In the midst of COVID-19, it’s more important than ever for all of us to be paying special attention to our cleanliness, both at home and during our day-to-day activities. COVID-19, also known as Coronavirus, has been sweeping through our news cycles, and it’s beginning to impact us more and more every day. Arizonans have been told to stay home, save for essentials, and as we experience an unprecedented state of shutdown, it’s tempting to give into panic.
But before you start envisioning the worst possible outcome, take a moment to sit down, breathe, and listen to this good news: there’s a lot that you can do at home to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Indeed, while Coronavirus has inspired a wide amount of fear among the populace and provoked strong government responses, there’s some good news. COVID-19, at the end of the day, is pretty wimpy in the face of soap and water. If you apply the right cleaning agents, the virus molecules easily fall apart. Ergo, as long as you’re staying disinfectd and applying appropriate measures in your home, there’s a good chance that you can prevent its spread should you come in contact with it.
In this blog post, we’ll look at what you can do at home to combat Coronavirus, and what we’re doing here at Bio-One.
Keeping Your Home Clean From COVID-19
The reason why COVID-19 has provoked such a strong response is that it’s a sneaky little virus that spreads around while its host shows no symptoms. Most of the people who start showing the telltale fever have actually had it in their system for a week or two (according to current estimates), which means that you could potentially be exposed to the virus without even knowing it.
This means that you need to be extra proactive in keeping your home clean. Even if you have no reason to believe that family members or visitors have caught the virus, it’s possible that they could be spreading it around without showing symptoms. Instead of waiting around for the problem to happen, get ahead of it. Here are some things you can do to curb the spread of Coronavirus in your home:
Sanitize All Surfaces That Are Frequently Touched
While much research is still being done on COVID-19, current research suggests that it spreads in two ways — airborne transmission (similar to a cold or flu) and surface-to-surface contact. There’s not much you can do about the former, except for distancing yourself from carriers. But with the latter, you can stop the spread of germs by disinfecting surfaces where the virus may be dwelling.
Coronavirus is capable of surviving on various surfaces for different periods of time. The more solid and smooth the surface, the greater the likelihood of it sticking around. Here are some estimates of how long COVID-19 can dwell on various surfaces, based on current research:
As you can see, steel, plastic, and glass are the troublemakers here. COVID-19 can literally last for days if it makes contact with one of these surfaces, and all it takes for someone to catch it would be to touch the said surface (thus transferring some of the virus to their fingers) and then get it into their airways — something that is highly likely if you touch your face.
With that being said, here are some surfaces you should consider wiping down regularly:
Keep Your Phone Clean
While this could easily be lumped in with the point above, we believe it deserves its own special mention in this post, due to how glued we are to our phones every moment of the day.
Remember that bit above about how COVID-19 can survive on glass for up to four days? Yeah, that’s bad news, given that the overwhelming majority of smartphones have glass screens. Suppose one of your friends or family members has caught the virus, and you don’t even know it. Suppose you let them use your phone to snap a photo or show you a funny video. Now you’ve potentially got nasty COVID-19 molecules hanging out on the device that you carry around everywhere.
During this pandemic, it would be prudent to be careful about who you loan your phone to, even if it’s just for a moment. And, to be safe, you should wash it down at least once a day with soap and water. It’s important to be delicate — many phones aren’t waterproof, so you don’t want to overdo it. Disinfectant products and a slightly damp, lint-free cloth should do the trick, and good ol’ disinfectant wipes are also an option. You just want to make sure you’re not letting out too much liquid, if any at all — if anything gets into your phone’s internals, it could be the end of the line for your device. Be careful!
Wash, and then Disinfect
We’ve talked about cleaning the common surfaces of your home, but it’s important to know how. If, heaven forbid, somebody sneezes COVID-19 molecules all over your home, you need to be going about sanitization the right way.
Due to the nature of Coronavirus, it falls apart easily when exposed to normal soap, due to its lipid membrane layer. For DIY cleaning tasks, we recommend washing down surfaces with hot soapy water first. After you’ve done a few good passes, spray it or wipe it with a disinfectant product. To make things easy, the EPA has a comprehensive list of disinfectant products that are eligible to fight COVID-19.
The best practice is to leave the surface wet for the cleaning product’s recommended time. This allows the disinfectant to settle in and fight against any viral cells that might remain.
Wear Gloves
We confess that disinfectant gloves may be difficult to come by right now, joining the mythical ranks of toilet paper and hand disinfectr as products that are impossible to find in stores. But if you have any type of protective gloves, you’ll be better off wearing them while you clean.
It’s not like you have to put on protective gear and religiously wipe down every surface of your home every single day. But if you suspect you may have come into contact with someone who has the virus, it’s better to err on the side of caution.
What If My Home Has Been Exposed to COVID-19?
