Author: bio

One of the more common situations The BIOClean Team handles are hoarding cases, and there are reasons anyone going up against a hoarding situation should call in the professionals, and the sooner the better.

And if you’re worried someone you love is a hoarder, it’s important to handle the matter delicately, but it does need to be addressed. Hoarding presents all sorts of dangers to the occupants of the home.

How to Know If Someone Is a Hoarder

If you’re concerned that someone you love is a hoarder, you likely already have a pretty good idea of the state of their home and what’s going on. Other signs and symptoms may include:

• Excessively acquiring unnecessary items.
• Difficulty throwing out or getting rid of things, regardless of value.
• A feeling of needing to save items.
• Being upset at the thought of getting rid of items.
• Clutter building to the point where rooms are uninhabitable, unusable.
• Any tendency towards perfectionism, indecisiveness, avoidance, problems planning and organizing

Some of those may seem counterintuitive at first, after all, if someone is a perfectionist why would they hoard garbage? The truth of the matter is all of those traits speak to an unhealthy compulsion of some sort which can manifest in hoarding tendencies.

If you want to know why they may hoard, the most commonly reported and understood beliefs are that:

• The hoarder believes the items are unique, valuable or needed in the future.
• The belongings have important emotional/sentimental value
• The hoarder may feel safer when surrounded by their things.
• A fear or desire not to waste

Dangers of Hoarding

Hoarding creates a number of problems – financial, familial, and yes, health related. Those health hazards are what we’re here to discuss. These increase the longer hoarding behavior is unchecked, especially if there are animals present.

Falling Objects

One of the most common and obvious dangers of hoarding is in having piles and piles of items stacked high. These stacks can get so high and heavy that they are imbalanced, falling on people and animals below, trapping them or worse.

Air Quality Suffers

Hoarding creates an environment where dust, messes, and odors will run rampant. Decaying waste can also be present. All of these create an environment that is hard to breathe in safely. Cleaning an environment like this requires us to use respiratory protection, so imagine what that does to the people and pets living in them!

Fungus & Mold Grow

Another contributor to air quality problems will be the fungus and mold that grows from saved food waste. Spoiled food in the refrigerator, pantries, on dishes in the sink, all of these will decay and allow mold to grow. Aside from the smell which will quickly fill the home, the fungus and mold particulates in the air are health risks.

Plumbing Trouble

In homes where extreme hoarding takes root, plumbing problems are common. Things can end up in drains and toilets that don’t belong, clogging pipes and leading to further unsanitary and dangerous situations.

Sanitary Issues

Speaking of unsanitary, the general condition of a hoarding home is likely to be unsanitary, especially if animal hoarding is a part of the problem. Animal waste can be left unfound, some pets can even pass their bodies being lost in stacks of trash, all of which will decay releasing gases into the air and creating an unhealthy environment.

Infestations

Many pests thrive on rotting food and waste. Rats, flies, cockroaches, and more will be drawn to the unsanitary conditions, making their homes in the hoarders homes. These pests will leave droppings and waste which will further reduce the air quality and create a hazardous environment. 

All of these things can create safety issues as well as health problems in the home. Walls may become home to pests, the excessive waste acts as fuel to fires, floors, walls, and windows can even break or crack from the weight and shifting garbage.

If you or someone you loved is experiencing a hoarding problem – get help today. Speak with a professional who can help the hoarder in processing through the mental troubles, and hire biohazardous cleaning professionals like the BIOClean Team to safely remediate a home back to livable conditions.

If you’re in the Southern California (San Diego, Orange County, Riverside County, Los Angeles County) or Las Vegas areas, The BIOClean Team is here to help!

This time on the BIOClean Team blog, we are going to talk about something a bit different. Usually, we’re here outlining the services we provide, the necessary things to know for potential customers, and the like. But what about the other side of the fence? The cleaner side? This time our blog is going to look at how to become a crime scene cleaner, what to know, and what to consider if this is the career path you’re looking for!

