How to Clean Up Blood On The Floor

What To Do When You See A Blood Spill On The Floor

There will be a time in everybody's life that they will see a blood spill on the floor. The blood spill may be a result from a suicide, murder, crime scene and or a trauma situations. In the past many homeowners and property managers would just have taken a rag and some cleaner and clean the blood from the floor.

These days performing a blood clean up situation is not as easy as wiping it up. There are now major health considerations to worry about and not cleaning correctly can not only create a health hazard, but can lead to law suits as well.

So what do you do when you see a blood spill?

If you are attempting to clean it up yourself you should get OSHA Blood Borne Pathogen Training. OSHA stands for Occupational Safety and Health Administration a government agency that regulates and mandates safety and health in the work place.

These guidelines and rules have been tested by the medical establishment and are the best way to safely clean up blood spills and blood clean up in general.

Although there are many rules and guidelines here are a few listed below: 

"Provision. When there is occupational exposure, the employer shall provide, at no cost to the employee, appropriate personal protective equipment such as, but not limited to, gloves, gowns, laboratory coats, face shields or masks and eye protection, and mouthpieces, resuscitation bags, pocket masks, or other ventilation devices. Personal protective equipment will be considered "appropriate" only if it does not permit blood or other potentially infectious materials to pass through to or reach the employee's work clothes, street clothes, undergarments, skin, eyes, mouth, or other mucous membranes under normal conditions of use and for the duration of time which the protective equipment will be used." 

The above guidelines suggests that PPE or personal protective equipment be worn. Although an obvious statement at first many individuals fail to follow those suggestions above. Also although it mentions employer, it should be assumed that any individual faced with a blood clean up situation follow the above rule. The person cleaning up should always assume that any blood that is being cleaned may contain life threatening illnesses. 

"Hepatitis B vaccination shall be made available after the employee has received the training required in paragraph (g)(2)(vii)(I) and within 10 working days of initial assignment to all employees who have occupational exposure unless the employee has previously received the complete hepatitis B vaccination series, antibody testing has revealed that the employee is immune, or the vaccine is contraindicated for medical reasons."

There are times when even the best protection and PPE will not prevent someone from getting infected with blood while cleaning up. A classic example is when removing blood stained carpet and using a knife to cut the carpet. Although you can be very careful, in many cases the knife can slip and cut a person letting in blood.

This why the above statement is important. There is a greater chance of getting hepatitis than getting aids.

The bottom line is that an individual who has the task of cleaning up blood must make a decision . Do they take a chance of cleaning up a blood spill without training and proper equipment or do they contact a licensed and trained company that specializes in blood clean up.

Wed, 12/07/2011 - 12:33 by mindgrub

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