Unattended Death Service Overview
Occasionally there are instances in which a person passes away alone in their home, vehicle, or other location, and they are left undiscovered for an extended amount of time. This is known as an unattended death. The longer a body is left to break down, the process of putrefaction will begin, resulting in fetid odors, bacteria, and numerous unsafe health conditions requiring professional biohazard remediation.
Premier Unattended Death Cleanup Services
Most people will never have to deal with a situation like this, but for those who do, BioteamAZ is ready to help. We provide professional cleanup for situations that no one should ever have to see. Our team is fully equipped to ensure your home is cleaned, disinfected, and safe to enter once more. We follow OSHA protocols, utilize appropriate Personal Protective Equipment, and train all our employees on the current IICRC cleaning standards. While we cannot erase the tragic event that has occurred, we will do everything in our power to help you move past this event quickly and safely.
Unattended Death Cleanup Process
For an unattended death cleanup, we are generally expecting a situation where the body has reached advanced deterioration. The rate of decomposition can be affected by multiple factors including temperature, humidity, weather, cause of death, and the location where the death occurred. Once the area has been cleared by the police department, our cleanup process can begin.
Free Assessment – Before any actual cleaning takes place, a senior technician will come in and assess the extent of the damage. The sights and odors of an unattended death are highly distressing, and we want to help insulate you from that experience whenever possible. We will give you an idea of what work will be required and retrieve any documents you may need immediately. If the loss requires an insurance claim, we will help you file the claim through the insurance company. If the loss is at an apartment, we will work with the apartment complex and provide them a breakdown of the extent of the damage.
Remove Contamination Source – Typically, blood, bodily fluids, and odor-causing bacteria will have impacted multiple items and features within the vicinity of the body. This includes personal belongings, furniture, and the structure of the home. In instances where there is sealed flooring that is undamaged, we expect to be able to clean and disinfect the flooring without any removal. In any situation where blood or bodily fluids could have seeped to the subfloor, the flooring will need to be removed. In extreme cases, we may have to remove the subfloor to properly rid the property of biohazardous materials.
Decontamination & Cleanup – After the source of the contamination has been removed and prepared for transportation to an approved medical waste disposal facility, the rest of the cleanup can begin. We utilize a combination of techniques, tools, and chemicals to ensure the whole home has been treated and is free of the severe health hazards that are present due to unattended death.
Odor – The decomposition process releases a noxious odor that can impact an entire home. The cleanup process will reduce the level of odor in the home, and we will perform additional odor treatment services as needed including machine treatments, fogging, and occasionally offsite laundry services.
It is our responsibility to ensure that your home is safe to re-enter at the completion of our service, which means ensuring the whole home has been disinfected, sometimes down to the very foundation of the home. Our cleaning protocols are current with the IICRC, and we perform ATP testing to validate that our standards have been met or exceeded.
Related Services
Our team consists of claims specialists, and an attorney to assist you with all needs that may arise from beginning to end. We are available 24/7/365.
Frequently Asked Questions
Personal belongings, furniture, walls, and anything in the vicinity of the body will be impacted, either directly or due to the odor-causing bacteria. Any porous items that have been contaminated with blood or bodily fluids will need to be documented and properly disposed of. Some semi-porous items and most non-porous items can be properly disinfected and saved.
That will ultimately be a conversation between you and your insurance company. If an unattended death occurs in a vehicle, it is likely that the entire interior of the vehicle will need to be stripped out to ensure we can disinfect and deodorize every square inch. We will work in conjunction with your insurance company and your vehicle repair facility.
Unfortunately, it is a common occurrence. However, with the increased connectivity of people through technology, the instances seem to be decreasing. Additional focus during the COVID-19 pandemic on the health and wellness of others around us may have reduced the frequency as well.
BioteamAZ serves the entire state of Arizona, including the Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Tucson metro areas.
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