Tragic events happen way to often in the world we live in. We watch so many shows regarding crime and solving everyday tragedies but ever wonder what happens after the body has been removed? Or what happens when someone gets violently attacked in a public place? No tragedy is the same and our trained technicians do their best in every situation. What’s considered a biohazardous situation? How do you know that a biohazard cleaning crew is needed? A cleaning crew is necessary in situations involving blood and/or bodily fluids. Cleaning could be needed in buildings, vehicles, and even different outdoor areas. Unfortunately, there are many different scenarios to where a biohazard cleanup would be needed, a few examples are:
- Crime Scenes;
- Unattended Death;
- Suicides;
- Putrefaction sites;
- Blood spillage;
- Drug Houses – ex. prior meth labs;
- Human fecal matter – often found in retirement homes or care facilities;
- Hoarders;
- Even areas when the blood and/or bodily fluids are from animal origin;
Crime scenes, unattended death, and suicides are the most common use for biohazard cleanup crews. Once the body is removed infectious organisms can still contaminate the surrounding areas. Sometimes technicians even find evidence from the crime itself, from shell casings to parts of the victim’s body that were missed by authorities, that is why this type of cleanup is so specialized.
Putrefaction sites take a lot of attention to detail. As soon as your heart stops decay occurs. Authorities will usually take what they can of the victim’s body, the rest is up to us. When a certain amount of time has passed the degree of contamination gets significantly worse and develops a horrific odor. Odor is known to sink into the structure of the building (kind of like smoke odor in a fire loss). Odor and decay increase when in high humidity/high temperature areas. Living in Florida, humidity is high. The sense of smell varies person to person. Often multiple technicians will be on site, multiple people to asses if the smell is still lingering. Some level of demolition is usually involved to make sure that all areas are decontaminated and safe for whoever will be around next.
Hoarding is the least known to be a biohazardous condition but there is still a deep level of decontamination that needs to take place. Houses where hoarding occurred are almost always infected with roaches, rats/mice, and are a breeding ground for all types of mold and/or bacteria. A lot goes into a hoarding cleaning, often the person or persons that are hoarding have a mental disorder. They are unable to part from their things and causes them to have severe emotions. Our technicians know that since this is often a mental disorder that the owner will be under stress and a great level of care will be taken.
Animal origin contaminates often play into hoarding. Some Hoarders are known to keep dead animals because they cannot part with them. Another example could be a deer crashes through your sliding glass doors; the deer is severely hurt from all the broken glass; it quickly bleeds out and dies on your floor. This may seem like an out there possibility but it is still possible. Any animal blood and/or bodily fluids can be cleaned up by a biohazard cleaning company.
When it comes to murder scenes, putrefaction, suicide, drug houses, and violent attack sites often the authorities will call a cleaning service directly.
All this may seem rather graphic but knowing what is considered a biohazard could help determine whether it is a threat to you or those around you. Blood and bodily fluids can be the source of infectious pathogens. Bacteria can carry tuberculosis, E-Coli, strep, etc. Viruses such as Hepatitis, West Nile, and HIV can be spread as well. Warning signs and plastic barriers are set up to secure the area and ensure that everything is contained.
The cleaning process has multiple steps and must be performed diligently. If evidence is found it is bagged, documented, and given to the authorities. The affected area is applied with the proper cleaner and larger amounts that are removable must be taken out and discarded appropriately. Cleaning is often repeated until all visible contamination has been removed. Not everything can be cleaned, certain items must be further evaluated and decide what to do next. Objects that have no value are documented and discarded. If the object has value, our technicians will do their best to decontaminate. If there is no hope for it, communication is key. We will express the dangers and let them decide. Everything is always documented as this is sensitive work.
Majority of the time that a biohazard situation occurs, it is tragic for the ones that are there for the aftermath. Family and friends of a trauma scene are often in grieving. Whether the victim has passed or not is still heartbreaking to the ones around them. Even in non-crime related situations there is a lot of stress for the family and friends. For example, hoarders feel great emotions and will often be very upset and in care facilities they can feel embarrassed or scared. The best thing we can do for each family at that time is to perform the best quality cleaning that we can and be on our way.
Biohazard cleanup can be a very sensitive topic and it is very specialized work. Our technicians are trained to have a distinctive set of skills to perform this type of work precisely and with the appropriate demeanor. Each situation is different and here at CEO Restoration we know how to be efficient and thorough during tough times. We are available 24/7 and even though we hope no one ever has to go through something devasting we are here for you if it does.
Find out more about our biohazard cleanup services or Call us at (407) 584-7779 for all your restoration needs, we are here to help.