While we’ve outlined a list of general tips for keeping your home nice and disinfectd, these are all intended to be preventative measures just in case the virus might be spreading without you knowing. But if you’ve come into direct contact with someone who has been tested for the virus, you don’t want to take chances, especially if you have someone in your home who falls into one of the at-risk groups. In this kind of scenario, it would be wise to call a team of professionals to ensure that your home has been properly disinfected.
COVID-19 Cleaning Services in Tucson and Surrounding Areas
In many areas, all non-essential businesses have begun to shut down. But at Bio-One, we’re as essential as can be, due to our ability to thoroughly cleanse and disinfect areas that have been exposed to the virus. As a cleaning company that specializes in biohazards, we are uniquely equipped and trained to combat COVID-19. On days where we aren’t helping Tucson businesses and homeowners to clean up after the virus, we are doing other jobs such as blood spill cleanup, mold remediation, crime scene cleanup and more.
There is no cleaning method in the world that guarantees total and complete elimination of pathogens. But when you work with us, you’ve got the strongest fighting chance. We have been working around the clock to help protect Greater Tucson from the spread of Coronavirus. If your building has been exposed, we encourage you to give us a call today.
COVID-19
Corona Virus Resource Guide
March 14, 2020 by David Scott
If you’ve been watching the news at all recently, you have almost surely heard of COVID-19 or, as it is still more popularly known, the coronavirus. For some, it’s a running joke. For others, it’s the precursor to doomsday. The W.H.O. has officially declared it a pandemic event, stoking fears about the state of the economy in an already-tumultuous few weeks. Stores are running out of toilet paper and hand disinfectr as people across the world struggle to prepare, and schools and workplaces across the country are transferring workers from offices to their homes to prevent the spread of the disease. China and Italy are taking more drastic measures, quarantining those within their borders who test positive for COVID-19 in order to help slow the spread. How much of the panic is warranted, though, and what precautions should you take?
Bio-One Tucson, your resident experts in the fields of cleanliness, sterility, and all things related to disease eradication, stands ready to help.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has stated that COVID-19 is a new disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, an abbreviation for the “severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2”. It is considered a “novel” coronavirus, or a new virus belonging to the coronavirus family. Despite the recent news stories about it, coronaviruses aren’t new; the current strain that began in Wuhan, China is what’s new. Much like the SARS-CoV-2 virus, many coronaviruses are transferred from animals to humans, although this specific ons has obviously also been shown to be incredibly contagious in person-to-person contexts, as well.
Because COVID-19 is so new, there are still a lot of unanswered questions about its long-term effects, how its spread, and how best to halt its steady spread across the world. We do know that it can incubate within a person for days before symptoms arise, and during this time, does leave them at risk of spreading COVID-19 further even before they begin to feel the effects. So be careful, and make sure that you limit contact with friends or loved ones if you can’t be sure your or they haven’t come in contact with someone who is sick.
It is primarily spread through contact with the respiratory byproducts of the infected, inhaled when they cough or sneeze. The CDC isn’t convinced that this is the only way that the virus can spread, however, and because of that has recommended that you keep a 6-foot buffer zone between you and others. This “social distancing” tactic is meant to help by limiting the coughing or sneezing in your immediate vicinity and stop you from accidentally breathing the virus in.
There are three main symptoms presented in COVID-19 patients:
Fever
Coughing
Shortness of Breath
While these symptoms can occur due to allergies or the flu as well, there are some pretty big differences that could indicate whether what you’re dealing with is COVID-19, or something else entirely:
There’s a pretty good probability that it’s just seasonal allergies if your symptoms are coming and going. Allergies also don’t cause fevers — which is a pretty big indicator of COVID-19 — and generally doesn’t cause extended shortness of breath. This last symptom in particular, however, can obviously be brought on if you have asthma or some other pre-existing condition involving your lungs.
The seasonal flu and COVID-19 have seen a lot of comparison over the past few months because of similarities in the symptoms they both cause. Differentiating between COVID-19 and the flu is a bit more difficult than COVID-19 and springtime allergies, as coughing and fever can be brought about by both.
In both instances, it’s a good idea to stay indoors and away from others until you stop coughing and your fever breaks unless you need medical assistance. If your illness doesn’t progress and you’re back to normal in 5-7 days, it was probably a mild case of the seasonal flu. If you don’t return to normal in about a week (with the exception of some coughing or other miscellaneous weakness, which may stick around for a week or two), seeking medical attention is in your best interest if you haven’t already. If you begin to become short of breath, it could be COVID-19, but it could also be the onset of pneumonia — both of these things will likely require medical intervention, so seeing your closest medical practitioner would be a good idea.
Most COVID-19 cases are fairly mild. Most of the reported deaths have been a result of major complications in already at-risk populations, such as the elderly or those with severe unrelated health conditions, such as heart and lung problems, or those who are already immunocompromised.