How to Become a Crime Scene Cleaner – Requirements

Crime scene cleaning is an incredibly specific and delicate line of work. To do it correctly, and be able to stick with it, any hopeful is going to need a few things.

Training

Of course, training is the absolute first thing needed. The job may not require a four year degree from a university, but it has its own highly specialized training. Cleaning crime scenes frequently means handling biohazardous waste and other dangerous chemicals. To do this job safely, a cleaner will need to complete training to do just that. There are all sorts of different courses that can instruct cleaners in different facets of the job. Here are just some of the courses and certifications BIOClean Team cleaners have:

• Bloodborne Pathogen Training in Accordance with 29 CFR 1910.1030
• Respiratory Protection Training in accordance with 29 CFR 1910.134
• OSHA Certifications
• Hazard Communication Training in accordance with 29 CFR 1910.1200
• Personal Protective Equipment Training in accordance with 29 CFR 1910.132
• Crime and Trauma Scene Decontamination Specialists (ABRA & IICRC Certified Technicians)
• Awareness-Level Fall Protection Training in accordance with 29 CFR 1910, 66 Appendix C
• Awareness-Level Permit- Required Confined Spaces Training in accordance with 29 CFR 1910.146
• 40 Hour HAZWOPER (Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response)
• Awareness-Level Lock Out/Tag Out Training in accordance with 29 CFR 1910.147

These aren’t all necessary to become a crime scene cleaner, but working in biohazard cleaning requires with a wide range of skills. These certifications will teach would-be cleaners how to use protective equipment to work safely, the necessary skills to decontaminate crime and trauma scenes safely, and more. Many of these can be completed after gaining employment with a crime scene cleaning company, but that will vary place to place.

Hopeful crime scene cleaners can find local courses to begin getting their certifications and then find employment, or look for a potential employer who provides training. But it’s not just the training that the job needs. Crime scene cleaners need to have a few other things that can’t be taught.

What Does it Take To Become a Crime Scene Cleaner?

It Takes Integrity

Crime scene cleanup is a sensitive, delicate matter. For there to be a cleaning require, a crime needs to have taken place and customers who have to have endured a crime. They need to be able to trust the cleaners to come in and do the job right, without any extra stress or friction. Clients are trusting the crime scene cleaners to come into their private spaces and clean their homes, offices, vehicles, other spaces, and belongings. 

It Takes Compassion

All too often the crime scenes that need cleaning are the aftermath of traumatic events. The clients who have experienced them are going through some turbulent times. Crime scene cleaners cannot add to that stress. Compassionate crime scene cleaners make the process so much easier for clients, helping them through this difficult time to get them back to some semblance of normalcy. 

It Takes Care

Care means so much in this industry. It means compassion and sensitivity, but it also means attention to details. In biohazardous cleaning, a single error could result in a cleaning that isn’t complete, leaving the possibility of health complications down the line.

Something else that some don’t realize? It takes caring for yourself. Handling crime scene cleanups isn’t for everyone. Some cleaners may need to make sure they have a support system in place, or attend a support group or therapy session when it comes to cleaning up crime scenes, especially particularly grisly ones. Even seasoned pros may need to care for themselves from time to time so pay attention and take care.

With all that in mind, what do you think? Is becoming a crime scene cleaner the right job for you? 

Yeah, ok, we’ll admit that name sounds intense. Swedish Death Cleaning?  The BIOClean Team is here to help unpack this new trend sweeping the world, what it means and whether or not it might have something of value to you.

First, the name.

Swedish Death Cleaning takes its name from the 2018 book, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family From a Lifetime of Clutter by Margareta Magnusson. The idea isn’t native to that book though, in Swedish it’s called döstädning, literally “death cleaning.”

So what is it?

Like Marie Kondo’s book and Netflix show, the idea behind Swedish Death Cleaning is decluttering your home, in a livable way. Based on the name alone you might have thought it was specifically for cleaning up following the passing of a family member or loved one but that’s not (always) the case. Anyone can do Swedish Death Cleaning, it might help the home from devolving into a hoarding situation, which in turn could be a huge help to those who might survive you. We’ve all had that experience of cleaning out a relative’s home and finding just how many forks they had! So, prevent that with some Swedish Death Cleaning.

