Blood Cleanup
There are times that you will need to clean up blood from an accident. You need to be careful when dealing with blood, because it can cause you to get sick if not treated correctly. There are steps that you need to take in order to clean it up so that you don’t become infected.
There are companies that you can call out to clean up the blood if you don’t want to take care of it. You can put Blood Cleanup New Haven CT in the search engine and you will have many companies come up. You need to research to make sure that you find the best company to do the job.
This article will give you the ten steps for cleaning up blood safely. It will help you to clean up yourself, or you can check the company to make sure they are doing it right. You can also do more research to find the information that you need.
10 Steps to Cleaning Up Blood
- Cleaning Equipment – You need to make sure that you are wearing personal protective equipment, or PPE, before you begin. This will include gloves, face mask, eye protection, and even a hazmat suit to protect yourself: https://www.purdue.edu/ehps/rem/laboratory/spills/Blood. You don’t want to get any of the blood on you, and this equipment will help to prevent that from happening.
- Eliminate Dangers –Before you begin the scrubbing part, you will need to pick up anything that is dangerous such as glass shards. You should never use your hands to pick up glass, you should use a brush and dustpan instead. You don’t want to cut yourself before you begin.
- Cleaning First Round –You will first gather towels to lay over the spill – cover the spill area completely with the towels. Use a heavy object to push down on the towels so that they soak up as much as possible. Make sure that you are not using your hands to do this – that can be dangerous for you.
- Cleaning Second Round –Once the towels have soaked up most of the blood, it is time to put down a disinfectant. Cover the area with disinfectant and let it stand there for at least ten minutes, longer if it is a larger spill. Once that time has passed, use a clean towel to start scrubbing the area from the outside in. Put all towels in a biohazard bag when you have completed this step.
- Cleaning Third Round –The final step of cleaning comes next. After you have scrubbed the area with clean towels, let it set for ten to fifteen minutes to allow it to dry. After that, treat the area again with damp towels to remove any residue that is left. This will also allow you to clear up any extra disinfectant.
- Trash All Equipment –Once you have completed these steps, dispose of all the equipment that you have used that includes PPE, towels, dust pans and brushes. Put everything in bags that are marked as biohazard so that it is well known that these items are in there. Make sure that all areas are clean and there is no blood anywhere else in the area.
- Area Decontamination –Even if you are absolutely sure that there has been no contamination, decontaminate the area. If there are any reusable tools that you chose not to throw away, decontaminate those items, as well. Use a good quality disinfectant to clean those items – you must let them soak in the disinfectant for at least ten to fifteen minutes.
- Procedure Checks –Mandatory procedure checks must be completed next. You want to inspect the area once more, including yourself. You want to make sure there is no blood left anywhere. If you have blood on you, make sure that you shower to remove all blood from yourself and use a safe disinfectant to clean, as well. See here to learn more about how to clean yourself.
- Wash Hands –Wash your hands thoroughly after you have cleaned everything – even after your shower. You will need a strong disinfectant on your hands to make sure that you are not contaminated. You might even want to use wet wipes on your hands to clean all disinfectant of your hands.
- Dispose of All Biohazards –Once you have scrubbed everything including yourself, it is time to dispose of all the biohazards. This includes everything that you put into a bag that was labeled biohazards. You don’t want to try to wash any of these materials to try to decontaminate them because it won’t work. It is best to dispose of all of it.
Conclusion
If you have a blood spill, there are many steps that you need to take in order to decontaminate the area. If the area is too large, you might want to hire a company to come in a clean for you. They have the necessary supplies and expertise necessary to clean it up correctly.
