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Crime Scene Clean Up
Questions about crime scene clean up, blood clean up, bio hazard clean up, and suicide clean up, please select one of the links below:
- What is involved in a crime scene clean up?
- Why is crime scene cleaning dangerous?
- How long does crime scene clean up take?
- Why hire a bio hazard clean up company?
- Can I have an employee, family member, or colleague clean the crime scene?
- Can’t I just use my regular cleaning or janitorial company to clean up any blood and body fluids?
- What areas do you operate in for crime scene and suicide clean up?
- How quickly can you respond to a crime scene clean up request?
- Who pays for crime scene clean up services?
What is involved in a crime scene clean up?
Crime scene clean up involves carefully assessing the situation to determine the best way to remove effected items without endangering life now and in the future. It is best to use bio hazard certified technicians that have been thoroughly trained and experienced to remove blood and body fluid items.
Items such as carpet, walls, flooring, furniture, wallpaper, etc. are removed and disposed in proper red bio-hazard bags and disposed at a federal- and state-regulated site for disposal. Using a dumpster is against the law. State and federal laws require that a bio-hazard clean up company store records of who and where items were disposed of, and those store those records should be stored for a minimum of 30 years.
Why is crime scene cleaning dangerous?
Cleaning up after crime scene cleans may look easy, except you need to be careful that diseases such as hepatitis, AIDS, and other deadly diseases maybe present. Also, many items have sharp objects that can puncture skins. Something such as trying to move a blood stained mattress maybe become flimsy and push blood into the cleaners eyes and mouth by accident.
How long does crime scene clean up take?
Crime scene clean up can take between 4-8 hours, depending on severity and the amount of man power is used. Some projects may a two days, but that is rare. Call us at the number at the top of the page to assist you in crime scene clean up.
Why hire a bio-hazard clean up company?
For property managers and homeowners, a bio-hazard trauma scene (suicide, decomposing body, murder, etc.) was the last situation they were prepared to handle. Family members, friends or employees who try to clean blood, body fluid, human tissue, decomposing bodies, hypodermic needles, etc. find this task either physically or emotional overwhelming. Not to mention that cleaning after a a trauma scene opens up the “cleaning person” to be contact with hazards associated with blood, tissue and decomposition products. Please be aware that the physiological drama doesn’t end when the incident occurs. Many who clean up after a trauma scene have to deal with the emotional issues while cleaning. To compound the issue, the “cleaning person” most likely will not correctly clean the effected correctly. This will lead to risks spreading the contamination and exposing others to pathogens.
When you hire a professional bio-recovery company or crime scene clean up company, you avoid the following:
- Legal exposure to workers compensation claim and possibility of a lawsuit by an employee or even a family member or friend. Although some will down play the risk, with the public knowledge of bio hazards risks and the rising use of lawsuits, you may want to consider using a bio-hazard company to hand off the legal responsibility.
- Companies should avoid the legal issues associated with the OSHA Blood-borne Pathogens Rules and state sanitary codes. OSHA requires that a company Blood-borne Pathogen Exposure Control Plan be in place if one employee can reasonably be expected to be exposed once per year. Federal Regulation 29CFRI910.1030 states that no employee can be placed in a position to be exposed to blood spills without first:
- Receiving blood-borne pathogen (BBP) training.
- Having a written BBP exposure control plan.
- Having been provided appropriate personal protective equipment.
- Having been offered the Hepatitis B vaccine with exposure evaluation and medical follow-up.
- Being provided with a method to remove and properly store the bio-hazardous waste in properly marked containers for disposal at an approved site.
Please call us at the number at the top of the page to assist you in crime scene clean up.
Can I have an employee, family member, or colleague clean the crime scene?
Federal Regulation 29CFR1910.1030 states that no employee can be placed in a position to be exposed to blood spills without first:
- Receiving blood-borne pathogen (BBP) training.
- Having a written BBP exposure control plan.
- Having been provided personal protective equipment.
- Having been offered Hepatitis B vaccine and exposure evaluation and follow-up.
- Being provided with a method to remove and properly store the bio-hazardous waste in properly marked containers for disposal at an approved site.
Only after these five steps have been met can an employee be required by his or her employer to clean a bio hazardous/crime scene. Also a company and its employees must be licensed carrier to transport blood and body fluid from one location to another. And finally, if one is caught or suspected of disposing illegally of blood and body fluid items, the person will paying fines or jail time. So it is best to hire a certified and experienced company for crime scene and suicide clean up and restoration.
Can’t I just use my regular cleaning or janitorial company to clean up any blood and body fluids?
Yes, if you are 100% certain that your building maintenance/cleaning service is fully compliant with the 5 OSHA requirements. Please understand that you and your organization are still responsible for the company you hire in the event that something goes wrong. Having a certified bio hazard remediation company assists you in avoiding any legal issues that may arise during bio recovery clean up.
What areas do you operate in for crime scene and suicide clean up?
SI Restoration covers the entire states of Maryland and Washington DC, please see our Locations.
How quickly can you respond to a crime scene clean up request?
We can respond to a crime scene clean up request within 2-3 hours. Please call us at at the number above, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week if you need assistance with crime scene clean up.
Who pays for crime scene clean up services?
Actually, most insurance companies do. Most states, including Maryland, have a victims compensation board that will pay back some of the expenses a victim has incurred including work time loss, and the clean up. Please go to the State of Maryland’s Victim Services – Criminal Injuries Compensation Board for instructions and forms.
For more information about SI Restoration and the crime scene, suicide, blood (and other bodily fluids) clean up, and other restoration services we provide, please call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at the phone number above or fill out our contact form.