This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
TOMORROW’S CLEANING APRIL 10

Crime scene cleaning

AN ALTERNATIVE SIDE TO THE CLEANING INDUSTRY THAT CAN BE A REAL CHALLENGE.

When most of us think about cleaning, certain activities come to mind, from window cleaning to vacuum cleaning. However, most of us forget that our industry covers a broad spectrum and sometimes we are literally cleaning up after people...

On a daily basis National Academy of Crime Scene Cleaners (NACSC) members come across some terrible situations, from blood spray on walls, floors and ceilings, to decaying bodies and furniture soaked in decomposed matter. Although every situation requires a certain approach, it is really difficult not to think “What happened?” or “That’s terrible.” This is a day-to-day job and someone’s got to do it.

The NACSC training covers PPE, chemical choice, deodorisers, floor removal, pest control, safe methods and safe disposal – all of the information you need to feel fully prepared for what’s behind closed doors. Nevertheless, you still have to take a deep breath (not through your nose!) and pull yourself together, work out a plan of action and couple it all with the specialised training you have received.

For example, recently we had to deal with a situation where there was a pool of maggots still feeding on the decomposed matter. There was a terrible smell permeating the whole property, and it can take all of your will power to prevent yourself from giving in to the gag reflex.

Starting with removing the boarding from the door, we made our way in - suited and booted. When we opened the door, we were greeted

WARNING: These images are of a graphic nature and some viewers may find them disturbing or offensive. Please view at your own discretion. These images are not suitable for a younger audience. Click here to continue.

with about 100 blue bottles desperately looking for somewhere to lay their eggs.

We could see the body had decomposed badly and the body fluid had run under the skirting and possibly under the stud wall. Larvae cases from hatched flies were in every corner of the room and the sound of wriggling maggots could be heard like the sound pushing saliva through your teeth makes. (I bet you try doing that now!)

The only priority is to leave the place safe, sanitised and odour free and to dispose of all items correctly.

Working with NACSC methods means that no bodily fluids touch our suits or gloves, so carefully we bag all the matter into our trusty yellow bags and seal them securely.

The future of our cleaning industry | TOMORROW’S CLEANING | 53

FEATURE

Next we remove the skirting - the flooring gets cut out carefully to avoid all services under the floor and removed correctly. Slowly but surely the room changes into a better environment, and when all contaminated material is bagged and removed to our caged waste vehicle, we start to deodorise! Suddenly the air is filled with cherry smoke from out thermal foggers, and residual fragranced sprays change the atmosphere of the building, so much so that you can remove your mask for the first time!

www.nacsc.co.uk www.ultimacleaning.com Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84
Produced with Yudu - www.yudu.com