Suicide is among the leading causes of death in the United States. While health professionals all over the country work night and day to aid in the grief and vulnerability that affects those left behind, the question of who cleans up the scene where it happened still lingers.
It’s the responsibility of the property owner to have the scene of the suicide cleaned up after law enforcement clears it and the coroner leaves. However, doing it by yourself is not recommended. You need to hire a professional suicide cleanup company to handle the aftermath for you.
Continue reading to learn how suicide cleanup companies can help you out when it comes to this heartbreaking situation.
Call in the Professionals
The last thing on your mind when something like this happens is going to be cleaning up the area. Don’t try to clean it up. It is your time to grieve.
Our services are affordable. So, even if your homeowner’s or business owner’s insurance doesn’t cover the cost of cleanup, you won’t have to worry about how you are going to afford it.
A suicide cleanup company’s employees are trained to implement proper cleaning protocols in the area where the suicide took place. They will:
- Use discretion
- Wear PPE
- Bring the right cleaning supplies
- Have the right training
- Provide top-notch services
Some bodily fluids may have been left behind due to the nature of the incident. These bodily fluids, especially blood, are potentially hazardous materials. Blood is known to contain blood-borne pathogens, like HIV and Hepatitis.
Through the use of PPE, access to a biohazard facility, and using the right equipment, we can provide safety for the return to the scene.
Using Discretion
Our main goal, besides returning the scene to its normal state, is to minimize your exposure to any additional trauma. We understand how traumatic an experience like this may be. We can offer recommendations for services that are outside of our wheelhouse.
We take every single one of our cleanup jobs very seriously. We treat each case with the utmost respect and dignity because we know that this is a sensitive matter. We would expect the same from someone performing this job for our families.
We will arrive inconspicuously so that we won’t draw attention to what is going on inside your home or business.
Wearing PPE
While adorning full personal protective equipment (PPE) can seem like a chore to most people, it can actually save a life. By taking a few minutes to put on PPE before entering the scene, we are protecting ourselves from any biohazards that may be present. If there is a possible biohazard, we will be wearing:
- Gloves
- Facemasks and shield
- Respirators
- Aprons
- Protective eyewear
- Full body gowns/suits
We don’t do this to make you feel uncomfortable. We do this to make sure that no matter what the scene entails, we aren’t exposed to any potentially hazardous materials. It also ensures that we can prevent contamination and the spreading of pathogens to areas outside of the suicide scene.
Bringing All of the Supplies
We will also come to the scene with all of the equipment we need to clean up the scene where the suicide took place. This includes:
- Cleaning supplies
- Biohazardous waste containers
- Industrial-grade cleaning chemicals
- Strong deodorizers
- Anti-bacterial solvents
We are fully prepared to take on anything we might come across during the cleaning process. We also have access to a biohazardous waste facility that will handle all of the waste that is removed from your home or business after the suicide scene is released from law enforcement.
Having the Right Training
All suicide cleanup technicians have training and certifications to make sure they are following all of the OSHA and EPA requirements when it comes to handling biohazardous waste. OSHA requires that blood-borne pathogens get handled in a certain way.
There are also a series of certifications that one needs to be able to participate in cleaning up an area where a suicide occurred. The International Janitorial Cleaning Services Association (IJCSA) requires that anyone in the field has their Biohazard Cleaning Certification (BCC).
Providing Top-Notch Services
While wearing PPE meets certain OSHA and EPA requirements, there are also requirements for how the scene gets taken care of. Certain steps should be taken to make sure that it is properly cleaned during a potential;y biohazardous situation through biohazard remediation. Some hazards are not visible to the naked eye.
You mustn’t try to handle the mess by yourself. Not only will it add to the trauma, but it can also present a danger to your health.
We use advanced cleaning solutions to sanitize and decontaminate the entire area. We won’t stop until every inch of the scene has been clean to the best of our ability. Our technicians are qualified to measure cell activity, so if there is anything left behind, we will find it before we call it a day.
ZBM, Inc Is Here to Help
Suicide cleanup companies exist to make this entire process easier for the owner of the property and everyone else involved.
We understand that this is a difficult time for you and your family. When you find yourself in this situation, the last thing on your mind is going to be cleaning up the area where a loved one took their life.
Contact ZBM, Inc. today for more information about our Wisconsin-based services in Dodge and Jefferson counties. We handle cases involving building maintenance and janitorial services along with crime scene cleanup, biohazard cleanup, and trauma cleanup.
