crime scene cleanup

Crime Scene Cleanup Services: A Simple Guide

Cleanup Services

Cleaning up a crime scene seems easy in movies; you just go in after a bloody murder or a gruesome accident, tidy everything up, and you’re done. But in real life, things are more complicated.

Crime scene cleanup is not just something that you can learn and do on the fly. It’s a job that requires good instincts, meticulous attention to detail, and steady nerves. When dealing with grisly blood stains from a murder scene or an outbreak of deadly viruses from an infected patient, it’s important to remember that it’s someone’s home or office that you’re cleaning.

One does not plan nor expect for a room or an office space to become the venue of a crime. Eventually, the space will need to be reoccupied, and so the services of crime scene cleaners are needed to remove the blood, bodily fluids, or any other contaminants from the crime scene. These professionals have the training and experience necessary to help owners get their properties back to normal as soon as possible—after a homicide, suicide, or other tragic incident leaves behind biohazardous materials that cannot be cleaned or handled in-house.

It’s highly unlikely you’ll have the necessary resources on hand to clean a crime scene regardless of how small or large the area of concern is; besides, who anticipates such terrifying events? And then again, even if you could handle the cleanup yourself, why burden yourself on such an emotionally taxing task when you could instead hire professionals who specialize in this type of work?

What to Know before Hiring a Crime Scene Cleanup Service

There’s no such thing as a general crime scene cleaning—whatever type of situation you’re dealing with, there’s a corresponding service that specializes in resolving it. Before you hire a cleaning service, it’s important to know what type of service you need.

There are three types of crime scene cleaning services; you’ll have to identify the one that’s most appropriate for your situation.

Blood Cleanup: This is the most common type of service that deals with cleaning up blood, bodily fluids, and biohazardous materials after a death or injury has taken place.

Traumatic Scene Cleanup: This type of service specializes in cleaning up after a death or injury caused by a criminal act, such as a murder or a mass casualty event.

Industrial or Commercial Cleanup: This deals with cleaning up after a death or injury that took place in a business establishment. It’s usually used in large industrial settings, such as a construction site or power plant, or commercial settings, such as a retail store or a restaurant.

Crime Scene Cleanup Services

What Does a Crime Scene Cleaner Do?

A crime scene cleaner, also known as a trauma scene waste management practitioner, specializes in cleaning up after a heinous crime has taken place at a property. They’re essentially professional cleaners who know what to do during these situations, using the necessary tools to handle biohazardous materials and clean a crime scene. If you’ve got blood stains on the floor or harmful materials scattered throughout a room, a crime scene cleaner can get the cleanup job done.

Types of Biohazardous Materials Found at Crime Scenes

Blood: This is the most common type of biohazardous material found at crime scenes. It can be seen on the walls, the floors, furniture, and anything else in the room.

Bodily Fluids and Waste: This is a general term that refers to any fluid or waste found inside a living person’s body, such as blood, saliva, vomit, urine, and feces.

Medical Waste: This refers to the materials used during a medical treatment or procedure.

Toxic Waste: This refers to any chemical or radioactive materials.

Other Harmful Materials / Substances: This refers to any materials that are generally considered dangerous to humans.

FAQ: Is It Illegal to Contract a Crime Scene Cleaning Service?

The short answer is no. It’s not at all illegal to hire a crime scene cleaning service. In fact, it’s often crucial to hire a cleaning service after a crime has taken place. Various unsafe materials that can pose a serious threat to human health—like blood, bodily fluids, and even deadly poison—can be found smack dab at a crime scene, and cleaning them up is a job best left to the experts.

It’s dangerous to attempt cleaning up these biohazardous materials yourself. If a murder or any other crime occurs in your home or area of business, you may need to hire a professional cleaning service to clean up the biohazardous materials properly before the place is to be used again like before. In some cases, it’s even required by the law.

How to Hire a Crime Scene Cleaning Service

The first thing you need to do when hiring a crime scene cleaning company is to determine the type of service you need. As previously mentioned, there are basically three types of crime scene cleaning services: blood cleanup, traumatic scene cleanup, and industrial or commercial cleanup. You’ll need to hire the type of service that suits your situation.

Once you’ve determined the type of service you need, you’ll need to find a reputable company by searching for professional cleaning services on your local business listing website. You can also opt to search online for “crime scene cleaning services in Zephyrhills”; you can narrow your search by state if you’d like, so you’re sure to find a nearby company.

Bottom Line

Hopefully, this simple guide has helped you understand exactly what crime scene cleanup is, the different types of biohazards, and how to hire cleanup professionals for this kind of service.

Recognizing the need for professional crime scene cleaning services is a significant first step in recovering from the aftermath of a traumatic event. Fortunately, it’s not as sinister as it sounds—crime scene cleaning simply involves the process of restoring properties after a forensic investigation has taken place. Nevertheless, homeowners, businesses and property managers all face unique challenges when it comes to cleaning up after a crime or other unwanted incidents.

Last edited on 7th of November 2023