What Is Forensic Cleaning?

• When is forensic cleaning required?
• Why forensic cleaning must be left to professional cleaners
• How to become a forensic cleaner
• The process of becoming a forensic cleaner
• Get in touch

Forensic cleaning is the removal of biohazardous material from a crime or trauma scene and the restoration of it to its previous, safe condition. It is also known as crime scene cleaning and trauma cleaning.

Here at ICE Cleaning, we offer our rapid response forensic cleaning services nationwide. Our fully trained technicians are accredited by a range of organisations including BICSc and the National Association of Crime Scene Cleaners. They are available 24/7, 365 days a year, including bank holidays.

Keep reading to find out more about forensic cleaning and what is required to become a forensic cleaner.

When is forensic cleaning required?

If your property has been contaminated with biohazardous material like blood, bodily fluids, waste, or sharps, you must bring in forensic cleaners to remove it.

Biohazards are dangerous to be exposed to and can cause a range of health problems and physical injuries. The sort of incidents trauma cleaners are required for include:

• Suicides
• Unattended deaths
• Homicides
• Traffic accidents
• Tear gas incidents (to remove any remaining tear gas residue)

Why forensic cleaning must be left to professional cleaners

It is often assumed that after a crime or other traumatic incident occurs, it is the emergency services’ responsibility to clean it up. But it actually falls to the owner of the property it took place on. However, unless you are a trained trauma cleaner, you must not clean up the scene yourself.

Forensic cleaning is very dangerous as you will be exposed to biohazards like blood and bodily fluids which can contain harmful pathogens including HIV, and Hepatitis B and C. You can find out more about the dangers of trauma cleaning in this blog.

There may also be hazardous objects present like weapons and drug paraphernalia which could injure you. Professional cleaners will have the full personal protective equipment (PPE) required for the situation like protective suits, gloves, and face masks to keep them safe throughout clean up.

Specialist knowledge, cleaning products, and equipment is required to ensure a thorough clean up, as well. Should you attempt clean up yourself, you may leave behind biohazards which could put people’s health at risk.

Trauma cleaning can be very upsetting, too, particularly if you knew the victim. Forensic cleaners will have the training and experience to handle sensitive incidents, and provide support to the family and friends of the victim.

Forensic cleaners will give you peace of mind that the affected area is safe again so you can get back to normal as soon as possible.

How to become a forensic cleaner

Trauma cleaning is a rewarding but challenging job that is not for the faint of heart. You will need the following qualities:

• A strong stomach as you will regularly be exposed to upsetting scenes
• Good attention to detail to make sure you remove all biohazards and decontaminate the area thoroughly
• Flexibility as the nature of this emergency role means you might be required during unsociable hours
• Be physically fit to perform manual tasks for a long period of time in full PPE
• Be compassionate for the customer who may be a friend or relative of the person who was injured or passed away

The process of becoming a forensic cleaner

Although there are no formal education requirements for becoming a forensic cleaning, you will need to have completed an approved forensic cleaning course. These courses will cover topics like how to use a fogging machine, bloodborne pathogens, and handling medical waste.

You then need to get an entry-level forensic cleaning job with a company that is authorised to clean up biohazards so you can get some experience and receive on-the-job training.

To make sure you can access police and crime scenes as well as sensitive information, you must also pass a background check.

If you want to improve your skillset and abilities, you can complete additional courses on the different areas of trauma cleaning like sharps removal and hoarder cleaning. You can find out more about how to become a crime scene cleaner in this blog.

Get in touch

We offer a wide range of trauma cleaning services including crime scene cleaning, road traffic accident clean up, and undiscovered death clean up. If it’s an emergency, our technicians can be on site within several hours.

To find out more about our forensic cleaning services, get in touch with our helpful team on 0208 066 0360 or send an email to enquiries@icecleaning.co.uk.