While COVID-19 is spreading at a ferocious pace, most people probably don’t have to be too worried just yet. Listen to the CDC about how to put yourself in the least amount of risk: be careful, do your best not to spend time with those who are or could have been exposed to COVID-19, wash your hands, and avoid large crowds if at all possible.
Unfortunately, a vaccine will probably not be developed in the near future for COVID-19. Because of how little we know about COVID-19 and the fact that viruses can mutate incredibly quickly in ways that would make previous vaccinations useless, there are some that estimate that a reliable vaccine could take months or even years to develop properly.
Call your local doctor’s office, if you’re suffering from more mild symptoms or fear that you may have become infected. Flocking to doctor’s offices en masse can spread the virus from those who actually have it to those who have the seasonal flu or even just a severe case of allergies and are worried.
Calling your local doctor’s office can help them to fit you into the schedule, so you’re not having to wait around for hours in an emergency room. This can minimize your risk of being around those with the virus, or your risk of spreading it if you’re the one who is infected.
If you have contracted COVID-19, it is recommended to quarantine yourself for up to two weeks to let the virus run its course. Since most cases are mild, there’s a good chance that you will be able to just get it out of your system, clean thoroughly, and then return to business as normal.
For most, there's no reason to panic. Be aware of COVID-19 and how to avoid it, but unless you’re in an at-risk demographic, there’s a good chance that you won’t need much to overcome it but the same treatment of rest, fluids and healthy foods that helps get you past the seasonal flu.
The risk of contracting COVID-19 in Tucson and the surrounding areas is, at this point in time, pretty low. Especially considering the University of Arizona has temporarily closed its doors and is taking school online for the time being, and various other events around Arizona have been cancelled or postponed, the spread of the disease has been lowered pretty effectively in the area.
However, if you are scared, there are some pretty simple precautions you can take:
While COVID-19 is primarily spread through saliva through coughing and sneezing, it can almost certainly be spread through other means, as well, including coming into contact with other people’s germs and then touching your face and accidentally inhaling the particulates.
This is why washing your hands is so important. You can be incredibly careful about not coming into contact with people, but if you aren’t careful about the surfaces you touch and touching your face afterwards, the chances of contracting an illness is much, much higher.
While complete isolation may not be necessary, you can never know who is sick. Staying away from large crowds, gatherings of strangers, or those you don’t trust to quarantine themselves if they’re at risk is always going to be in your best interest in situations like these.
Unfortunately this may include cancelling or suspending travel plans, vacations, conferences, and other such activities that could put you at risk of contracting and spreading the virus.
We understand the desire to be safe, and to ensure that you have enough supplies to last throughout a quarantine — but at the same time, hogging supplies is just going to make it difficult to stop the spread of the disease. If others can’t ensure that they have the means to stop themselves from getting sick, the virus will just continue to spread, which puts those hogging sanitation supplies in more trouble than they would have been had they bought a reasonable amount instead.
It’s easy to let fear and panic drive our lives, but it rarely makes things better, so we should try to remember to keep our heads about us and do our part to keep our community safe. So don’t listen to those who act as if COVID-19 is a joke, but also don’t take those who think it’s a sign of impending doom seriously, either.
Keep safe, keep the CDC’s advice in mind, and take the necessary steps and precautions you need to take in order to avoid the risk of getting sick.
As a company that excels in sanitation and cleanliness, we are uniquely suited to offer advice on how to best prepare in order to not contract COVID-19. Please don’t hesitate to contact us today if you have any questions that you need answered!
So you read up on how to spot a potential hoarding situation, you’ve realized you or a loved one may have a problem, and you’ve acknowledged that help may be needed to address the issue. Congratulations, you’ve already taken a giant leap towards getting help!
Now, what’s the next step?
Hoarding is a mindset that can either feed off mental illness or can act as a mental illness in and of itself. Because of this, it’s important to remember that treating it in an incorrect manner can just start the hoarder back at square one, or traumatize them and make things even worse. Just like a chronic health condition can take an ongoing treatment plan to keep in check long after the symptoms have gone away, getting a hoarder help relies as much upon making sure the symptoms causing the hoarding are addressed as well as the hoarding process itself.
Relapses may happen, and it may take approaching treatment in a number of different ways before any tangible progress is made. If you find you’re getting upset with a lack of progress, take a step back and breathe. While understandable, anger and frustration can spark regression as the hoarder goes back to handling stress in the way that they best know how; by surrounding themselves with possessions that help them feel safe.
The old Daoist proverb rings especially true with hoarding; while it may be easy to understand that getting help for a hoarder is a gradual process, it can be harder to accept that getting the hoarder to even part with one item is a success. Take every win as a step in a never-ending journey, where even getting the hoarder to admit that they have a problem can be difficult to accomplish.
