Crime Scene Cleanup for Sacramento

Below I share some of my ideas about cleaning and my experiences in Sacramento. I include comments related to surviving victims of violent crimes. I also discuss emotions related to suicide and accidental deaths. Public health issues related to bloodborne pathogens also receive attention.

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Crime scene cleanup may create a mild anxiety for a cleaner without experience. Keep this in mind if you're doing your own cleaning. You will experience dread and anxiety, but you will do a good job if you get in gear, take breaks, and think about what you're doing.

Such cleaning involves small or great amounts of blood. In such cases, which usually occur in residences, cleaners should work slowly, deliberately, and cautiously. An important idea in such blood loss events includes preparation for each step. Working slowly and deliberately must be part of any blood cleanup plan with each step well considered.

I cannot say enough about preparation for small or large blood work. I have cleaned in the area for about 8 years. Each death scene has its differences, but all have similarities. Weather conditions tell me what I will first expect when it comes to blood cleanup during a death cleanup. Sacramento's summer months become warm. Blood reacts like any other fluid. It dries more quickly, which may create some benefits to the novice cleaner.

On the other hand, as blood decomposes, its odors increase and flies begin to accumulate and carry off their own tiny bits of blood. This blood does not cross-contaminate for long, if at all. Its infectious materials die off with their dryng environment. Still, wherever flies choose to land and leave their bloody cargo, filth does accumulate.

By preparing well ahead of time, you too may find blood cleanup is easy enough with appropriate tools and materials, and most importantly, your undivided attention. When it's warm expect flies and other insects. Expects pungent odors. Expect dried blood sticking tenaciously to hard surfaces.

A serious blood cleanup event will occur following a violent homicide, violent suicide, or unattended death with decomposition. Blood loss in these cases may involve a walking bleed-out, which means a victim continued to move about. From room to room cleaning follows a plan in these cases. Know where to begin. Know where to set up a safe area to avoid tracking blood from room to room. We call this "cross contamination."      TOP

Mortal wounds do not always end a victims life immediately, we know. Stab wounds leave a victim alive at times. During their remaining time they lose their life's blood. In these cases blood may migrate, ooze into floor cracks or even drip into floor vents, if not run down along side their aluminum sides.

In no case should cleaning after such an event proceed without serious preparation and research, assuming the cleaner has little or no experience cleaning up a crime scene and blood.

California has a licensing requirement for its trauma cleaners. To obtain this license a blood company must ensure that a licensed biohazard transportation company will pickup their biohazardous waste. Biohazardous waste must remain in a freezer while awaiting pickup.

Death odors follow the release of blood and other fluids from the body. Once exposed to the external environment the temperature, place, ventilation, and even the deceased's diet play some part in the strength and nature of these odors. Odors do not create a hazard. Blood or death odors may create discomfort and anxiety for some people, but otherwise odors are not biohazardous.

With time this odor will disappear. With ozone treatment odors begin loosing their strength. Time and ventilation work, in any case. When death or blood's odors penetrate any home or building, odors may remain in furnishing, composite wood, paper, and carpet. Permeating cellular structures, manufactured or grown, often causes crime scene cleanup technicians to ozone heavily and seal entire rooms.     TOP

A thorough cleanup with decontamination reveals that sometimes death odor permeates wood, paper, and most fabrics. Removing soiled items from a building will help speed odor reduction and removal. All fabric, including carpet and padding may have death odors permeating their cellular structure.

I mean to comment on what I call "consumer fraud in crime scene cleanup. If you visit crime scene cleanup fraud you will find more information there, too. Suffice it to say that congress created a multi-million dollar biohazard cleanup industry. It did so when it passed legislation empowering OSHA to regulate employers' protection of workers from bloodborne pathogens.

Bloodborne pathogens are germs carried in blood. Some of these germs are quite serious, like HIV (AIDS) and Hepatitis C. HIV dies quickly once in the open. Hepatitis C has a known incidence of surviving in the open while on or in dried blood after 8 to 16 days, depending on whose story you believe.

In any case, these infectious diseases carry battery charges for assults on others. People with infectious diseases are subject to prosecution for blood donation and simple batteries like spitting and biting. Sexual intercourse and sharing drug injection equipment are among these dangerous batteries. Other types of reckless behavior exposing others to disease.

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