How To Do It?

There’s a whole book on just this subject and if you’re like a more robust rundown of it we’d recommend looking there. The basics are this: Start with your closet, and work your way through your home. Get rid of excess belongings that you don’t use or need and that won’t be wanted after you pass. That’s one of the key components is knowing that you’re decluttering now to take the burden off your loved ones later. So look in your kitchen cabinets, how many plates and mugs do you need right now? The rest of those get rid of. Garage sale, donate, whatever you have to do. What you might hold on to now because maybe you’ll need can become a burden on your son or daughter who thinks ‘Mom held onto these plates for a reason, I should too.’

While you’re going through everything and decluttering, consider what items your loved ones might want to hold on to or treasure. Document it all. All of this will make the time after you pass less stressful and easier to handle – and that’s what this is all about: taking care of yourself as much as possible, and easing the burden on others.

Benefits of Swedish Death Cleaning 

So, aside from paring down your belongings what are the benefits of the process?

It Just Might Make You Happier!

Swedish Death Cleaning is another style of cleaning that works with the whole idea of minimalism. Minimalism, psychologically speaking is all about the idea that joy doesn’t from things but from experiences and relationships. For many people, those things are tied closely together this thing from that trip or this thing from this friend. As that jumbles the idea that things are what makes us happy spreads. But it’s not necessarily the case! When you cut down on the excessive clutter, you become better able to focus on the real things that bring you joy. That’s the idea anyway. Some people are drawn to this, they want to live in tiny houses, have their homes organized by color, that sort of thing. 

Paring down and streamlining can also decrease feelings of stress or being overwhelmed! For many people, we live complicated lives full of choices, and decisions, and products, and on and on and on it goes. That stress can be amplified when the home is full of stuff.  Studies have shown a link between increased cortisol levels (the stress hormone) and the perception of cluttered homes.

Is this going to be true for everyone? No, of course not. But if you’re looking up the topic of Scandinavian cleaning methods, you are probably bothered by the clutter, at least a little bit, so it may be worth the effort.

Reckon with Mortality

This seems to be one of the bigger components of the whole process. As you go through your home and declutter down to absolute essentials and what you’d like to pass on, you will naturally begin to come to grips with mortality. That you, as will all others, will pass on and leave behind a legacy. In Swedish Death Cleaning, the process is helping you prune that legacy into exactly what you’d like to leave behind.

If you have a situation that has passed the point of decluttering or need help in cleaning a hoarding situation give us at The BIOClean Team a call. Our professional, caring team is standing by to assist in any situation.

This last year has been tough on so many people, and with many stuck indoors, hoarding situations have only become worse. This time on the BIOClean Team blog, we wanted to give you some tips on how to approach a hoarding clean up situation, if you have to.

Hoarding Clean Up Quick Tip List

If you read nothing else in this article, read this list. It covers the big ideas of any hoarding clean up job and from here you will be able to start the job. But it’s best to have a complete picture of the scope of work before you start!

The List

• Have Your Tools and Supplies Ready
• Have a Team – This Isn’t A One Day Job
• Clean One Room at a Time
• STOP if You Find Mold, House Damage, or Other Biohazards

Have Your Tools and Supplies Ready

Hoarding clean ups are a different level of cleaning. You’ll need to be prepared with all sorts of supplies you might not consider ‘normal’ cleaning supplies. Without them the job won’t just be difficult, it can be hazardous to your health!

You’ll Need

• Boxes/Storage Containers
• Large, Strong Trash Bags
• Gloves, Masks
• Towels
• Dusters
• Cleaning Products
• Brooms, Mops, and Buckets
• Ladders
• Vacuums
• A Dumpster

Have a Team

As we said, this isn’t a one day job and it certainly isn’t for just one person. A hoarding situation is a massive about of garbage, clutter, and filth. You’ll need the extra manpower to help move out the accumulated stuff as well as heavy lifting. The more the merrier when it comes to clean up crews!

