The Pitfalls to Rendering a Suicide Cleanup Service Yourself
When a loved one takes his own life, a million questions arise in the minds of those that he leaves behind. But sadly, these questions don’t normally get their answers. This sad occurrence is harder for the victim’s family members and close friends. They are left wondering if there was something they could have done that would have resulted in the victim still being alive. The last thing on such a family’s mind is to arrange a suicide cleanup service, but life is full of ironies as that is usually the first order of business that must be conducted in cases such as these.
As the family is thus still reeling from their loss, it would be easier for them to make all the wrong decisions. To avoid making such decisions as regards the suicide cleanup service to be rendered, here are a few things to consider.
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Evaluating the Scene
Although a wrong decision, if you choose to do the cleanup yourself, then you shouldn’t jump into it headfirst without any definite plan of action. What you are supposed to do is first ascertain how much damage has been done and thus how much repair would need to be carried out. Would you have to replace the curtains? Has the furniture been compromised? What of the carpet, can they be washed a d restored? All these are questions that must be answered before cleaning commences.
Ensure Your Safety
Professional companies who are in the business of offering suicide cleanup services have a collection of gears that is termed as PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). This collection features a respiratory mask, rubber gloves, protective boots, and coverall suits, amongst other things. These are meant to isolate them from dangerous Bio-hazards whenever they are working on a crime scene. To best ensure your safety, you should get your own PPE as we.
Get Your Cleaning Tools and Products
No one is ever prepared to clean up a room or a scene in which a beloved one has taken his life. Well, no one but the cleanup companies, which is why they already have in store all the cleaning chemicals, disinfectants, deodorizes, brushes, and the likes that they would need to carry out their duties. You do not, so it’s best you go out and get some. Your regular soap and rag might not be enough this time.
Make Your Transportation and Disposal Arrangement
Transportation and disposal here refer to how you want to handle the bio-hazardous that you will very likely be removed from the suicide scene. These are not regular waste and as such cannot just be dumped in the garbage container outside your house for the garbage truck coming along, later on, to pick up. You not only risk your health and that of others by doing this but also risk legal actions being taken against you.
So if you must clean up a suicide scene yourself, make sure that you’ve already arranged all bio-hazardous waste to be properly transported and disposed of. To be on the safe side, you must make sure to adhere to OSHA and EPA regulations.
Having considered all these above, you’d agree that the best way to go would be to employ a professional crime scene cleanup company.