What is Biohazard Cleanup and How We Can Help

7/24/2023 (Permalink)

Exposure to any biological material and chemical contaminants can pose serious health consequences. If such substances are not removed, they can contribute to unhealthy and dangerous environments. SERVPRO of Lower Manhattan/Financial District is trained to safely remove biohazards and dispose of them properly in accordance with OSHA and health regulations.

If you're not completely sure if your cleanup needs are considered a biohazard cleanup or not, continue reading for specific types, scenarios, and more information around this service.

Do You Need Biohazard Cleanup Services?

The decontamination of a home or business due to trauma, medical incidents, sewage backups, chemical spills, hoarding, or other biohazards can both be dangerous and emotional. Specialized training and experience is key when choosing a cleanup company to resolve these circumstances.

SERVPRO of Lower Manhattan provides cleanup solutions and recovery services for many biohazard situations including:

• Sewage backups
• Crime scene cleanup
• Suicide/death accidents
• Homicide cleanups
• Blood cleanup
• Accident cleanup
• Hoarding scenes
• Animal waste/remains
• Chemical spills
• Tear gas cleanup
• Meth lab cleanup

Common Biohazard Scenarios

There are three common biohazard scenarios. These are sewage backups, bloodborne pathogens, and illegal drug manufacturing labs/meth labs.

Sewage Backups- Sewage backups and dark water intrusions are more than nasty, smelly deposits - these damages also introduce harmful microorganisms into a structure. We remove the sewage, contaminants, and moisture, and help ensure the structure is properly clean, disinfected, and deodorized.

Bloodborne Pathogens- We remove and dispose of bodily fluids, tissue, and other potentially pathogenic substances resulting from an accident, trauma, crime, or death. Trained SERVPRO franchise professionals clean, disinfect, and deodorize the structure.

Illegal Drug Manufacturing Labs/Meth Labs- SERVPRO realizes many of the chemicals used in the production of illegal drugs such as "meth" are volatile and can leave harmful residues throughout a structure. We follow federal and state guidelines to properly clean all surfaces.

Do Not Try at Home

If you believe your home or business is in need of biohazard cleaning, don't try to clean it up on your own. Bleach is only going to go so far, especially if you're dealing with sewage backups, blood, animal waste, and other bodily fluids, especially chemical spills. DIY cleaning solutions should not even be thought of when it comes to scenarios like these. You'll be putting yourself as well as anyone else that uses or lives in the structure at risk for health problems.

When it comes to a crime scene cleanup, this is a specific scenario that is handled by law enforcement and a professional cleaning company like SERVPRO. There are many rules and state regulations that need to be followed when it comes to a cleanup like this, so don't try to just apply bleach and think it's ready to go.

When it comes to sewage backups, the flooding from this creates a contaminated area full of hazardous materials, human waste, and possible chemicals that can be life threatening if touched or if you get too close. Leave it to the professionals.

Biohazard & Sewage Emergency Tips

After any biohazard or sewage contamination in your home or business, your primary focus should be safety:

• Is it safe to stay in the house?
• Exposure to biological and chemical contaminants can pose serious health consequences.
• Flood water can contain sewage, pesticides, and other contaminants.
• Only do activities that are safe for you to perform.

What to do AFTER a contamination:

• Stay out of affected areas.
• Call emergency service personnel if the situation is dangerous to your health.
• Treat ALL bodily fluids as if they are contaminated.
• Turn off the HVAC system if there is sewage damage.

What NOT to do after a contamination:

• Don't leave wet fabrics in place. Hang furs and leather goods.
• Don't leave books, magazines, or other colored items on wet carpets or floors.
• Don't use your household vacuum to remove water.
• Don't use television or other household appliances.
• Don't turn on ceiling fixtures if the ceiling is wet, and keep out of rooms where ceilings are sagging.

SERVPRO Provides 24-Hour Emergency Service

We are available 24 hours a day with our highly trained technicians standing by. We have qualified trained professionals who are ready to respond to these incidents. We will always treat your property and the people involved with the greatest empathy and respect in the face of trying circumstances.

We don't only offer biohazard cleanup services, but also cleaning services such as air ducts & HVAC, carpet & upholstery, ceiling/floors/walls, drapes & blinds, odor removal, sewage & toilet overflow, vandalism & graffiti, building services, and all kinds of commercial cleaning services.

About SERVPRO Team Harvey
SERVPRO of Lower Manhattan is proudly owned by Lance and Jennifer Harvey - a husband and wife duo that owns three other SERVPRO locations, including SERVPRO of Aberdeen/Holmdel, SERVPRO of West Somerset County, and SERVPRO of Hoboken/Union City.

We understand the stress and worry that comes with a fire or water damage and the disruption it causes your home or business. Our goal is to help minimize the interruption to your life and quickly make it “like it never even happened.”

Biohazard Bathroom Cleanup

3/17/2017 (Permalink)

Bathroom tiles after our services were provided.

Here at SERVPRO we take pride in our long list of services we provide to our clients. On this list is bio hazardous damage removal and restoration. These types of jobs are a sensitive topic but we at SERVPRO of Hoboken/ Union City and SERVPRO of Lower Manhattan are always up for any type of job where it’s possible to give the customer a sense of relief and satisfaction. Not pictured here is where the blood on the floor of the bathroom was. The removal of this should only be done by trained professionals. Our crew went in with the proper equipment and tools they needed to remain safe while simultaneously fixing the damage. Pictured here is the tiles after our job was done. You can see the tiles have been restored to working conditions and no longer look like damage had ever taken place there to begin with.

Biohazard Cleaning

3/10/2017 (Permalink)

Stairwell after our cleaning.

Whenever a job includes blood cleanup or any related incident it is a sensitive case.Our crew at SERVPRO is trained to handle this kind of situation. Out of respect for the individuals associated we have no attached a before photo. Blood classifies as a bio-hazard job; this type of clean up should be done by professionals as there are diseases that this exposure can lead to. Our team goes in with the proper attire, protection, and tools get the job done. Pictured here is the aftermath of our clean up. Upon cleaning up the blood off the steps the damage that was there before was no longer visible to the naked eye. Here at SERVPRO of Hoboken/Union City and SERVPRO of Lower Manhattan we are always up for any type of damage. 

Biohazard Cleaning in Home

3/10/2017 (Permalink)

SERVPRO of Hoboken and SERVPRO of Lower Manhattan goes beyond your typical fire and water damage jobs. We also get a number of other calls and jobs that we are always prepared to tackle. Similarly this is the case we have here. Not pictured is the deep brown stain on the carpet. This stain is a hazardous material and our team when in dressed accordingly and took the appropriate measures to get the job done. Our crew took out the carpeting and the flood boards and properly disposed of the hazardous materials. This kind of job is not easy and it sure is not for everyone. Our team is properly trained to deal with these kinds of things. They are not phased and keep it professional consistently. The owner was very pleased with the level of our work. 

Let's Clean up the Mess!

3/7/2017 (Permalink)

Biohazard material on the floor.

Our services go beyond just fire, soot, and mold. Our crew here at SERVPRO welcomes any challenge presented our way. For instance, the situation pictured was a call we received. Blood classifies as a bio-hazardous job. Once we are called we send a crew over to the scene to assess the damage and see what more needs to be done. We take pride in being well-equipped to handle these type of situations. At this job, we sent our crew in with all of the protection needed to keep safe and they cleaned up the stains presented in the picture. There's never a job that's too much of anything for us to handle here at SERVPRO of Hoboken/ Union City. Our customer was very pleased with the results they received once our crew was done.