Clean One Room at a Time

Because of the nature of hoarding cleanups, you’ll need to focus on one room at a time to get the best results. Two reasons. These are huge undertakings and if you spread out your work you’ll likely feel overwhelmed as nothing appears to be getting clean. When you focus on one room at a time you’ll be able to see the impact your efforts are having. Clean from the top-down, meaning clear stacks of clutter and garbage that are higher up before starting with vacuuming the carpet. 

As you’re focusing on one room, sort everything into piles, the most common being Trash, Keep, Donate. When it comes to hoarding clean ups there will be a lot of stuff to go through. So the piles are going to be big. Move everything out of the room, sort it into the piles, and then with everything out, start cleaning.

STOP If You Find Damage, Mold, or Biohazardous Environments!

Hoarding homes are unfortunately the perfect environment for things to get gross. With boxes and trash left to stack, moisture can gather and let mold grow unchecked, cracks in windows or walls can go unnoticed, or, Heaven forbid, pets may pass. Any of these can create situations for you to be in, even if you’re gloved and masked up. Mold requires ventilator masks and a professional to remediate the home. Mold is a lot like cockroaches, if you see some on the wall or ceiling, there is a lot more hiding somewhere.

At this point, if you’ve come across any of these hazardous situations, it’s time to call in the professionals. People with the right tools and know how to clean and remediate the home safely. If you are in the Southern California or Las Vegas Area, give The BIOClean Team a call today!

The events of earlier this month in the capitol, and the potential concern of more such action around the country feels like we should look again to a topic we covered last year: cleaning up after protests, riots, and the damage and destruction that can follow.

Cleaning up after a protest or riot can be expensive, and more than you realize. When protests turn violent, police often deploy tear gas, spray mace, and other crowd dispersal chemicals.

Those chemicals can make for a difficult cleaning situation and if anyone is injured the potential for blood or other bodily fluids is also there. So, while neighbors and communities came together to help repair businesses and clean up, there are times where a licensed trauma scene clean up company like BIOClean should be called to take care of business. If the clean up process is mishandled or done by people who don’t understand the necessary requirements for cleaning biohazardous material, that danger can linger.

Cleaning Up Biohazards Post Riots and Protests

Handling biohazardous waste disposal is no easy feat. You need to a) know how to identify it, and b) how to clean it safely. What is a biohazard/a hazardous material?  We’ve talked about this plenty before but briefly:

Some examples of the most common biohazards are:

• Human blood and blood products 
• Human body fluids 
• Pathological waste
• Microbiological waste
• Animal Waste
• Sharps/Medical waste

When it comes to riots and looting, the more common biohazards will be blood and human body fluids, but hey it doesn’t hurt to be prepared!  These can’t be removed with simple soap and water.

Cleaning the Right Way

When it comes to cleaning up biohazardous material, you have to be incredibly detail oriented, because anything that’s missed makes the cleaning for naught. We are trained to look for the smallest traces of biohazardous material: from the ceiling and walls, to light fixtures, switches and electrical sockets, we check it all to ensure a total clean. If the event happened outside, we leave no stone unturned and cover the area to ensure privacy. 

Our EPA registered chemicals are fully compliant and kill Influenza A, H1N1 Influenza A, Influenza A Avian virus, Rhinovirus type 37 and HIV, as well as gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, including: Salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus, Methicillin Resistant S. aureus (MRSA), and E. coli.

The BIOClean Team is certified as a Trauma Scene Waste Management Practitioner and licensed by the California Department of Public Health to disinfect, clean, remove and dispose of all biohazards that are present. That means we’re following all the necessary safety protocols and procedures mandated by OSHA and the California Department of Public Health. Our technicians wear full Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) including biohazard protective suits, full-face respirators with organic vapor filters, and several layers of gloves.