Just because you managed to clean out the house once doesn’t mean it will stay clean. Make sure that, if you’re the hoarder, you stay on top of warning signs that you may be repeating old habits. If you’re the loved one of a hoarder, keep an eye out if it seems like they might be regressing. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is another adage that is incredibly relevant here — if help is obtained before the hoard becomes a problem again, catching the mindset that enabled the hoard to re-emerge may lend valuable insight into what may be causing the issue in the first place.
If possible, seek to enlist the help of a specialist to help prepare the hoarder mentally for the ordeal to come. Mental health is an exceedingly important part of a successful hoarding recovery strategy, and some sort of mental preparation is essential. This might be therapy, advice from someone who was in a similar situation, or just general encouragement and support.
If the hoarder refuses to see a mental health expert or is otherwise against seeking help because they don’t think they have a problem (or if this sort of help is otherwise unattainable), it may be worth consulting with a specialist for advice on how to persuade the hoarder to get enough help that they’re open to having others help begin the process of cleaning.
The most important thing not to do is lure the person out of the house and then clean for them, or force them to take part in something they are adversely against. This can make the underlying symptoms worse, will not stop the hoarder from continuing to collect belongings that will eventually build up once again, and can make true recovery even more difficult. Bio-One Tucson works with clients for precisely this reason.
Once the hoarder is ready to help and willing to take steps to change, even if tentative initially, then the actual cleaning can begin.
Interventions, in extreme cases, can be effective. Of course, this depends very heavily on how well the intervention is staged, whether the path towards recuperation is clearly charted from intervention until recovery, and upon the individual. However, interventions should always be a last-ditch effort. In some cases, they may even make things worse.
It is highly recommended to hire professional help like Bio-One Tucson for help with the actual cleaning process. It’s possible piles of belongings haven’t been moved or even touched in years, and could be hiding swarms of pests, dangerous molds, or festering diseases. Your goal is the same as ours — getting the hoarder’s living space back to pre-hoarding conditions — and years of helping others do just that has given us valuable experience that we can leverage to safely and efficiently assist in cleaning efforts.
If you are curious about our process and what makes us different from other services you might seek to hire, just take a look at the services we provide. By not focusing just on one specific task, we can handle complex situations that others may not be able to, including:
Pet waste
Mold
Medical biohazard (such as blood, biological waste, and more)
Terrible odors
Sewage backup
In addition to the services we provide, we work with clients to help bring them comfort in a time of great distress and treat them with respect and compassion in order to make the process easier on them. While this process isn’t an easy one, it is one that we seek to make as easy on everyone involved as possible.
If you want advice, more information, or to enlist our help with cleaning out the home of either yourself or a loved one, visit our Hoarding page today. With years of experience under our belts and a client-focused attitude towards customer service, we can’t wait to help you reclaim your home.
Strange odors are a good sign that something is not quite right with your house. Whether you have a sewage backup, an animal infestation, a mold problem or an undiscovered death in your vicinity, a trademark stench can help point you in the right direction to see what’s going on. Even something more mundane like a stale, musky odor that just won’t go away can be annoying, and a good enough reason in and of itself to call an expert cleaning crew for help.
Some common smells and their causes can be found below. If the scent is long-term and you find it lingering in your home long after the source of the smell is gone, contact Bio-One Tucson today for information on our odor removal services. Years of experience and use of the best products around help us to ensure that we treat the odor at its source so you don’t have to deal with it any longer.
If you smell something that “smells like death,” chances are it could be. Undiscovered death, or the death of someone that goes under the radar for an extended period of time, is rare but certainly not unheard of. Especially if a neighbor has no family to check up on them, weeks or months could go by before the source of the odor is discovered. If the odor persists, checking with neighbors to see if the smell is bothering them as well could be a great way to see if they’re impacted as well or see if it’s localized to you.
If the scent is localized to you, it’s entirely possible that you have a pest or rodent infestation, and one of them passed away within your walls or under your floorboards. Consulting with an exterminator is a great way to confirm this suspicion, and set a plan in motion to get rid of the pests plaguing your place.
This is yet another telltale sign that you may have a pest problem. If you’ve washed and washed and washed your poor dog over the course of the past few weeks and it still smells like wet dog in your house long after he’s dried off, it’s quite likely that there’s another animal in the vicinity that’s causing the smell. An exterminator could help you solve your problem! Make sure to check our article on post-extermination cleanup if this is the route you take.
A fishy smell in your house may not have anything to do with your freezer — although it’s still certainly worth checking out. If nothing there is awry, it could instead be an overheated electrical outlet. Sometimes the plastic coatings on outlets or internal wiring can let off an unpleasant scent akin to fish that tell you that something is not working correctly. If you can isolate which of your electrical components is malfunctioning, an electrician should be able to help you swap out parts to eliminate the source of the smell.
