and pleasant how the tunnel should be, it took 400 hours of work but the paint company has eradicated the graffiti and research has shown that it is more likely than in Clean and well-maintained walls will be respected in the future. Making the walls lighter gives a more open space, yes, it's bigger, right? Yes, we needed the obsessive cleaners to come here and do something and getting them to push us to come and do it really made a difference for the Tunnel, my OCD has borne so much fruit for the community.

You know, we've all done a lot here and it's been so good that we've made a big difference. The three cleaners came just two weeks ago and did it. They have guided us and shown us what is possible. Well girls, we did it. I know. I know. It's amazing without our obsession and love for cleanliness. This would never have happened today. You know the proof is always in the pudding, right? And here it is. the pudding we have a nice walkable little palace after four days at helen's house in buckinghamshire the cleaning is complete and adam is in his element tall little tall little tall that's fine but that's the tallest so I think It should go to the middle and create like a pyramid effect, do that.

Adam's obsession with symmetry demands that everything he can see be balanced and positioned exactly. He has to be perfect in the center. Does he do it now? I'm using every bit of this. It seems as if he is sitting on his shoulders. That doesn't make any difference to you, does it? But I've probably done well, you know, bring that one forward a little bit or bring that one closer to that one like that and make it rather curved instead of linear, that's hard for me to understand. Why does it make you happier to place it that millimeter to the left or right than where you had it?

But it's because I can see it because it's because you can see it and I still can't see it now that everything is in the perfect position. Hairdresser Adam has one. final makeover he wants to achieve. We have your house looking beautiful and that's why I'm doing this for you because I'm going to make you look beautiful too. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it with Helen and her house. ready, her son Rob, who grew up in the house, is eager to see the final result. Do you want to come and take a look. Yeah, okay, let's go.

Four days ago, Helen's living room and dining room were so messy and chaotic that Adam, the cleaner, felt uncomfortable and tense when he first walked in ready for this, oh my god, I can hear an echo, that's how little there is. here. In fact, I can hear an echo. Helen has confronted her emotional attachment to the mess and now the entire downstairs area has been transformed. Cat urine stains. They are gone and with Adam's careful positioning, empty space and balance reign. It's as minimalist as I think you'll ever be. That would be music. That's what he's trying to do to me.

Does it make you feel comfortable? Now it makes me feel like it's you. many of you are kind I am much more relaxed much calmer than when I first came in because when I first came in it was like the cocoon was very closed but as time went on I just relaxed much higher up the unloved bedroom of Helen had been lost under piles of clothes Oh my god, she feels twice the size, isn't that fantastic? It really feels twice the size. 11 boxes and five bags of clothing have been cleaned out and space replaced. the mess that allows Helen to reclaim her bedroom by keeping it tidy is lovely hmm, much better, it just looks so much better, so she wouldn't go back to that.

I mean, if I had a bunch of clothes in there right now, I'd say that's actually not the case. It doesn't look good, this has given me so much freedom, it's almost like I walked through a curtain and it just opened and I don't have to close the curtains again. Is this something you are going to keep like this? Do you think you are going to back down or are you determined to do so? I'm not going to go back to the way I was before. I don't promise it will be this pristine all the time.

I will definitely put in a lot of effort and now I am going to do it. setting up a cleaning regimen and getting things done, gosh, I'm glad to hear that, but I'm so happy that I was able to give you that ability to be able to get a cleaner regimen and keep things going. track and I think you're going to be fine. I didn't know much about OCD before and Adam's condition, but I don't think anyone else could have. I feel quite positive. I think Helen could keep a word. on some level and who knows, maybe she's learned a thing or two, maybe she can let go of some things and not be so obsessive about certain things, but I don't think she's that bad at the sodbury chipping that Denise has been using . her cleaning skills to put order in Frank's house and now the four days are over the niecefrank's granddaughter katie has come to see the results would you like to lead the way come on just four days ago frank's mess covered every surface and he was increasingly afraid of tripping and not being able to live in his house oh my god, oh my god Frank, it took three jumps, ten storage boxes and eight rolls of garbage bags, but now the living room and dining room are clear, I don't think I've ever seen that. so, oh my gosh, Frank, you can see your couch, oh, it's amazing, it's just that Frank's kitchen hadn't been thoroughly cleaned in 10 years, but now the dirt and mess has been eradicated, oh my gosh, you can See the successes of the game, oh my days.

It looks like a new sink. It's just amazing. I think we could count what came out in 100 pesos because Frank's bathroom was the hardest for Denise to deal with, since her OCD makes her intolerant to dirt and mold. Look how clean that thing is. The bathroom is shiny. It may have been her biggest challenge, but the five hours of cleaning were worth it and Frank's bathroom is sparkling clean for the first time in 10 years with my OCD. This was probably one of the worst nightmares. Yes, how I did it. I never know. This is for you.

Frank. You have to enjoy it. Yes, you have to enjoy. and I have to thank you in a big way too, of course, please, you know, I told him before that it's the first day of the rest of his life, he has to enjoy it, she's crying now, wait, are they clean, okay? I have left behind a very happy man and he has a lot of family and friends, so he will be absolutely fine. Thank you so much. Two words. Thank you. I'm completely better than that. You have been a true friend. I am at peace. with the world I hardly think I will change the way I live because I like the way I live I know I'm not going to die from a dirty cat but I'm still not going to drink from one and I don't want one in my house either.