Blood Cleanup in Homes and Vehicles Across Southwest Ohio

When blood cleanup needs a professional

Not every spill calls for a crew. A drop or two on tile in a West Chester kitchen, from someone in your own home, can usually be cleaned with gloves and a household disinfectant. The picture changes when the amount is larger, the source is unknown, or the blood has soaked into something soft.

Carpet is a common example. Under the visible fibers sit a backing, a pad and then a subfloor, and in many older homes around Cincinnati's West Side or in Dayton's older neighborhoods, the subfloor is wood planking that absorbs liquid. Surface cleaning can leave the lower layers contaminated and smelling later.

Other signs you need help: blood on drywall or in grout, on a mattress or upholstered chair, in a vehicle, or anywhere after an assault, a serious injury or a death. If a crime was involved, wait for police in Hamilton, Montgomery or the county involved to release the property first.

Pets can complicate things too. A dog injured in a Loveland backyard or a cat that tracked blood through a Centerville kitchen can spread small amounts across floors and furniture. Animal blood still carries germs, and the same rule applies: hard surfaces can be cleaned with care, soaked materials usually need a professional.

Situations that usually need a biohazard company

• Blood soaked into carpet, pad, mattress or upholstery
• Blood from a person outside your household or from an unknown source
• Blood in a car, truck, boat or camper
• Blood after an assault, injury, or death on the property
• Blood in a rental unit where the landlord must restore the space

Blood in carpet: how removal works

Professional removal of blood in carpet is mostly about cutting out and replacing what is affected. In a Fairborn apartment or an Anderson Township family room, the crew marks the edges of the affected area, lifts the carpet and pad, checks the subfloor, and removes whatever has absorbed blood.

The exposed subfloor is cleaned and disinfected, and in some cases sealed so odor does not come back. Hardwood floors in older houses in Clifton or Dayton View may need boards replaced if liquid ran between them.

The landlord or homeowner usually arranges new carpet with a flooring company after the biohazard work is done. Ask whether the cleanup company can patch carpet or refer someone in the Mason or Beavercreek area.

Cars, trucks and upholstery after bleeding

Vehicles are harder than they look. A car seat is fabric or leather over foam, and blood sinks into the foam and can reach the seat frame, carpeting and floor pan. Seat belts, headliners and the gaps around the console also trap it.

A crew may remove a seat entirely to reach underneath, take out foam and carpeting, clean and disinfect metal and plastic surfaces, and then treat odor. Some cars, after a crash on I-275 or US 35, go to a tow yard first; ask the yard about access before scheduling work there.

Auto insurance treats this differently from home insurance. Comprehensive or collision coverage may apply to interior cleanup in some cases, but that rests on the policy and how the damage happened. If the vehicle was involved in a crime in Hamilton or Clark County, the state's crime victims fund may repay an eligible victim part of the cleaning cost, within the $750 limit that Ohio Revised Code 2743.51 sets for each claim.

Leave the vehicle closed until the crew looks at it, but crack a window if it sits in a hot driveway in Lebanon or Tipp City, since summer heat speeds up odor. Do not run the air conditioning or fan on recirculate, which can pull odor into the vents.

Housing and property types around here

Older brick homes in Price Hill and Westwood, Over-the-Rhine walk-ups and riverfront houses near the Ohio River often have plaster walls and original wood floors, which hold onto liquid differently than new drywall and vinyl plank.

Rentals near the University of Cincinnati, Xavier, Miami University in Oxford, the University of Dayton and Wright State bring student tenants and absent owners. In those cases the landlord usually approves the work and the bill.

On farm properties in Darke, Preble, Clinton and Brown counties, blood cleanup may involve a barn, a workshop or a farm truck rather than a living room. Mention any outbuildings when you call so the crew brings the right gear for concrete, wood or dirt floors.

Garages, basements and workplaces

Blood is not always in a living room. A workshop injury in a garage in Xenia, a fall on basement steps in a Norwood double, or an accident at a small business in Piqua can leave blood on concrete, wood stairs or equipment. Bare concrete is porous and can hold stains and odor, so crews may use stronger cleaners and in some cases seal the surface afterward.

At a workplace, OSHA's bloodborne pathogens standard applies to employers whose workers can reasonably expect contact with blood. A business owner in Dayton or Sharonville should keep employees away from the area until it is cleaned and ask the cleanup company for documentation of the work.

Basements around the Mill Creek and Great Miami River valleys also flood from time to time. If a basement was both flooded and affected by blood, say so when you call, because water spreads contamination across a wider area.

Rented homes: the landlord's floor, the tenant's couch

In an apartment near the University of Cincinnati or a rental house in Dayton's Belmont neighborhood, the landlord owns the carpet, walls and floors, so the landlord usually decides who cleans and files with the property insurer. A tenant's renters policy is mainly for belongings like a couch or clothing.

Talk to the landlord before hiring anyone yourself. A lease in Hamilton County or Montgomery County may say who is responsible for damage, and getting agreement first avoids a dispute over the bill later.

Details for the call and questions for the crew

When you call the Cincinnati line or the Dayton line, have the property address or where the vehicle sits, the county, the owner's name, and insurance details. Note whether the blood is on hard or soft surfaces and roughly how large the area is. Calls for Milford, Batavia or Amelia in Clermont County are outside this service area.

• Do your workers follow OSHA's bloodborne pathogens standard, and how are they trained?
• Will you remove carpet pad and check the subfloor, or only clean the surface?
• For a vehicle, will you remove seats if needed?
• How will waste be disposed of, and do I get paperwork?
• Can you send photos and an itemized invoice to my insurer?