What this help covers

This help may concern small visible and non-technical maintenance: watering a few plants, removing dry leaves, carefully emptying an accessible saucer, checking whether a watering can is available, moving a small light pot closer to a more protected area, preparing a request to repot a plant, identifying whether a balcony passage is cluttered, reporting an unstable planter, helping store a few small tools, preparing a simple instruction during an absence, checking whether the person wishes to keep, give away or replace a plant, or clarifying what should be entrusted to a gardener or another professional. DomusHelp can help distinguish a light task from a risk situation: pot that is too heavy, hanging planter, uncertain fixing, unstable guardrail, cluttered balcony, slippery floor, standing water, overhanging branch, aggressive insects, toxic plant for a child or an animal, chemical product present, sharp tool, difficult access, strong wind, significant heat, snow, ice or frost, neighbours concerned, shared area, or doubt about balcony safety. The aim is to keep a small outdoor area living, accessible and pleasant, without turning the help into specialist gardening, without exposing the person to a fall, without creating a risk for neighbours, without moving what matters to the person against their wishes, and without weakening the responsibilities of the owner, property manager, a qualified professional or the competent services.

Preferred providers

Before the intervention

• Identify precisely the purpose of the help: watering, small tidying, removing dead leaves, seasonal preparation, clarifying a risk, absence instruction or referral to a professional.
• Check who is making the request: person concerned, family caregiver, family, legal representative, tenant, owner, property manager, caretaker, social service or professional already involved.
• Obtain the clear, free, current and understood consent of the person concerned before entering a balcony, moving a pot, throwing away a plant, taking a photo or transmitting information.
• Respect the person’s choices: important plants, memories, watering habits, balcony organization, need for shade, fatigue, pace and right to refuse a change.
• Clarify whether the area is private, shared, rented, in condominium ownership or subject to a rule from the property manager, owner, co-ownership or neighbourhood.
• Limit observation to what is visible, accessible and non-technical, without leaning over empty space, without climbing on a chair, without dismantling, fixing or repairing.
• Check immediate conditions: dry floor, no ice, reasonable wind, bearable heat, sufficient lighting, clear passage and possibility to stop the intervention.
• Identify items to handle only if they are light, stable, not sharp, non-toxic, not hanging, not close to the edge and clearly authorized by the person.
• Never move alone a heavy pot, hanging planter, large container, balcony furniture, unstable parasol, fragile object or element whose function is not clear.
• Never intervene on a guardrail, façade, awning, outdoor fixing, socket, lighting, water drainage, integrated hose or technical watering system.
• Avoid any pesticide, concentrated fertilizer, chemical product, pest treatment or unknown mixture without a clear professional framework and safety information.
• Protect confidentiality: avoid intrusive photos of the home, neighbours, names, documents, faces, valuables or private elements visible from the balcony.
• Identify warning signs: pot on the edge, unstable planter, uncertain guardrail, slippery floor, standing water, aggressive insects, toxic plant, dangerous tool, unknown product or fall risk.
• Prepare a sober request if a third party must intervene: location concerned, plant or object concerned, inconvenience observed, non-intrusive photo if useful, apparent level of urgency and professional to contact.
• Stop the intervention and refer to a competent service in case of danger, emergency, lack of consent, pressure from a third party, fall risk, work at height, heavy load, dangerous product, shared area or serious doubt about safety.

What DomusHelp does not cover

• Specialist gardening, planting plan, plant-health diagnosis, treatment of plant disease, pest treatment or binding horticultural advice.
• Use of pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, concentrated chemical products, dangerous fertilizers or products without a clear label.
• Pruning trees, high hedges, threatening branches, climbing plants on a façade, vegetation near an electrical line or work requiring an arborist.
• Work at height, use of a ladder, unstable step stool, climbing on a chair, leaning on a guardrail, intervention above empty space or dangerous access.
• Moving heavy pots, large containers, balcony furniture, hanging planters, unstable parasols or loads requiring several people without an appropriate framework.
• Fixing, hanging, repairing or modifying a planter, guardrail, façade, awning, lighting, outdoor socket, water drainage, terrace or element integrated into the building.
• Checking balcony load, structural expert assessment, guardrail validation, safety audit, insurance report or decision on owner responsibility.
• Managing wasp nests, hornets, aggressive insects, infestation, significant mould, problematic biological waste or sanitary situation.
• Managing allergy, poisoning, ingestion of a toxic plant, injury from a tool, heat-related faintness or medical emergency.
• Legal or administrative decision concerning tenancy, condominium ownership, balcony rules, neighbourhood nuisance, water flow, falling object, insurance or dispute.
• Forced sorting, imposed disposal, replacement of plants, modification of the balcony or removal of personal objects against the person’s wishes.
• Promise that a plant will be saved, that a balcony is safe, that a planter will not fall, that a neighbour will not be disturbed or that no incident will occur.
• Replacement of a qualified gardener, landscaper, horticulturist, arborist, craftsperson, property manager, owner, caretaker, insurance provider, competent authority, healthcare professional or emergency service.

Need help with plants, a balcony or a small outdoor area in the district of Martigny?

DomusHelp can help clarify the request, observe the situation cautiously, identify possible simple tasks, preserve the person’s choices, prepare an instruction or a sober request, distinguish light maintenance from serious risk, and refer to a small outdoor maintenance service, a gardener, a landscaper, a horticulturist, an arborist, a property manager, an owner, a caretaker, an insurance provider, a competent authority or an emergency service when the situation goes beyond light practical help.