The BIOClean Team is compassionate, discreet, and ready to help you clean up any hazardous materials left behind at the crime scene. 

We understand that it’s essential for commercial policyholders to return to “business as usual” as soon as possible. Our highly experienced teams work diligently to provide your commercial policyholders fast, effective BIOHazard restoration services helping to reduce business interruption.

 

• Most crime scene cleanups are covered by insurance

• No out-of-pocket costs in most cases

• We offer FAST 24/7/365 service

• We are locally owned and operated

• Our highly trained BIOClean Team technicians will arrive in discreet vehicles and provide comprehensive cleaning services, out of sight of neighbors and onlookers. We will never speak with the media.

 

Call the BIOClean Team today to get the help you need!

Note: Protecting Your Home or Business From COVID-19

Civil unrest isn’t the only thing we have to worry about these days. COVID-19 is still an incredibly pressing concern  and with protests comes people. If you opened your home or business to protestors, or they forced their way in, there is the risk of exposure.  If you’re worried about the spread of COVID-19 in your business or home due to ongoing protests, we can help. 

The BIOClean team offers professional fogging services. Fogging is easy to do, incredibly cheap and can be used to help disinfect huge spaces. Our service specifically is effective because we ensure the fog has enough time to “dwell” in the residence or place of business to be effective. This means that our team won’t be in and out in 5 minutes — we let the fog linger to properly coat and disinfect every surface in the room.

As a business in California, we wanted to notify you about an important legal development related to COVID-19 that may affect your business.

At the end of 2020, California pushed through some new OSHA regulations that employers are going to need to meet if they want to keep their doors open and their workers and guests safe. This time on the BIOClean Team blog, we’re taking a look at those regulations and how we can help you meet them!

The New Regulations

California has issued new regulations that require employers to do a long list of procedures and protocols, and create a written COVID-19 Prevention Program. Passed on November 30th, the law is effective immediately and will likely be in effect for the next 6-9 months for any business or organization that has an employee on site.  Here’s a rough, quick breakdown on what these regulations entail.

Requirements for employers covered by the COVID-19 Prevention standard

• Establish, implement, and maintain an effective written COVID-19 Prevention Program that includes:
  • Identifying and evaluating employee exposures to COVID-19 health hazards.
  • Implementing effective policies and procedures to correct unsafe and unhealthy conditions (such as safe physical distancing, modifying the workplace and staggering work schedules).
  • Providing and ensuring workers wear face coverings to prevent exposure in the workplace.

• Provide effective training and instruction to employees on how COVID-19 is spread, infection prevention techniques, and information regarding COVID-19-related benefits that affected employees may be entitled to under applicable federal, state, or local laws.

When there are multiple COVID-19 infections and COVID-19 outbreaks

Employers must follow the requirements for testing and notifying public health departments of workplace outbreaks (three or more cases in a workplace in a 14-day period) and major outbreaks (20 or more cases within a 30-day period).

• COVID-19 testing for employees who might have been exposed

Requires employers to offer COVID-19 testing at no cost to their employees during their working hours who had potential COVID-19 exposure in the workplace and provide them with the information on benefits.

• Notification requirements to the local health department

A new requirement that obligates employers to contact the local health department immediately but no longer than 48 hours after learning of three or more COVID-19 cases to obtain guidance on preventing the further spread of COVID-19 within their workplace.

Recordkeeping and Reporting COVID-19 Cases

Employers must maintain a record of and track all COVID-19 cases, while ensuring medical information remains confidential. These records must be made available to employees, authorized employee representatives, or as otherwise required by law, with personal identifying information removed. When a COVID-19-related serious illness (e.g., COVID-19 illness requiring inpatient hospitalization) or death occurs, the employer must report this immediately to the nearest Cal/OSHA enforcement district office.

You can take a look at the full 21-page regulation .pdf here.

