Disposing of a Bloody Mattress After a Crime Scene

People die in bed in Illinois every day, but sometimes their deaths aren't peaceful. Traumatic deaths as the result of criminal acts leave mattresses stained with varying amounts of blood. When police don’t discover the person’s remains immediately, there might be other bodily fluids saturating the mattress, and it’s the family members left behind who must deal with the aftermath. You can’t throw a bloody, fluid-stained mattress out with the trash. So what are you to do? In situations like this, it’s best to call services that offer crime scene restoration in Decatur, IL.

How Professionals Handle a Bloody Mattress

What makes cleaning contaminated mattresses so difficult is their design. Mattresses are big and bulky and can’t be cleaned and sanitized well. When blood and other fluids penetrate the mattress, they go beyond the top layer. It’s not unusual for blood to seep into the middle layers of the mattress and even farther onto the box spring.

If a person dies in bed because of natural causes and is found right away, the mattress might not contain fluids. In a case like this, the mattress could then be recycled according to state requirements and disposed of in this manner. Crime scene cleaning has different protocols. Since traumatic deaths often leave behind a lot of blood, it’s not possible to clean and recycle the mattress.

Proper Protocols Must Be Followed

Hiring a crime scene restoration company ensures that proper protocols are followed and makes the cleanup process easier on the family. The state of Illinois recommends that contaminated mattresses are cut up, and any part containing blood or fluids must be removed fully from the mattress.

Crime scene restoration techs follow standard universal infection control guidelines to make sure they’re protected during the removal process. A bloodied mattress can contain hazardous material that threatens one's safety. Therefore, one can expect the restoration tech to be outfitted appropriately wearing a gown, gloves, a mask, and eye coverings. Even if the mattress only contains a small spattering of blood, the tech will follow the guidelines and take every precaution.

The tech will treat any parts of the mattress that contain blood or bodily fluids like biohazardous medical waste. Expect the tech to follow Illinois’ strict regulations regarding the proper disposal of biohazardous materials.

Any part of the contaminated mattress is then thrown away in a red biohazard container. These receptacles are designed to handle biohazardous waste and sent to a waste disposal company that’s certified to handle biohazardous material. After the company receives the contaminated mattress elements, they will safely incinerate the pieces.

When to Call a Crime Scene Restoration Service

No one wants to spend any more time than necessary dealing with a bloodied mattress at a crime scene. It’s unnerving and adds to the pain of losing a loved one so suddenly to violence. However, families need to get the approval of law enforcement before calling to have a bloodied mattress removed. Crime scenes take time to clear because law enforcement officials want to make sure they’ve collected all the evidence to solve the case and, successfully, bring it to court for a conviction.

If you need help disposing of a blood mattress at a crime scene, call a biohazard cleaning and crime scene restoration company to help you get things back to the way they were before the crime. Call Forensic Restoration Services for professional crime scene cleanup in Decatur, IL.