But the unexpected end of life can also come with another unexpected burden: crime cleanup and cleanup costs.
“A lot of people have come to us and said, ‘I thought the police cleaned this up.’ That’s not the case,’ Doug Baruchin, owner of Island Trauma Services (a crime cleanup business serving the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut), told Oxygen.com.
Island Trauma Services, consisting of a team of approximately 10 people, has been cleaning crime, murder, unintentional death, suicide, and medical trauma scenes for the past seven years. Baruch used his experience from him to answer any questions he may have about crime scene cleanup.
What does crime scene cleanup entail?
After a death, Baruchin said his team will first meet with surviving family members.
“We have to access the scene, see what building materials are affected, what contents are affected, what is the real seriousness of the situation,” he explained. The severity of the damage often depends on the situation. It’s not uncommon for the team to have to throw out mattresses and rip out hardwood floors.
“Sometimes bodily fluids can compromise the grooves in the wood floor,” he said. “We’ve had cases where [the blood] goes through the floor and into the apartment below.”
He said his team would need to remove anything directly affected by the biohazard. Depending on the killing method, the size of the area that requires cleaning varies.
“For a shotgun suicide, for example, it’s basically a spatter pattern of blood, tissue, brains, teeth, all the horrible things you can imagine,” Baruchin told us. “It’s our job to go in there and make this place safe for occupancy and to the best of our ability as if it never happened.”
How much does crime scene cleanup cost?
Any damage to a home caused by homicide or suicide must be covered by the homeowner’s insurance. But if you live in an apartment, you’re not covered at all. Cleaning can be quite expensive and can range from about $2,500 to $25,000.
The severity of the scene will add to the cost, Baruchin said.
“A shotgun suicide, or let’s say a week to 10 days of unattended death or what we call a clean decomposition, is usually going to be a lot more than, say, a gun homicide, or something like that,” he said, and He added that cost is typically driven by two things: labor and personal protective equipment. Costs for costumes, masks, and disposal must be covered. Items collected from a scene must be incinerated and comply with state and federal regulations.
What if you want to clean it yourself?
Bachurin would not recommend it.
“People sometimes try to fix this on their own, which is too traumatic,” he told us. “It’s one thing for us to do it. We have a certain degree of separation, but whether it’s someone you know or a friend is another thing.’
But if you really can’t afford it and it’s your only option, he said it can be done. If you do it on your own, you don’t have to follow any regulations.
“As an individual, you can basically do whatever you want,” Bachurin said. “You can clean it up and throw it away. We can’t do that as a company.’
He said that doing a little research online will teach you everything you need to know.
You would need disposable masks, gloves and covers. Be sure to use tools that help you find out where the blood is. If a blanket or bed is contaminated, throw it away. Items that are not thick can be cleaned. Hardwood floors can be lifted and pulled.
How do professionals clean?
Bachurin said that he does not use luminol or black light to locate human fluids. Instead, his team uses a very strong hydrogen peroxide-based product that will foam if blood is present. He said his team also uses hospital-grade disinfectants, which should kill 99.9 percent of all bloodborne pathogens, including HIV and hepatitis C.
What kind of person does this job?
The best candidates are the people who can really handle it, Bachurin said. He said several retired police personnel and a trained funeral director work for him. In addition to having a hard stomach, you also need a soft heart.
“You have to have a good stomach for it, a lot of empathy and patience to deal with situations like this,” Bachurin said. ‘A lot of the things we can do help people get through some really hard stuff.’ He added: ‘There are morbidly curious people who call and say it looks like great work. Honestly, it’s the opposite.’
Who should you contact if you need cleaning services?
Bachurin calls the crime scene cleanup industry a Wild West. It is not a huge industry and it is not regulated.
“There are only a few certifications that you need to do it and only a few rules that you have to follow,” he said. “Each company does it a little differently. Some have a bit more reputation than others.’
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The best advice you have is to call to request different quotes. Because the industry is unregulated, prices can vary considerably. Do some research to become familiar with businesses in your area.