If you’re looking into crime scene cleaning in Palm Springs, this may be the first time you’ve ever had to do so. Even though violent crimes are committed every year, very few people are actually connected to them or come into contact with people who have been. This is why it’s so surprising for many people when they find out that they are responsible for having a crime scene cleaned up.

Crime scene cleanup is a very special type of cleaning that involves removing biohazardous waste from crime scenes, trauma scenes, accident sites, and many other types of sites where biohazardous waste has accumulated.

What’s the problem with biohazardous waste?

Biohazardous waste is a very dangerous type of waste. This waste, along with infectious waste, contains pathogens that cause the diseases that have infected humans for generations. Pathogens can be airborne or bloodborne, and they spread very easily from person to person. 

Crime scenes are loaded with biohazardous waste. This means that a very specific type of cleaning needs to be done so the crime scene is once again free of the type of pathogens that can cause the spread of disease. When you become sick with the flu, you’ve been infected with a viral pathogen. When you get pneumonia, you’ve been infected by a bacterial pathogen. The tough thing about pathogens is that they are really easy to spread from person to person.

Crime scene cleaning doesn’t only take place at crime scenes.

The term is “crime scene cleaning”, but what many people don’t realize is that crime scene cleaning doesn’t only pertain to crime scenes. Because the goal of the cleaning is the removal of biohazardous waste, crime scene cleaners clean up all types of sites that have this type of waste in them. Some of those sites are listed below.

Unattended Deaths

An unattended death takes place when someone dies alone. This person may have been someone who didn’t have many family members or friends, or they may have died in an area no one knew about. Whatever the reason behind the death, decomp often develops in these cases. This is because the body decomposes exponentially if time goes by and it hasn’t been found and removed. 

Crime scene cleaners come to the site and remove the decomp from the site, after which they clean and sanitize the space so that any pathogens are eliminated. An unattended death could take place naturally, or it could come about as the result of a suicide. There are three stages of decomposition. Autolysis is the first step, and it happens when the body’s cells essentially digest themselves. Next comes bloat where gasses are produced as the body is attacked by pathogens, liquefying the tissue. The last stage of decomp is when the body’s fat and muscles dissolve and become malodorous, attracting flies and vermin. A crime scene cleaner has tools that can handle any part of the decomp process.

Meth Labs

Meth labs are extremely toxic environments that are extremely dangerous to clean. If they’re not cleaned properly, they can cause serious health issues and anyone who enters the room. Meth leaves a toxic substance on every surface in a space. The residents also present in the air, causing severe respiratory issues to anyone who isn’t wearing the proper gear. Crime scene cleaners specialists have the tools, protective gear, and knowledge necessary to clean up meth labs so that anyone entering the spaces in the future are completely safe. Simply being exposed to the air in the meth lab can leave you with severe respiratory issues as well as liver and kidney damage. This is definitely one of the crime scenes that’s not able to be cleaned using a DIY process.

Infectious diseases

One thing that more and more people are becoming aware of due to recent news is that the mere presence of someone with an infectious disease being in a room essentially opens up the possibility of anyone entering that room becoming infected with the disease as well. 

When crime scene cleaners are asked to clean rooms where people with infectious diseases have been, they clean, disinfect, and sterilize the space so that it’s safe for people to be in once again. Regular cleaning does not get rid of the dangerous pathogens in the air. This type of cleaning must be done by someone with the technical know-how to handle it.

Crime scene cleaning is taken care of by whoever owns the site.

This usually comes as a shock to many people, but whoever owns the site where a crime took place is responsible for cleaning up the crime scene. It’s not a responsibility that’s handled by law enforcement, and it’s not the responsibility of the coroner’s office. 

Because crimes usually come out of nowhere, many people are not prepared to handle many of the details of crime scene cleaning. This can be especially true when it comes to cost. Once they take a look at their insurance policies, many people realize that they actually have coverage for crime scene cleaning or at least a part of it. They can also connect with law enforcement agencies to find out about funds that are sometimes set aside to help with crime scene cleaning for victims of violent crimes. If you’re completely confused about what your options are, give us a call so that we can help you figure it out.

We know that crime scene cleaning is hard. If you work with us, we can focus on the nitty-gritty of handling crime scene cleanup. You can then focus on the work that you need to do to propel your life forward.