No one wants to think of crime scene cleanup, but it’s an unfortunate fact of life for many people every year. If you need to work with a crime scene cleaning company in Gardena, you probably have a lot of questions. At Eco Bear, we can answer any questions that you have during this time. 

Crime scene cleanup by its very nature is difficult for everyone involved. This is especially true for people who may have had a connection to any victims. You want to work with a crime scene cleaning company that can help you with the practical cleaning side of crime scene cleanup so that you can focus on healing emotionally and mentally. 

What Is Crime Scene Cleanup?

Crime scene cleanup is a special type of cleanup that covers spaces where deaths and/or traumatic accidents have occurred. Incidents that would require the use of crime scene cleanup include suicides, violent deaths, homicides, industrial or work accidents, and natural deaths. As you can see from the list, crime scene clean-up doesn’t necessarily have to take place at a crime scene. 

Once at the scene, crime scene specialists clean up the site, disinfect it, and make it habitable again. One of their key responsibilities is to remove all biohazardous waste from the site. Biohazardous waste includes blood, body tissue, bodily fluids, and OPIM. OPIM literally stands for “ other potentially infectious materials.” Biohazardous waste is dangerous because it can spread illness and disease.

What Are the Basic Steps That Happen During Crime Scene Cleanup?

Every crime scene is different, so ultimately every crime scene will have its own cleaning plan. There are, however, basic steps that are applied at nearly every single crime scene.

• At the start of the process, we’ll go in and make an assessment of the site. We’ll scope out the area and determine how much biohazardous waste there is as well as what type of waste it is. At this step, we’ll be able to determine which types of disinfectants, cleaners, and equipment we will need to use.
• Depending on the site layout, we’ll walk through and mark off separate zones. Creating these clearly marked zones will help us prevent decontamination happening from one part of the space to another.
• We’ll pack up and remove all elements from the room that are to be thrown away. Sometimes, certain items cannot be cleaned, so those items will have to be destroyed. We’ll label them and place them in clearly marked hazmat bins so that they don’t contaminate any other items. 
• We’ll remove all biohazardous substances from the room. We’ll place them in the appropriately labeled biohazard bags to prep them for removal. 
• Next, will remove all of the items from the room that will be staying. We’ll make sure they’re cleaned, disinfected, and sanitized.
• During the next phase, we will wash down, disinfect, and deodorize the room. We have tons of different tools and equipment at our disposal to help with this part of the job. The cleaning solutions we use will include items like EPA-registered disinfectants that are designed to destroy viruses like HIV and hbv.
• We’ll make sure to clean, disinfect, and deodorize any paths and walkways to and from the space. These areas may have been contaminated as we moved items in and out of the space. 

This is just a general idea of the steps involved in crime scene clean-up. Sometimes the process can take as little as 48 hours, and sometimes it can take a week or more. It really depends on the size and scope of the job. 

What Happens To the Biohazardous Material Once It Leaves the Crime Scene?

Once the biohazardous waste is removed from the crime scene, it’s transferred to a biomedical waste facility. If it can’t be transferred to the waste facility right away, some crime scene cleaning companies have reserved refrigerated storage where biohazardous waste can be stored until it’s ready to be destroyed. In California, biohazardous waste can be stored for up to 14 days. 

How Much Does Biohazard Cleaning Cost?

The cost of crime scene cleanup varies from scene to scene. Final cost will be determined by what types of materials, equipment, and cleaning solutions were used to clean the scene. The amount of time it took to clean the scene will play a major role in final costs. There is an assumption that larger rooms will cost more, but sometimes smaller spaces cost just as much or more to clean because they have many more layers. They may be filled with hard-to-reach areas or extremely porous flooring and other surfaces that are difficult to clean.

Crime scene cleaning is something that no one wants to think about. When you are ready to make the call, reach out to us. We can walk you through the entire process so that you feel comfortable with your next steps.