We are all used to cleaning up household spills and accidents. You may not even realize that what you are cleaning up could be biohazardous. Keep reading to find out what to watch out for and when you may be in over your head.Eden Cheng, co-founder of PeopleFinderFree.
Minimize Your Risk by Hiring an Expert
Since the start of the pandemic, people have become more aware of the dangers of biohazardous materials and why it is so important to dispose of them safely. After all, knowing what is considered a biohazard and the best way to handle/dispose of it is what guarantees their safety, as well as the people around them. Biohazards can appear in any environment. Some of the most common examples to watch out for include animal waste, human blood, body fluid, sharps, and microbiological waste from labs.
There are usually several risks that come with biohazard cleanup. For instance, if you operate a business, and one of your employees ends up injured on the job, it would be irresponsible to ask your cleaning staff to deal with the mess, considering the risk of exposure to bloodborne pathogens.
It is at this point that expert services are usually brought in to deal with these cleanups, as they have the necessary protective equipment to handle the job safely. Moreover, the good thing about hiring an expert cleanup crew is that it can also end up saving you a significant amount of money and time in the long run.
For example, should someone in your employ end up being infected or catch an illness in the process of cleaning up biohazardous material, you could end up facing litigation charges that would end up costing you a significant amount of money to payout. Whereas if you had just hired a cleanup crew, you could have paid a small expense and ensured that you and the people around you, like your staff, remain safe.
6 Possible Home Biohazards
1. Bodily Fluids – human blood, semen, sweat, amniotic fluid, spinal fluid, vomit, excrement (urine and feces)
2. Animal Waste – animal urine, blood, feces (commonly found in hoarding situations)
3. Disease Contaminants – Bacteria or viruses, ranging from C. Diff to the common cold
4. Mold
5. Drug Residue – Residue or stains left from a meth lab explosion
6. Fingerprint powder residue left behind from a crime scene
Gabby, a supervisor for Bio Recovery, biohazard remediation, and crime scene cleanup company with over 20 years in this industry.Ale Gazzo, Copywriter at Emily’s Maids.
Biohazard Spills at Home are Rare
It’s not common to find biohazardous spills at home. Most cleaning products are safe to remove if they are spilled without professional help. Most biohazardous spills are dangerous because they are organic and therefore able to contain and/or grow bacteria. Human and animal blood and other body fluids, such as amniotic fluid or urine, could be examples.
Dangerous chemicals might also need to be disposed of by a professional, especially if they might go from liquid to gas. It might be easy to avoid them while cleaning them if they’re liquid, but it would be much harder to stop inhaling them if they are in a gaseous state.
Here are a few dangerous chemicals that might be found at home:
- Leaking propane tanks
- Broken mercury thermometers and light bulbs (CFL Lights)
- Antifreeze for cars
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