Memphis Suicide Cleanup

Professional biohazard cleaners understand that biohazards may be infected blood or tissue from crime scenes, suicides, and unattended deaths. Infectious environments like these should be isolated as soon as possible. Whenever possible, professional cleaners should do the cleanup. If not possible, then extreme hygienic exaggeration should be used by the novice as well as the professional. The cleaner should clean as if cleaning for a three-year-old.

Always wear gloves when working with biohazardous materials. "For cleaning blood or bloody fluids from floors, bed, etc., you can use household rubber gloves." Wear protection over eyes, nose, and mouth. Have a safe means of exit and a place to decontaminate yourself and clothing.

Blood as a biohazard will consist of wet or moist blood, or dried flakey (sabbing) blood. Adding chemicals to blood, something like bleach, will either destroy the blood or destroy its source of food or both. Bleach will begin to break down once in contact with blood, or any other organic matter.

Dried blood that flakes may easily become aerosolized if mishandled. Contact with airborne blood places the cleaner at risk of infectious disease.

Before removing, moisten flaking (scabbing) blood. Cause it not to become airborne. Cover flaked blood with paper towels and lightly mosten with a disinfectant (bleach) from afar. Use a spray bottle while making wide, misting applications to the paper towels' surface. Before removing blood, ensure that it is moist enough not to flake, but not dripping.

Dry paper towels may be used to contain wet blood. Allow towels to dwell until dry. Flush in small quantities, or gently place inside two thick plastic bags. Seal tightly with duct tape. Directly dispose of in a landfill.TOP

Dripping wet blood is considered biohazardous and universally considered infectious until proven otherwise. Contain blood from afar; disinfect it. Pour blood down the sanitary sewer if you are not going to seal it for transfer.

Thoroughly wash hands.

See Blood Cleanup 1, blood cleanup 2

OSHA 1910.1030(d)(1)

General. Universal precautions shall be observed to prevent contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials. Under circumstances in which differentiation between body fluid types is difficult or impossible, all body fluids shall be considered potentially infectious materials. (return)

Useful disinfectants may be found here:

Blood Spills: see index at http://www.bccdc.org/downloads/pdf/epid/reports/CDManual_

Vinegar: http://www.apple-cider-vinegar-benefits.com/vinegar-as-a-disinfectant.html

The Center for Disease Control recommends using chemicals or autoclave to decontaminate. This recommendation is made in the context of laboratory work. In the home, on the crime scene, my philosophy is not to tolerate biowaste that may be biohazardous.

I destroy and/or encapsulate any offending materials. I see no point in needlessly exposing anyone to anyone to blood-borne pathogens. TOP

Household bleach is a wonderful, but very corrosive disinfectant. It is a "midrange disinfectant." Bleach has a wide bacterial killing spectrum. It is inexpensive and found on most market shelves. However, bleach is extremely dangerous in the presence of acids, including urine. Open bleach bottles lose their strength; it loses strength when applied to organic material, like blood and decomposing matter. Bleach must be used cautiously, wisely.TOP
Why I clean biohazards.
I am a professional cleaner, which means that I earn my living by cleaning crime and trauma scenes, biohazards - - "niche cleaning." In this field of bio-hazard recovery, I clean after the traumatic loss of human blood, and I do it for money, lots of money when I can get it.

There are other reasons that I clean bloody scenes, less material reasons; for certain, i enjoy being my own boss and making almost all the meaningful decisions in my life, and then there's much more to this 24/7/365 life of middle-of-the-night marathon deep cleaning amidst blood, gore, filth, stink, expense, and biohazards.

Trauma cleaning challenges my imagination at times, and at times my Will to move forward.

I often ask myself, "Where do I begin and how should I move forward as I remove bloody debris?" "Can this be cleaned?"

It is best to first make some sense out of the violent act that lead to the crime scene's distortion of the "normal." This way I can map out where I know that I need to clean. I can then anticipate the breadth and depth of blood and other human effluents to be cleaned. I know too that in the last hours of cleaning, I will find debris previously missed and out of the scope of my initial survey of the debris field. It is not that I "miss" any blood or such, but that cleaning means to clean and re-clean, and to revisit the scene from different perspectives and with "new eyes" after taking some time out for a personal debriefing.

This process helps me to recognize and clean blood contaminated furnishings, mattresses, walls, clothing, fans, books, electronics, dishes, and . . . toys. Knowing the whereabouts and movement of the perpetrator and victim(s) helps to at least limit the scope of cleaning, usually.

I initially wear organic filters on my respirator to protect myself from the unseen, the unknown, and the horrendous odors related to crime and trauma scenes. Once the majority of blood and other potentially infectious materials (OPIM) are disinfected, flushed, or "red bagged," I can take my respirator off and clean a little faster, but cautiously. This is the stage of cleaning where I transition from "tier three" cleaning to "tier two."

At tier two, the physical hazards should be gone, ninety-percent of the blood should be gone, and the scene should be safe to invite others to view the scene. Still, one never knows about "sharps" like syringes, knives, razors, rebar, broken glass, skull fragments and pieces of broken bone ("shrapnel") embedded in walls, ceilings, floors, and furniture. They may still be present in the beginning stages of "tier two" cleaning, "high tier two."

By "tier one," my job is nearly done. The scene will soon be safe for Molly Maid-like cleaning, safe for family members to begin cleaning, and safe for restoration contractors to restore what the violence destroyed and I destroyed.

Carpet, floors, ceramic tile, linoleum, drapes, furniture, bedding, and more may need to be replaced. What I destroy must be destroyed. No one else should ever witness the offending object's defiled state, ever. This is why I clean, besides the money. I really do clean to help save others from experiencing the horrendous, the unimaginable violence and distortion of a crime and trauma scene.

When done cleaning, I gain a genuine sense of accomplishment. I know that I have returned a scene to something more "normal." I have relived others from this task because of my skills, abilities, knowledge, and my Will to overcome the horrific.

I know from experience that there is more to crime scene cleaning than money. The naive and unsuspecting, the inexperienced and sensitive may suffer from exposure to a crime and trauma scene.

I can help ease their pain by helping to restore the scene to a more biologically balanced environment. Besides helping others, I too benefit it seems. It is odd how life has its rewards in the least desirable places.

I hope these ideas have shed some insight into what I do, why I do it, and why others may not want to try cleaning crime and trauma scenes.