Here’s How BIOClean Can Help

The BIOClean Team is lead by Stacy Houston, a registered nurse with over a decade experience in Emergency Medicine and knows how to meet these kinds of rigorous guidelines. We’ll come out to the site, create a site plan and workflow guidelines, and potential post-exposure plans. All that and The BIOClean Team provides disinfection services should an exposure occur.

The new year is on the horizon and while we get amped for what 2021 has in store let’s take a moment to look back at what we’ve covered this year. There’s been a lot we have gone over, from understanding how clean your gym really is (or isn’t) and disinfecting and making workplaces safe. Let’s take a look!

BIOClean’s 2020 Year End Wrap Up

We started this year with a discussion of the healing potential of pets.

Can a Pet Help with Loss?

While most commonly a dog, an ESA can be any animal, as the name implies. According to the AKC, “the pet needs to be prescribed by a licensed mental health professional to a person with a disabling mental illness. A therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist must determine that the presence of the animal is needed for the mental health of the patient.” 

Read More on ESAs Here

 

Next, we took a look at gym sanitation in…

Is Your Gym Really Sanitary?

“Here’s the bad news: there are no standards of cleanliness that all gyms need to meet, no federal codes. If the gym has a sauna, spa, or any sort of cafe, those individual places may have specific inspection guidelines to adhere to but the rest of the space? The machines, free weights, mats, and floors? All of that is up to the diligence of the individual gym and their clients and employees to maintain. There’s a reason gyms frequently have signs asking their members to ‘Wipe down gym equipment after use.’ For many gyms, it seems impossible (or perhaps an afterthought) to call in a committed cleaning crew after the morning or evening rushes.”

Prep for your New Year’s Resolution and Read More Here

 

After that, March was Meth-Month with two pieces on labs and clean up protocols. You can read those here!

Meth Labs with BIOClean & Meth Lab Clean Up Procedures from BIOClean

 

And then, it hit. The defining events of 2020 across the world, the COVID pandemic swept across the globe and has affected us ever since. As you can imagine, our blogs reflected that new reality looking to answer the most pressing questions of our readers and customers.

We covered how disinfecting works, the need for dwell time, and how the use and efficacy of ozone and fogging can vary wildly.

Coronavirus, Disinfecting, and You 

Read this piece to learn the best practices for preventative precautions.

Reopening Your Business During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“The CDC has released some guidelines in getting businesses back up in running during the midst of the pandemic, so we are here to help spread the word far and wide. The more precautions everyone takes, the better we will be in the months to come! But before you even consider how to open, first you need to determine if your business can reopen.”

Read more about Reopening Your Business here.

COVID-19 and Fogging Efficacy

“Lately, the use of fogging has cropped up as a potential tool in the disinfecting of workspaces. The good news is fogging works! That’s because it is a great part of a longer, 5, or 6 step process. The bad news, lots of businesses are doing just the fogging and not understanding why the entire process is necessary, meaning their fogging procedure isn’t as effective as it should be…”

Read More on Fogging Efficacy Here

A Self-Care Checklist for Coping During a Pandemic

The pandemic is continuing and this list of self-care items is more valuable than ever.

“The stress and anxiety may feel overwhelming now, but there are methods to help reduce these feelings and to take care of your mental health in healthy ways that promote good mental health hygiene. Here are some practices that might be helpful for you in this stressful time…”

Check the List Here.

 

We’ll admit, COVID-19 has taken over the year in a big way but as we head into 2021, with vaccines on the horizon, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Stay safe, be cautious and don’t expose yourself to any unnecessary risks. That includes biohazard cleanups that you’re not trained for!

Have a biohazard situation that needs cleaning? Give the professionals here at the BIOClean Team a call! We’re available 24/7 to help!

Emergency Biohazard Cleanup? Call BIOClean!

When people pass they go in many ways. When their spirit, their life leaves their body, the remains however progress in one well-understood path through decomposition. Today on the BIOClean Team blog we want to go over the timeline of and process of decomposition of the human body.

If you need help, cleaning up decomposition don’t hesitate – Call The BIOClean Team today!

