September 28, 2021
How to Cleanup Blood
Life is full of surprises, unfortunately, they are not always good. You may be not aware of blood cleanup. It happens that during some home or office accidents, people could leave blood splits. It may happen because of a nose bleed, or because of uncareful knife handling in a kitchen or it could be even a feet puncture. An important thing to know, blood is a hazardous substance for other people. Human blood may have very dangerous diseases and pathogens and if some other person would have contact with that blood it could lead to contamination. The most frequent pathogens that may be in the blood are AIDS, HIV, Hepatitis C, and Hepatitis B. The problem is these risks can likewise be present after the blood is visually disappeared. This is why blood cleanup is not just a regular cleaning, but it requires special measures that you should know about.
Blood Cleanup Supplies
If there are blood spills in your home or an office you should prepare some equipment that would help you to handle this situation safely and effectively. Of course, you should pick the equipment according to the size of the spill and its place. There are many different kits like OSHA, Safetec, and Accuform. The blood cleanup kit should include:
– Disposable Vinyl Gloves
– Face Mask with Eye Shield
– Infectious Waste Disposal Bag
– Scoop & Scraper
– Spill Control Solidifier Pouch
– Sanitation Wipe
– Protective cap
– Absorbent materials
– Maybe also a protective gown
In case a blood spill happened in the office, business owners should follow OSHA guidelines regarding biohazardous substances cleaning. There are also special conditions for organizations that should be considered because they are regulated by the government, they include employee bloodborne training.
Blood Cleanup in 8 Steps
Let’s move to the cleaning of a non-carpeted area, we divided it into a few steps:
1. Equip
Take out protective gear from the list above. Wear gloves that are essential, and equip an eye-protective gown to stay away from splashes. You should be sure that there are not any holes where the blood could touch you.
2. Remove
Brush off the broken glass or use tongs to remove shards that could tear your gloves. Use a special container from the kit to utilize these pieces. Don’t touch these objects with bare hands in any situation.
3. Clean Once
Soak the blood spill by covering it in cloth towels, you may need to repeat this step a few times to soak all the blood spill. Utilize the used sheets in a biohazard bag.
4. Clean Again
Make sure you provided proper ventilation if the spill is in a room. You should have prepared the registered disinfectant, pour it onto the area of the spill, and wait for twelve minutes. After twelve minutes, take towels and start scrubbing this area from the outside moving to the center. As before, place them into a biohazard bag.
5. Finish the Clean
Use a damp cloth and clean the blood spill once again. Dispose of towels as before. Wait till the area will dry.
6. Throw away
Conscientiously get rid of your protective equipment into the prepared plastic biohazard bag: gown, glasses, and gloves. You should pay attention not to contaminate other surfaces during the process. Seal the bag tightly and place it in the second bag, seal it, and mark the bag with a biohazard label. You can’t just throw out that bag. You need to contact the local health department to dispose of that bag properly.
7. Disinfect
Now you can disinfect any reusable equipment. It may include tongs, a brush, or a dustpan. Use registered disinfectant products for decontamination. Apply the disinfectant and leave it for a few minutes to soak then wash it off with fresh water.
8. Clean Your Hands
You may need to check your body and clothes for any contamination. If there are any splits, you will need to disinfect these clothes. Wash your hands thoroughly using warm water with soap and apply liquid disinfectant after.
Our Approach To a Blood Cleanup in NYC
Firstly, our approved specialists eliminate all traces of the hazardous substance, as well as any infected items in the place; we never drop anything without your approval. After that, we make a deep cleaning removing any odors and stains while sanitizing, purifying, and eliminating any tiny particles that may induce illness. White Glove Cleaner works in New York City, mostly around the Upper East Side area.
Cleaning Blood Spills on Furniture
There are also some situations when blood could get onto the furniture. How hard or easy it is to clean depends on the type of furniture that was contaminated. It’s much easier to work with metal or wooden furniture however cloth materials would need much more treatment. Probably the most popular and effective way of cleaning is to remove the cloth covering if you can and put it into the washing machine on a long warm cycle. However, if you can’t remove the cover, you will need to clean and disinfect the spot on the furniture itself. You will need to wait till it dries and repeat the cleaning one or two times. Metal or wooden furniture wouldn’t require some hard work from you however you should remember that bloodborne pathogens are nevertheless a threat. Metal, wood, and any other non-porous furniture should be cleaned just like a blood spill on a non-carpeted surface.
Read also: How to clean hardwood floors
How To Clean Blood Spills on Carpets
Cleaning blood spills from the carpets is not an easy task, because carpet absorbs substances easily. Most homes and even offices have at least some carpeted area, this is why our guide could be helpful. Basically, cleaning up blood on the carpet is similar to what we highlighted before, however, there are some additional measures. Unfortunately, you can’t fully disinfect the carpet so it’s important to sanitize as much as reasonable.
Don’t Delay Blood Cleaning
Same as other fluids, blood can be set up quickly on the carpet, so it would be hard to clean. You should start cleaning it as fast as possible. But fast doesn’t mean you should forget about safety precautions like using a biohazard bag, safety gloves, etc.
Prepare Anti-Bacterial Cleaning Supplies
You should be careful when choosing cleaning products because some of them could be harmful to a carpet. Stay away from common decontamination products or bleaches. You can check what carpet shampoos could be used to clean your carpet, it depends on the material, pile length, density, and so on. The shampoo should be with an anti-bacterial effect because you need to clean and sanitize the carpet after the blood spill. However, you may need to apply cleaning products a few times because it’s hard to clean up blood if it is soaked.
Cleaning With a Steam
Considering the size of the blood spill and depending on the type of your carpet, you may need to do a steam cleaning. The thing is steam tends to deep clean carpet tiles and high temperature is deadly to baсteria. It would cost more but this is the best way during the blood cleanup on a carpet. It’s also a solution if you follow eco-cleaning methods only.
Removing Carpet Tiles
If you have carpet tiles during the heavy blood spills it may be more effective to just change a tile. Carpet tile could be less expensive than doing a proper cleaning with anti-bacterial products and steam cleaning. So if you have spare tiles, consider this as one of the solutions.
Steps For Cleaning a Blood out of Carpet
There are some general steps for removing the biohazard threat from the carpet. However, there are no guarantees that it would be eliminated totally:
- Wear Safe Gloves
You should start cleaning hazardous substances by wearing gloves
2. Absorb
Use absorbent cloth or towels to cover the split starting from the borders and moving to the center of the spill. The idea is to prevent the further spread of the substance and bacteria.
3. Use of Disinfectant
Disinfect the area using a special anti-bacterial agent, just spray it over the split and leave it for ten minutes to soak.
4. Remove Rests
Use cloth or towels to collect the rest of the substance and anti-bacterial agent. Dispose of towels in a special biohazard bag.
5. Dry the Area
Dry the area using additional towels or better if you can use a wet vacuum to completely soak and remove any fluids. You can find more about carpet vacuuming in our guide.
6. Repeat the Disinfection
It’s recommended to repeat the disinfection process.
7. Finalize the Cleaning
To finish the cleaning and disinfection dry completely the carpet. Sanitize accessories that you may have used, such as a brush or vacuum nozzle. Utilize used towels, gloves, and glasses. Ventilate the room.
We hope that you won’t need excessive cleaning, however, life can be unpredictable and this guide could be helpful. If you want to leave blood cleanup for professionals – White Glove Cleaners NYC cleaning services can handle this effectively, while keeping you safe.
Read also:
The Difference Between Professional Cleaning Services and Conventional Cleaning
Effective Kitchen Cleaning Checklist – Daily, Weekly, and Monthly