If it’s not due to overheated electrical components, having an expert take a look at your air ducts could help isolate what the problem could be.
If you notice that part of your home smells stale and musky, it may be a sign of mold. Mold can be a significant problem to the health of both you and your home, and catching it early can stop a problematic invasion in its tracks. If you find that you’re in need of mold remediation, Bio-One Tucson’s crew is made up of experts that will go above and beyond to ensure that your mold problem is treated at its source, never to return. Get more information or contact us to request our services on our Mold Remediation service page.
The scent of rotten eggs could speak to a natural gas leak or a sewage leak. If you’re smelling a sudden strong, prominent stink of rotten egg, get out of your house immediately and call 911 so they can send out someone to deal with the scent, and whatever may be causing it.
If the scent is more subtle, and only happens at random intervals, it’s likely a less serious issue, although it would still be a good idea to contact a plumber. You may have a leak in your plumbing, and getting it repaired before it becomes an issue will save you lots of time and money down the road.
Something smelling like sewage could point to a number of different issues. Before taking drastic measures, make sure first that the seal for your toilet is working properly. If the seals of your toilets are looking fine, it may be time to call the plumber. While there’s still the opportunity that it isn’t a problem of catastrophic proportions, the key to tackling the current odor before it settles is preventing whatever problem could be building up in your house’s pipes.
Make sure, first of all, that your house isn’t actually on fire. If it is, evacuate and call 911.
If everything is normal, but a smoky scent is still lingering around your house, check your fireplace and your chimney. Creosote, a byproduct of wood fires, can build up in chimneys and cause a smoky scent that can linger for days after the fire’s been put out. Long-term exposure to smoke can also cause a lingering smell in rooms exposed to smoke and could require deep cleaning to properly address.
If your house is plagued by strange odors you just can’t get to go away, Bio-One of Tucson can help those in Tucson and the surrounding areas to get rid of the smell. Whether you’re plagued by any of the above scents or something entirely different, we can help you find what’s causing the odor and neutralize it, disposing of anything that may be contributing to the smell or that was irreparably damaged because of it.
For more information on our odor removal service or to get more information about our service today, visit our Odor Removal service page for further assistance!
While it can be easy to think that your problems are over and done with after the exterminator comes to do their thing, in reality, it just means you’ve moved into step two of the process: cleanup. While many exterminators will clean up pest waste for you, this is not always the case, and if they do not, post-extermination cleanup is a must. Waste left behind by animals can be just as dangerous as the critters themselves in many cases, and proper post-extermination cleaning is essential.
Make sure to ask your exterminator about whether post-extermination cleanup will be necessary, and if so, to give you specifics on when and how certain areas should best be cleaned. Some areas may be able to be cleaned immediately after whatever pesticides the exterminator used are dry, and some may require you to wait for a while until you can safely clear them out. Some processes may require professional cleaners to safely handle.
If the removal of animal waste is ever going to be a requirement, however, do not attempt to handle the cleaning of the waste yourself. Without specialized equipment, cleaning supplies, and safety equipment, you could end up incredibly sick after accidentally ingesting something you shouldn’t have.
There are two main types of cleanup that you will have to worry about when an exterminator is required: the cleaning of animal waste and other byproducts, and the cleanup of pesticides that were used in the extermination process once the extermination has been completed.
Animal waste can carry many of the same diseases that the animals themselves carry and more. Aside from the simple ailments such as rabies, the bubonic plague, and simple food poisoning, dried-out animal feces can carry parasitic eggs and other nasty surprises that only make themselves known days or weeks after the animal defecates.
While your exterminator may have already taken care of this in a serviceable manner, another reason to go with a professional cleaning service is to neutralize any lingering odors or pheromones that may linger on after the exterminator has come and gone. These pheromones may be resistant to cursory cleaning, and if left intact, could lead to a brand new infestation, leaving you with yet more bills and an even bigger headache.
Pesticides have been contentious in modern U.S. debates around food precisely because of the danger they can pose to humans. Because of the pesticides used in and around areas where house occupants live and eat, ensuring pesticides don’t linger long after they have to (and that they don’t come in contact with food or surfaces food may touch) is a good idea.
Often, this isn’t anything that will require expert help. That doesn’t make it any less important. Pesticides left unattended can make your loved ones or your pets incredibly ill. Talk to your exterminator when they finish up to get a sense of how long after extermination you need to leave these pesticides to settle before you can clean again. Often, you won’t need to wait for much longer than after these pesticides have dried to get to cleaning.
Bio-One of Tucson’s top priority is to help treat any potential avenue for disease or emergency before it has a negative effect on you, your home, or your family. To that end, animal waste is an issue we take incredibly seriously. If you think you may be in need of our services, see our Rodent Droppings Cleanup Services page for more information, or to contact us about our services today!
