Your home is the center of your life. Nothing can be more stressful, challenging, and even emotionally overwhelming than when something seriously goes awry at your residence. A particularly unsettling experience is the occurrence of some sort of biohazardous situation in your home. If this is something you’re experiencing at the present time, you need to have a clear picture of what is involved with a residential biohazard and how to address such a situation. This includes developing an essential understanding of how a professional biohazard cleaning company in Woodcrest, California can assist you in resolving the problem.
Definition of a Biohazard
A biohazard is defined by healthcare professionals and other experts as a biological substance that can cause illness in human beings. A biohazard can result in everything from mild illness to highly serious or even fatal disease.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classifies biohazards into four broad categories:
- Viruses
- Bacteria
- Other microorganisms
- Toxins
When it comes to the types of infectious pathogens that are more commonly found underpinning a biohazard, some are more commonplace or of greater concern than are others. These pathogens include:
- MRSA
- HIV
- Hepatitis B
- Hepatitis C
- C Diff.
- Hantavirus
- Salmonella
Common Ways a Biohazardous Situation Occurs in a Home
Unfortunately, there exist a number of different ways that a biohazardous situation can develop or occur in a residential setting. All of these different situations present the prospect for serious health risks, even fatal ones. The more commonplace types of biohazardous situations that arise or occur in a residential (or commercial) setting include:
- Infectious disease
- Rodent Droppings
- Blood Spills
- Accident
- Illness
- Drug overdose
- Homicide
- Attempted homicide
- Other crime
- Suicide
- Attempted suicide
- Unattended death (also known as undiscovered death)
- Hoarding
- Homeless encampment
Biohazard Cleaning Process Described
The biohazard cleaning process is complex and does present risks for a person who undertakes this type of remediation. Consequently, and as will be discussed in greater detail in a moment, this reality underscores the desirability of engaging the services of a professional Woodcrest biohazard cleaning company.
Due to the health risks generally associated with a biohazardous situation, specialized personal protective equipment must be used. You need to bear in mind that this equipment is designed specifically for use by people who will come into contact with potentially dangerous biohazards:
- Protective eyewear
- Uniform, smock, or similar protective garment
- Respirator or mask
- Gloves
Once the personal protective equipment is in place, the biohazard remediation proceeds with a thorough cleaning and the removal of biomatter at the scene. Biomatter comes in a number of different forms, depending on the underlying cause of the biohazardous situation. Biomatter can include:
- Blood
- Other human bodily fluids
- Other bodily matter (flesh)
- Human feces and urine
- Animal feces and urine (including rodent droppings)
Any biomatter at the scene is removed and placed into an approved biohazardous waste container. In addition, any objects at the scene that inherently present a danger to human health and items that are contaminated by biomatter but cannot be cleaned are also removed and placed into a biohazardous waste receptacle. Examples of these types of objects include:
- Used hypodermic needles
- Blood contaminated mattresses
- Blood contaminated sofa cushions
- Contaminated carpeting (blood, human or animal urine, etc.)
When biomatter and contaminated objects that cannot be cleaned are removed and stowed, the contaminated area is subjected to a thorough cleaning or scrubbing. Once that is completed, the next phase of biohazard remediation commences.
During the second part of biohazard cleaning, the contaminated area is sanitized. Sanitization involves the application of specialized medical-grade sanitizing agents and equipment that eradicate pathogens like bacteria and viruses.
Finally, because many biohazardous situations have an accompanying foul odor (or odors), biohazard cleanup includes premises deodorization. Through the use of powerful agents and special equipment, any odors permeating the premises are removed.
Key Issues to Consider When Hiring a Biohazard Cleaning Company in Woodcrest, California
There are several points to bear in mind when you seek to hire a biohazard cleaning company in Woodcrest, California. Among these is making certain you fully understand the financial side of hiring a remediation service.
A reputable biohazard cleaning company will provide you with a solid, reliable, and comprehensive cost estimate for a job. In addition, a reputable firm bill for services when a job is complete. This permits you the chance to inspect the work and ensure that it has been completed as promised and to your satisfaction.
Make sure that a firm you consider engaging has a specific background in providing the type of remediation assistance you need at your home (or business). For example, a company may have experience in rodent dropping cleanup but not in addressing issues like suicide, homicide, or unattended death cleaning and remediation. A reputable firm will be upfront about the services it has experience in undertaking and will provide you references when requested.