Safe Blood Removal: It’s Not a DIY Project
By: Bio Recovery
Tags: Health, Blood, Cleaning, Safety

Cleaning up blood resulting from a minor injury or accident can pose serious health risks; however, there are several ways to ensure the safety of your family, your coworkers, and even yourself.

Safe Blood Removal

Most of us have cleaned up blood resulting from a minor injury at home or in the workplace. When it’s little more than a few drops on a countertop or smooth floor, the problem’s easily solved.

But what if the blood spill is significant enough to seep through textiles, joinery, grout, and even wall surfaces?

How do you know if you’ve done a thorough job locating and neutralizing blood droplets that can harbor dangerous pathogens?

Are you equipped and ready to approach a difficult project in a manner that prevents further contamination or risk to yourself, your employees, or your loved ones?

If you’ve found your way to our blog, you’re probably — and understandably — uncertain that you’re ready for a safe blood removal job. That’s why there are professional companies like ours that clean up after accidents, injuries, trauma, and death, often with little or no out-of-pocket costs to insured property owners or tenants.

What Is Blood Removal & Why Is It Important?

Blood, human tissue, and body fluid remediation require specialized cleaning products, protective clothing, and adherence to OSHA guidelines. This is especially true when the incident occurred at a public facility or workplace.

The main objectives are isolating, cleaning, and legally disposing of blood and other bio-hazardous material so that the location is safe for residents, employees, customers, and the public.

Why Blood Contamination Requires Careful, Professional Cleanup

Bloodborne pathogens can remain viable on surfaces for days after the incident, infecting anyone who inhales, ingests, or comes into physical contact with blood, tissue, and body fluids left behind. This is of particular concern if the blood came from a person infected with one of the following diseases:

Hepatitis B (HBV)

Hepatitis C (HCV)

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)

In severe trauma cases, tissue and waste solids may contain other dangerous diseases, including E. coli, Hepatitis A (HAV), Clostridium difficile (C. diff), and Candida auris.

Blood soaked into surfaces or structural materials can attract rodents and insect pests, foster dangerous mold and bacterial growth, and cause odors that aren’t easily covered up or neutralized with consumer-grade cleaning products. These secondary hazards can wreak havoc on property values or worse, human and pet respiratory systems.

Blood can leak or spray far beyond the initial trauma site, leaving unpleasant surprises when cabinets and drawers are later opened, furniture is moved, or heating and cooling systems are activated.

Who Will Clean Blood If I Can’t Do It Myself?

Whatever the cause of the biohazard spill, it’s up to the property owner or tenant to clean up after first responders and investigators have left the scene. Household or commercial cleaning services typically refuse to clean up after significant blood spills out of concern for their staff’s safety and liability to yours.

That leaves you with two options: Do it yourself, or call a professional biohazard team — sometimes known as a crime scene cleanup company — to step in and get the job done right the first time.

What Steps Are Required For Safe Blood Removal?

Bio Recovery’s teams follow a comprehensive, step-by-step checklist that meets or exceeds CDC and OSHA guidelines for blood cleanup. This article takes a deeper look at cleaning after blood, but here’s the simplified process:

Assess the Situation & Create a Plan

What tools and materials are appropriate for the job? How long will it take? Are you mentally and physically prepared for the project?

Setup Work Zones to Prevent Cross-Contamination

Decide which area will be the starting point, and designate areas for traveling between working areas, disposal containers, and “clean zones”.

Suit Up With Adequate PPE

Proper eye protection, gloves, booties, and hooded “bunny suits” protect the cleaners from airborne particles and clean up “spatter”. Respirators prevent dry and wet blood particles from being inhaled during material removal, particularly if power tools are necessary. If we’ve learned anything about PPE in the age of COVID-19, it’s that it’s scarce, and it also requires special donning and doffing to prevent the spread of pathogens.

Clean-Up Surface Blood

Professional biohazard technicians may use mops, disposable towels, and special absorbent pellets to soak up pooled or coagulated blood. During this stage, they’ll assess whether structural and decorative materials (drywall, flooring, stud sections, furniture) must be removed and destroyed.

Clean & Sanitize Contaminated Sites

Once all the visible blood has been identified and removed, special enzyme-based solutions break down proteins and neutralize pathogens left behind in the process.

Ensure Cleaned Up Areas are Dry & Odor-Free

Special ozone machines can help with particularly odorous projects, and it’s essential to use carpet cleaning machines with advanced water removal capabilities but once the source of potential odors is removed, there is no need for “cover-up” fragrances. When specialized cleaning compounds dry and dissipate, their own scent disappears.

Properly & Legally Dispose of Biohazard Materials

Properly and legally dispose of biohazard materials at approved disposal facilities. Biohazard materials require special labeling and disposal so as not to put waste disposal workers at risk. Roll-off curbside trash “dumpsters” are safe and useful for throwing away mattresses and materials after contaminated sections have been cut away.