Hoarding is a problem that’s been getting an increasing amount of attention in the news, which has sparked a debate about how to differentiate simple clutter from problematic hoarding. The question of how to know when someone’s just messy or when they’re a full-blown hoarder can be difficult to answer.
Hoarding can result not just in piles of useless goods, but can also create perfect environments for mold or pests to grow out of sight, and in extreme cases, could contribute to cleanup costs in the tens of thousands of dollars. Stacks of books and piles of old belongings can also be dangerous if they topple, and have been known to injure or even kill people and animals they’ve collapsed upon.
Knowing how to help a friend or family member who may have a problem with hoarding is important, but even more important is being able to spot friends or family members who may need help. Understanding which of your friends may be hoarders involves knowing what exactly a hoarder is, what causes hoarding, and signs that a loved one may be struggling with a hoarding situation.
To understand whether or not somebody may have a potential hoarding problem, it’s important to first understand what can cause this sort of behavior. From there, you can begin to work on getting yourself or your loved one help with clearing out the mess in a non-traumatic manner.
Hoarding is, very simply put, the compulsive collection of miscellaneous items and an unwillingness to get rid of them. While it’s easy to think of hoarding as an addiction, there’s a very important distinction between compulsion and addiction as the terms relate to hoarding: compulsions rely on the avoidance of taking certain actions (disposing of old or useless items that the hoarder no longer needs, in this case), while addictions rely on the taking of a substance or performance of a certain action to relieve tension. Even the idea of cleaning may cause a hoarder discomfort or a looming sense of unease.
This is important because compulsions and addictions are treated much differently, and attempting to treat a hoarder like someone addicted to collecting miscellaneous items will not treat the underlying issue, the inability to rid oneself of even the most insignificant items for one reason or another.
The exact cause of these hoarding behaviors are still being researched. Like many mental illnesses (or many behaviors caused my mental illness), a variety of factors may come into play. However, it has been noted that there is a lot of overlap between those who have problems with hoarding, and those with extreme Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
There are as many specific “causes” of hoarding as there are hoarders. One of the most common is that an item — even an apparently useless one such as a flyer, old mail, or an old, worn-though item of clothing — might be vitally important one day, too important to risk getting rid of. So stacks of items that others may consider trash build up, and when it becomes too much to store, piles of these items may begin to build, and build, and build. Another may be that each and every item they own has some sort of value to the hoarder, even if they can’t quite explain what it is about an object that they specifically value.
The difficult part about this is that it isn’t always obvious. Many hoarders are aware and ashamed of their collections and will either shut themselves away or refuse to have visitors over because of it. It may also exacerbate substance abuse issues, which can also cause self-imposed isolation.
Look for some of the telltale signs:
They have clutter and mess that just keeps growing, but they just cannot seem to sort through it
They continuously acquire items they either don’t need or don’t have room for
The idea of cleaning — even in situations where pest infestations have occurred or similarly dangerous situations have manifested — can cause anger, hostility, or extreme anxiety
This can include simply making sure bathroom or kitchen spaces are sanitary and free of mold
When rooms that have become unusable due to the collected items run out of space entirely, any open area of the house may serve as storage space, including living rooms, kitchens, hallways and more
If you suspect that a friend or family member may be a hoarder who needs help, be careful how you approach the situation: because the root of many hoarding problems is compulsion and the deep-seated fear that cleaning may lead to negative outcomes, attempts to get a potential hoarder help may be seen as an attack instead of a gesture of goodwill.
If you or a loved one are a hoarder ready to make that leap, you can get more information and request help directly from our Hoarding page. Bio-One Tucson specializes in hoarding cleanup, not only working with clients to help them sort through the massive collection of items that may be present but also address any potential safety hazards that may crop up such as mold, disease, or the waste left behind by pests.
We work directly with our clients because we know how difficult a decision this can be, and we make every effort to respect their wishes while ensuring that living spaces are made once again livable.
5 Steps to Take in the Event of Undiscovered Death
Whether you’re a landlord checking on a tenant, a family member concerned about an elderly aunt or uncle, or a roommate back from a long trip, discovering someone that passed away in their homes can be jarring, and the shock can make knowing what to do difficult. Your initial reaction to the situation may put you in danger, so knowing what to do if you find yourself in this predicament is paramount. If you find yourself in this situation, there are 5 crucial steps you need to take to ensure your safety, and the safety of those around you.
Shock can disrupt the thought process of even the most rational people out there, and it may be your first instinct to run to the body (especially that of a loved one) to check on them. If you can tell they are dead (by the smell or in some cases even bodily decay), or they appear dead upon inspection, immediately clear the area. While you probably have no need to fear disrupting a crime scene in the event of an unattended death, especially if it has been a while since the decedent passed, you may have to worry about diseases from the body spreading as gasses and fluids are released.