The Stages of Decomposition

Decomposition is a completely natural, normal process. At death, the heart and lungs stop operating and with that blood stops pumping, oxygen stops flowing and tissues throughout the body begin to break down. There are four stages of decomposition, the rate the body goes through will differ, depending on various factors like weather, moisture, temperature, even position of the body. All of these have an impact on the speed of the decomposition, but all four stages still occur.

What are the Four Stages of Decomposition

To be specific we are talking human decomposition here. While we’re experts on biohazard cleaning, we’re not experts on the ways everything decays and decomposes so that should be mentioned. The four stages of decomposition are: autolysis, bloat, active decay, and skeletonization.

Here’s what those stages encompass.

Autolysis

Autolysis is the first stage of decomp and takes place immediately after death, usually at about 4 minutes or so. Autolysis is when the tissues begin to be destroyed and broken down by their own enzymes. This occurs because respiration and blood circulation have stopped, the body no longer is removing waste and providing new oxygen. The carbon dioide builds, creating an acidic atmosphere, the cell membranes (the walls of the cell) break apart and letting out enzymes that then digest the cells from the inside.

Rigor mortis also starts in this stage. A bunch of different chemical reactions happens in the muscles causing them to stiffen

Bloat 

Gases begin to build due to the leaking enzymes and material during autolysis. The bacteria produce a sulfur-containing compound that leads to discoloration as well. During the bloat stage, the human body can double in size. All of this leads to putrefaction and extremely bad smells. Frequently this odor is what will attract attention from others. These smells can also linger long after the body has been taken away.

Active Decay

After bloat, active decay sets in. When all of the body’s soft tissues decompose, organs, muscles, and skin liquefy. Hair, bones, cartilage, and some other materials remain. During the active decay stage, the body loses most of the mass.

Skeletonization

After the active decay stage, skeletonization occurs. This is when all of the matter decays away leaving nothing but bones behind. There is no set timeframe for when skeletonization will occur since it is so heavily based on the loss of the other parts.

Basic Timeline of Body Decomposition

• 1-3 days after death — organs decompose.
• 3-5 days after death — the body starts to bloat. Foam containing blood leaks from the nose and mouth. The body discolors, turning green.
• 8-10 days after death — the body further discolors from green to red as blood decomposes and gas accumulates. 
• Several weeks after death — nails and teeth fall out as the tissues surrounding them have decomposed completely.
• 1 month after death — the body begins to liquify.

 

The process begins fast, and it doesn’t get any better or easier to handle as it goes on. As soon as smell as developed there will need to be serious remediation to make the space habitable again. 

Give the professionals at The BIOClean Team a call and we’ll get you through this.

This year has been a difficult one, with shutdowns, pandemic, and political unrest. Some studies are beginning to show stats that the increase in suicides is up to around 200%. If you are experiencing this, we’re so, so sorry. It is crucial that during this difficult time you practice self-care and self-love.

If you or someone you know is struggling, Help is Available!

Call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, available 24/7 at 800-273-8255!

 

This is a difficult time, and while you are doing your best to cope, you can’t forget that you need to take care of yourself. Remember this these things:

• You are not alone in this

You have a support network of friends, family, and potentially professional help, that are all here for you. 

• You can take care of yourself

This is a big change, and you are going to need to heal in many ways. You can do this.

 

Some things are common to those coping as survivors. Recognize that these are possible, but they don’t have to be present, that doesn’t mean you’re dealing with this any worse, just differently

 

• You will feel a great deal of emotions from anxiety to sadness to grief to blaming yourself. This is normal. The grieving process is complex and you’ll feel a range of emotions you might not fully understand. 

 

• You will need time to work through these feelings of guilt, shame, and self blaming. Don’t feel like you have to rush past these feelings, and do find the support you need—it is not “irrational” to feel guilty or ashamed.

 

• Allow yourself to feel. Cry and let out those emotions if you need to. This can give you relief from the pain..

 

• Many suicide survivors find some solace in sharing the truth about their loved one’s death by suicide. It eases the burden on them, and opens the door to those close to you to help. 

