Biohazards must be sterilized, removed, and incinerated.
The death of a loved one is a devastating event for family and friends. When a person dies in the home or at a business, the cleanup afterward can prove too traumatic for family to perform. Outdoor scenes of death are often cleaned by a fire department, but if someone has died inside a building cleanup needs can be extensive. Odor, blood spills and tissue remains may need to be removed. Specific procedures should be followed to ensure permanent remediation, allowing dignified closure of a painful chapter.
Instructions
Death Clean-Up Preparation
1. Check with your local Department of Public Health to see if your state requires death scene cleaners to be certified in hazardous material handling. Obtain any necessary licensing. Hire professional cleaners if there is an immediate cleaning need and you are not certified.
Review and implement state biohazard removal procedures, as outlined by your state Department of Public Health.
2. Ask for help or support if you are cleaning a scene of death for the first time or on a one-time basis. The sights and smells can be both physically and emotionally overwhelming, and long-term mental health is as important as short-term cleaning responsibilities.
Assess the immediate situation, and whether the death was an unattended death or a homicide or suicide. Decomposition cleanup can differ from trauma cleanup, because decomposition related to an unknown death may have been present for a much longer time period and may have caused more damage.
3. Gather the necessary materials. These include protective suiting and gear, shovels and scrub brushes. You may also need biohazard disposal bags, and vehicles for transporting contaminated materials to an incinerator. These materials may include furniture, carpeting and drywall. Ensure your transport can fit large items.
Ensure the incinerating location you use qualifies as a biohazardous waste facility if your state requires it.
Cleaning the Scene of a Death
4. Follow blood-borne pathogen universal precautions, including practices like sterilizing broken glass before removing it from the area.
Remove furniture, mattresses or any other transportable items that are contaminated with body fluids or matter.
Avoid spreading blood spills while cleaning by covering the spill with paper towels; sterilize by pouring a ten percent bleach solution over it, and allowing it to soak for 10 minutes.
Remove the visible biohazardous materials, including any blood or seepage. Use biohazard waste containers that are properly labeled.
5. Assess the extent of damage underneath carpeting, in flooring or on walls. Wooden flooring, linoleum and even drywall may require removal. Neglecting removal of contaminated flooring could cause continued odors. Contaminated materials are a biohazard risk, and can attract bugs and animals. All removed materials bearing wet or dried blood or body fluids must be placed in red biohazard bags or other labeled biohazard containers.
6. Disinfect all equipment, tools and non-disposable protective gear used during the clean-up process when the work is completed. Remember to sterilize truck beds or other transport surfaces.
7. Begin steps for odor removal only after all biohazardous waste has been removed. Foggers, fans or air movers and ozone generators are a few of the tools available.
Put your clothing in a labeled plastic bag; though protective suiting can protect from biohazards, it is likely that odors will permeate your apparel. One-time death scene cleaners may wish simply to dispose of the clothing. Professional crime scene cleaners may prefer to launder the clothing thoroughly.
Shower thoroughly with disinfecting soap after exposure to death scenes.
8. Consult clergy, counselors or mental health professionals following crime scene clean-up. Often, law enforcement officers can recommend department chaplains or area counselors experienced in providing help with post-traumatic stress.
Educate yourself on the symptoms of post-traumatic stress, including anxiety attacks and flashbacks.