Immediately contact your local authorities to ensure that the body is properly cared for, and can be assessed to ensure that no diseases or illnesses are lingering that could be dangerous to those in the area. Keep in mind that it may take them a while to prepare the correct equipment and personnel to transport the body, and you may be asked to keep onlookers out of the area, bringing us to step 3.
For many of the same reasons listed in point 1, keeping people out of the location is important until the body can be transferred. If the setting is an apartment complex, it can be difficult to secure the decedent’s home. While broadcasting that there’s a dead body around may backfire and draw some of the more nosy neighbors to see what’s going one, keeping watch and making sure people don’t linger in the area or attempt to enter the room before the area is cleared of the decedent and decontaminated can help keep everyone safe.
If the decedent lives with you or has others living with them, work with those transferring the body out of the apartment to see what the best course of action is for moving residents back into the house or apartment, or having them grab their belongings so they can vacate the home until it is safe to return.
This is where you may want to consider acquiring professional help from a qualified cleaning service like Bio-One of Tucson. Once the body has been removed, any airborne pathogens or sicknesses in any blood that may be left behind (if the decedent passed away after a fall, for instance) could still be contaminated if the team that removed the body didn’t clean up the area around. Even if they did, hiring professional cleaners to clean up after them is still a smart move.
If you don’t have the right training, safety equipment, or cleaning supplies, your attempts to clean could result in you getting incredibly ill, or in the area not being properly decontaminated. Since blood-borne pathogens like Hepatitis A, B, and C can be transmitted through contact with bodily fluids such as blood and can survive outside of the body for weeks or months in the right conditions, letting professionals handle decontaminating and disinfecting the area is in your best interest.
Even after being disinfected, odors could linger if it took a while for the decedent to be found, and it’s important to clean the area even further after the pathogens and illnesses have been taken care of. While a professional cleaning service hired to do a full deep-clean could still be beneficial to ensure that the house is returned to normal and there is no possibility of any lingering illness, this last step could be safely handled by any remaining occupants of the house as long as they remember to properly protect themselves as they clean.
If you’ve been put in a position where you’re responsible for ensuring the safety of occupants of a home after an undiscovered death, you need the best cleaning crew in the business to ensure the safety of those remaining in the home. For more information about our undiscovered death cleaning services or to request more information, just visit Bio-One Tucson’s Undiscovered Death service page.
Tucson, Arizona_ - January 20, 2020: Today the use of cannabis has grown over the last five year and now there are over twenty-nine states that have approved either the medicinal or recreational use of cannabis. However, if you are looking to sell your home and there is a tobacco/cannabis odor in the environment that could lower the value of your home by 25%-29% as noted in investopedia.com. That is a big drop in value. Matter of fact the top three odors that a home should not have if you are looking to sell your home is pet odors, protein and other food odors such as fish, curry, onions, garlic and tobacco/cannabis odors. When sticky tobacco residues accumulate, the resulting of film on interior building surfaces continually release malodors. Heavy smoking over a long period of time causes stubborn and severe smoke odors.
Our sense of smell can determine a lot of things for us. Some potential home buyers can walk thru a home and walk right out within minutes and never return, while others will still look, but those scents linger and make an impact on the brain and how we perceive that particular home.
Of course, we can’t always please everyone all of the time, but if you can avoid these odors that can certainly help. The most important smell you can leave buyers with is the smell of “clean.” Keep your home sparkling clean, free of dirt and dust and you will be rewarded.
Bio-One Tucson provides a proven system that provides the removal of tobacco/cannabis odors. They are using the latest technology and provide certain steps in removing these pungent odors which will increase the value of your home. For additional information and a free quote call _520-771-5960_ or email us at info@BioOneTucson.com
Bio-One Tucson provides exceptional service with over 20 years of experience in the cleaning and restoration industry thru out the city. We provide excellent service and provide proven results. Please visit our website at www.BioOneTucson.com for additional information.
Real Estate Agents Never Know
What They Will Find When They Open The Door
November 25, 2019 by David Scott
As a real estate agent, you likely view houses in every condition from pristine to filthy. While a few dishes in the sink or dirty floors aren’t ideal, there are other issues you may encounter that could be more than just tasks to add to your to-do list; they can present serious health risks.
The truth is that you never know what you might find when walking into a home for the first time. That’s why it’s a good idea to think about some potential worst-case scenarios and have a plan about how you’ll proceed should you encounter them.
Unattended Death
If you’re entering a home that has not been cleaned after an unattended death, you may find a strong odor, blood, and other bodily fluids. While you may see blood and other biological fluid, it’s what you can’t see that could pose a threat. E coli, MRSA, and other bugs can survive for weeks outside the body. That’s why it’s important to know that properly dealing with such matter isn’t just about “a good cleaning.”
