Cleaning Up Human Feces

Here at the BioClean Team we take care of some serious messes. From hoarding homes to aftermath of crimes, death, meth labs, we handle it all. One that might surprise our readers to hear is cleaning up human feces. That’s right. In the words of Dr. Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park “When ya gotta go, ya gotta go.” Whether it’s a stranger leaving a surprise in your yard, or an apartment that has been used as a restroom, whatever the reason for the buildup of human (or animal!) waste, we can help you!

Cleaning up human feces and urine is not something to take lightly! Businesses have gotten into hot water because they ask untrained workers to handle these kinds of messes, there is a reason you want to have proper training to handle any sort of human waste cleanup: human feces is a biohazard!

We have talked about what biohazards are previously on the blog but to put it quickly here: a biohazard is any biological substance that can be a threat to the health of living things, whether that’s blood carrying bloodborne pathogens or human tissues. Anything that came into contact with human fluid or waste can be the host for infectious diseases and human feces is no different.

Human Feces Can Carry:

zoomed in e coli, one of the things carried in human feces — E coli bacteria up close and personal! These are just one of the organisms found in human feces.

C-diff
Cholera
E. coli
Norovirus
Dysentery
Giardia
Salmonella
Hookworm
Ringworm
Tapeworm

The moral of the story? Human feces can carry a whole mess of biological organisms that are no good for you! That’s why you need to approach it with the proper precautions and training to handle it safely!

If it is a small amount (hopefully!) that you think you can tackle yourself, here is an easy, quick breakdown of how to safely clean up human feces!.

What You’ll Need

Cleaning Gloves
Disposable Bags
Paper Towels / Cleaning Cloths
Something to Scrape With
Dish Soap / Detergent
Bleach or Disinfecting Wipes

Step 1 – Scrape Clean

First thing first, scrape up as much solid waste as there is remaining. You always want to work inward, from the least soiled areas to the most to prevent unnecessary spreading. Toss that in a disposable bag.

Step 2 – Wet Wipe

Now using paper towels, cleaning cloths, or wipes it’s time to do a preliminary pass on the soiled area. Use hot water and wipe up the obvious mess. The hot water will help break up anything that has been allowed to set. Throw the disposable materials into the bag. This might take a few passes until it appears clean – it won’t truly be but that’s where we want to get it for this pass.

Step 3 – Disinfect, Disinfect, Disinfect

Depending how you are going about disinfecting there will be slight variations. For one, if you are using disinfecting wipes you need to be sure to wipe and leave the area wet for several minutes. Look at the manufacturer’s instructions for whatever disinfectant product you are using. You might be surprised to see it but for the chemicals to fully breakdown the infectious materials left by waste it can take several minutes. If you are using chemicals such as bleach, make sure you follow the proper procedure for mixing it with water.

Step 4 –Rinse and Let Dry

Once you’ve left the disinfectant on long enough to do it’s job, you can rinse off the surface, cleaning the chemicals from it. Wipe away with clean water, let it dry and you have yourself a safe surface once again!

On the small scale, these kinds of cleanups can be handled safely on your own, if you know what you are doing (hence this blog!) For large scale urine and feces cleanup, don’t try to manage it yourself, instead call in the professionals! The BioClean Team will respond 24/7, promptly, and are equipped to get the job done correctly, and safely, for everyone involved.