Blood and bodily fluids
Blood and bodily fluid cleanup
A bad fall, an injury, an illness or a death can leave blood or other fluids in places that ordinary cleaning doesn't reach. An independent biohazard cleanup company can remove it safely.
Calls answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Why it matters
Why blood is treated as a biohazard
Blood can carry infections. OSHA names hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV among the bloodborne pathogens that workers who handle blood are protected against (OSHA). Cleanup companies protect their workers with gloves, suits and respirators, and pack anything contaminated in sealed containers.
The other problem is what you can't see. Blood soaks through carpet into the pad and the subfloor, into upholstery foam, between floorboards and into grout. A surface can look clean while the material underneath is not.
Plain terms
Cleaning is not the same as disinfecting
Disinfecting
Kills most germs on surfaces and objects. It works on a surface that has been cleaned first.
The work
What the company does
- I
Find the extent
Including what has soaked in below the surface.
- II
Remove
Porous materials that can't be cleaned are cut out and sealed.
- III
Clean, then disinfect
In that order, with the right contact time.
- IV
Dispose
Sealed waste is taken away for proper disposal. Ask where it goes.
Price
What the price depends on
This site publishes no prices, because every job is different. The cleanup company prices it after it knows the details. These are the things that move the number:
- How large the affected area is, and how many rooms
- Whether fluids reached carpet pad, subfloor, drywall or framing, which then has to come out
- How much time has passed, and whether the heating or cooling system was running
- How much furniture and how many belongings are affected
- How much sealed waste has to be packed and taken away
- Access: stairs, narrow halls, a crawl space or a vehicle
Questions
Blood cleanup questions
Can I clean it with bleach?
On a small spot on a hard, sealed surface, many people do, with gloves and the label instructions. Bleach doesn't fix blood that has soaked into carpet pad, wood or foam. Never mix bleach with other cleaners.
Does a carpet stain mean the carpet has to go?
If blood reached the pad, usually the pad and that section of carpet are removed. The company can check underneath and tell you.
What about vomit, urine or feces?
Those are also handled as biohazards when there is a lot of it, or it has soaked in, for example after a serious illness or in a home where someone could not look after themselves.
When you are ready
One call, and someone else takes this on
You don't have to clean this yourself, and you don't have to decide everything today. A short call is enough to ask questions and hear what the work would involve.
Talk to a cleanup company
The line puts you through to an independent biohazard cleanup company working in your ZIP code. Tell them what happened and where. You decide whether to hire them.
Call (843) 555-0162Calls answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
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