Specially trained professionals should be called on to take care of blood and biohazard materials. There are laws governing how such things are handled, so DIY isn’t the way to go.
Hoarding Situations
Selling the home of a hoarder is another situation in which you’ll need the assistance of experienced professionals. When cleaning out a hoard, you may come across animal feces, deceased animals, mold, rotten food, and a host other unpleasant finds.
Do NOT proceed on your own. Instead hire someone who has been trained to deal with such a scenario safely and effectively.
Rodent Feces, Other Animal Urine and Feces
Rodents are more than bothersome creatures. Rats, mice, bats and pigeons - common household pests - can transmit viral diseases via unattended urine, feces and saliva. Often, their bacterium is airborne and can affect food and water sources found in home. Several diseases can be found in rodent droppings, including leptospirosis, a bacterial disease commonly found in food and water sources; arenavirus, a viral disease that can cause extreme sickness; and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, also a viral disease contracted through contact with rodent droppings.
Our technicians can properly remove rodent waste and disinfect areas affected by rats, mice, bats, pigeons, cockroaches and other rodents. Although dry and longstanding, these droppings can still carry bacteria and parasites, especially in badly ventilated areas.
Odor
Have you ever opened the door to a home and been overwhelmed by the smell of smoke or animal urine and feces. Even if the mess is relatively easy to cleanup, it’s still not so easy to get rid of the odor. Such a lingering smell is going to make it difficult to sell the home, so calling in an odor-removal pro is a smart idea.
Mold
Whether you can see mold or just notice that telltale musty odor, you’ll want to have effective mold remediation before you start staging or showing the home.
For all of the above situations, Bio-One is the Tucson real estate agent’s trusted choice for professional trauma cleanup, hoarding cleanup, and mold remediation. We respond very quickly and complete most jobs in just a few hours, so you won’t have to put the listing on hold.
You’ll also appreciate our competitive prices and attentive services. Call anytime, 24/7, and you’ll reach the owner of Bio-One. That’s how much we’re committed to being here when you need us.
Put our number on speed dial, so you’ll know how to reach us next time you come across a house that needs Bio-One services. You can also give us a call to chat and learn more about all the ways we can help get your less-than-perfect listings ready for market. Call today or fill out our online contact form to get in touch.
Trauma Cleanup
FAQ's
November 19, 2019 by David Scott
There are some services most people don’t think about—or even know they exist—until the time comes that they need it. In the case of Bio-One, we offer services that we hope you’ll never need, but we’ll be here for you if you do.
Our trauma clean up helps to return your home or business to a clean, safe state following an unattended death, suicide, homicide, or other situation that leave biohazard materials behind.
Since most of our customers have never heard of trauma cleanup before the night they required our services, many have questions about what we do. Here are some of the most commonly posed questions and concerns.
Why Can’t I Handle the Cleanup on My Own?
Only specially trained people are able to properly handle the cleanup of blood and other biohazard materials. The laws regarding blood cleanup are quite strict, and it’s easy to understand why when you consider the potential dangers.
E coli, MRSA, and other dangerous bugs can live outside the body for weeks. Unless the blood is cleaned up correctly, there is a real danger of exposing all who enter the home to serious health risks.
How Much are Death Scene Cleanup Services?
The cost of suicide cleanup, homicide cleanup, and similar services varies based on several factors, so there is no one price to suit every situation. Most of our customers don’t end up paying anything out of pocket as insurance covers 95% of the jobs we do.
It’s also worth noting that we don’t discuss collecting payment until after the job is done. Following a traumatic event, our focus is on providing the services you need to help return your home to a safe state.
How Fast Is Your Response Time?
Emergencies don’t happen only during normal business hours. That’s why you can reach the owner of Bio-One—not a voicemail or answering service—24/7. In most cases, our team will be on the job within an hour of receiving your call.
How Long Will it Take?
Most of our death scene cleanup services are completed within just a few hours. You’ll have peace of mind knowing that we have the proper licenses and certifications to properly dispose of blood and other biohazard materials in a way that is safe and meets all regulations.
I’m Worried the Cleanup Crew Will Judge Me.
That’s not something you ever have to worry about with Bio-One. We handle dead body cleanup, hoarding situations, and other scenarios in which the homeowners needs professional help to restore the safety of their home and many have endured a tragic situation. We approach each job from a place of sincere compassion. Our team also arrives in discreet vehicles, so you won’t have to worry about answering questions from inquisitive neighbors.
Anytime you need a Tucson-area trauma cleanup specialist, Bio-One is the trusted choice. Contact us today for more information or to schedule a consultation. Give us a call at 520-771-5960 or fill out our simple online form to get started.