 

• You may find it necessary to reduce interactions with those who make the grieving process more difficult. Do not hesitate to reduce those interactions and be honest with them, “I know you mean well, but what you are saying right now is not helpful.” 

 

• Find a survivor support group, or seek out professional help. Most people don’t have all the tools they need emotionally to cope with something as difficult as this. That’s okay. Help is out there!

 

• If you are a parent of a child or teen whom this effects, be open and truthful. Allow the space and security to express emotions and talk. Encourage questions, and be there for them too.

The number one thing you need to remember, be kind to yourself…

When you feel ready to begin the next chapter in your life, you can enjoy life again. Remember and care for the memory of your lost loved one however it feels right, know you are on the path of healing and that it is okay to feel good. You are doing your best. Be kind to yourself.

It’s something just about every single landlord has to go through at some point, unfortunately, the experience doesn’t make it easier. Opening the door to your rental property only to find the inside looks like a trash bomb went off, tearing up rugs, blasting holes into walls, and covering the baseboards with who knows what. Whether they had to be evicted or left on their own terms, the mess left behind is now yours to deal with. Aside from using their security deposit, here is what else you can do to clean up your rental!

Post Tenant Cleanup Survival Guide!

If your tenant was evicted, there are a few things you’ll want to be sure to consider to make sure you’re not on the wrong side of a lawsuit (even if they were evicted legally).

First, before doing anything with what may be left behind,  be sure to look at and understand your state’s laws when it comes to tenant rights. Specifically, look for info surrounding these topics:

• Recouping Lost Rent
• Holding Property
• Notifying the Tenant

Personal Property, Recouping Damages & Rent or Holding

Recouping Damages

In some states, you are allowed to do what you wish with anything left behind in a home following an eviction, as long as the tenant owes you for rent or damages done to the property – but this isn’t possible in every state.  You may be required to lodge a formal complaint and sue before being able to do anything with potential valuables.

Holding Property 

Similarly, in many states, the laws on what can be done with personal property vary. Many places require that you hold on to any property of an evicted tenant for at least 30 days for them to claim. Usually, this comes with a caveat that you are able to relocate and organize the items as needed so that you can take care of the property and get it in rental shape again.  So before you get to work selling or dumping the property, make sure you know your legal requirements. 

If you do have to store the property, you can usually recoup any costs associated with storage as well, requiring the previous tenant to pay for the storage fees before the property is released.

Notifying the Tenant 

Along with knowing how and when you have to hold and store property or use it to recoup money, there are legal stipulations on how you have to notify the former tenant about these belongings.  It may include a set waiting period, a means by which the notification has to occur and more – so understand those requirements before you start. 

Okay, with those considerations… considered, it’s time to start looking at the actual cleanup process!

Cleaning Up

The eviction process is rarely simple and easy. Tenants may be unwilling to leave, causing them to lash out, destroy walls, break doors, or even do downright disgusting things involving bodily fluids and waste. Whatever may have happened in your property you need to approach it from a place of caution.

One of the most common items left behind that can create a hazardous environment for cleanup crews is food, believe it or not. Food left behind to rot in the fridge can begin to go moldy, and if left unchecked can contaminate the entire fridge. 

Another possibility? Fecal matter. It’s disgusting but it’s true, you might find that your house was left with human waste where it shouldn’t, and that odor can permeate the floors, walls, and ceiling if not cleaned quickly. 

Cleaning up garbage and wiping down floors and walls are all things that you should feel comfortable tackling yourself, if you have to, but when it comes to biohazardous materials don’t touch it! Call in experts who know how to remediate a house quickly, and effectively, and get the job done right in one go. We have the skills, experience, and equipment available to get the results you need for your rental property to be livable again. Especially when it comes to lingering smells, you don’t want to have to deal with this problem again and again with your new tenant months down the line.

So, do you need expert professional help getting your property livable again? Give the BIOClean Team a call – we’re here to help.