How Crime Scene Cleanup Specialists Apply Their Skills – Away From the Scene of the Crime

Crime scene cleanup technicians occupy a very tight niche: people with the particular set of skills to remove biological matter and odors in some of the most emotionally trying circumstances.

Crime scene cleaners are, intuitively, the last call anyone wants to make, and they’re as aware of that as anyone. That’s why they develop a sense of empathy and care that few in the broader commercial cleaning space are so keenly required to have. But these skills aren’t limited to only being applied to the most immediately distressing situations.

While crime scene cleaning specialists make sure to focus on serving a very specific market need that so few professional services are capable of or willing to provide, their abilities apply just as well to situations outside of the scene of a recent crime or tragedy.

Let’s take a closer look some examples of situations where crime scene cleanup professionals are the best equipped to handle circumstances outside of a recent crime:

Cleaning Up a New Property With a Mysterious Mess

Properties often become available at cut-rate prices precisely because there is something clearly wrong upon setting foot into them. Sometimes, the answer falls directly into the wheelhouse of a crime scene cleanup job, such as addressing a relatively recent suicide. Other times, it’s not so clear cut.

But when the smells or stains found point to a biohazardous organic material, a crime scene cleanup technician is uniquely equipped to handle the job.

Most traditional services use tools and supplies not all that different from what the average person already has in their home. This is a perfectly viable approach to cleaning spaces that have standard grime or mold. It is not necessarily the way to restore a space with hazardous biological waste present.

Crime scene cleanup tools are on a different level:

• Ozone machines to neutralize ambient odors
• Enzyme-based cleaning solutions specifically developed to neutralize putrefaction
• Foggers, that soften biological material that has been hardened to a surface for months or even years

A simple diluted bleach solution simply isn’t up to this level of demand. Crime scene cleanup professionals have the tools and, more importantly, the know-how on dealing with spaces that traditional cleaning workers have already gone over to no effect.

Mitigating the Long-Term Effects of Animal Waste

Most pet owners have dealt with at least a few indoor urine or fecal incidents with their pets. They may even be equipped with special pet odor eliminator solutions.

But in the case of properties where waste was allowed to accumulate long-term, it’s not as simple as a quick pick up/wipe up approach. Especially in spaces where animal hoarding has occurred, the cause and effect of large amounts of animal waste in an enclosed space is more like a mass biohazard situation.

Crime scene experience gives these cleaning specialists the upper hand in this kind of situation. Rather than looking simply at the waste directly in front of them, they are cognizant of the spiraling effects of this type of biohazard situation, such as:

• Applying the proper techniques to neutralize ongoing decomposition
• Which types of insects to be wary of in or around visible animal waste
• Whether walls or flooring materials may have retained portions of waste in between seams or pooling underneath, and need to be removed
• How to safely transport large amounts of removed hazardous waste without violating local statutes

Bringing a Keen Sense of Empathy to Any Situation

This is one of the underrated aspects of being a crime scene cleanup professional: working with clients in what is often the worst moment of their life requires a rising sense of empathy.

Crime scene work means servicing people with a great need that few are willing to meet. And sometimes that is required in situations that aren’t literal crime scenes. But that skill persists among crime scene cleanup technicians nonetheless.

For especially demanding jobs that require some combination of biohazard cleanup, removing deep persistent odors, or clients who are in need of the the utmost attentiveness and care to a sensitive situation, the skillset of a crime scene cleanup professional is often the perfect fit for the job.