FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. Why do you need to have the site cleaned by professionals?

The scene has to be truly clean, not just apparently clean. If not, infection can result from blood borne pathogens, any bodily fluids that remain in floors, carpets, baseboards or walls. It can also lead to mould, bacteria and fungus, which can cause sickness months or even years later.

We use hospital grade disinfectants to wipe and scrub every drop of blood off of all surfaces, including counters, ceilings, walls, light fixtures, little glass trinkets, family pictures, artwork and appliances. We remove and discard of any blood-soaked carpeting and get rid of any blood-soaked upholstery, window treatments or rugs. Sometimes, we have to collect and remove small pieces of bodily remains. The coroner collects most of it, but if it was a particularly violent death, there may parts left behind.

We measure our success by our clients' satisfaction, their referrals and industrial repeat customers.

2. How do we go about doing our job?

As a point of departure, we respond to a call directed to any of our representatives (see contact us). Once received, our crew will be sent to the scene within 3 hours (depending on the location). The police and/or the fire department respond and arrive first at a crime scene to perform crucial tasks especially in the aftermath of a violent death. TRIGEN is most often "secondary responders". We are called upon once the police, fire fighters, paramedics and the coroner have completed their duties. Once the necessary clearance has been received from them as well as the client an assessment will be done. Within 20 minutes a quotation will be given to the client. If need be, we will assist the client in completing the necessary forms for insurance purposes and complete other necessary administrative forms to enable TRIGEN to clean, decontaminate and restore the scene to its pre-incident state.

The TRIGEN crew needs to ensure that the public can't enter the scene, owing to its biohazard status. All the necessary biochemical and chemical cleaning equipment are provided for by TRIGEN . Once we assess the scene and the damage, cleaning commences.

Proper clean-up involves disposing of everything porous and everything that can't be submerged in detoxification chemicals for fixed periods. We often have to remove and dispose of furniture, light fixtures, carpeting and electronics for that reason.

3. Handling biohazardous materials:

When a violent death occurs in someone's home, the family typically doesn't move out of the house. TRIGEN removes any sign or consequence that results from an incident. Regulations deem all bodily fluids to be biohazards, so any blood or tissue at a scene is considered a potential source of infection. One requires special knowledge to safely handle biohazardous material and to know what to look for at the scene. For instance, if there's a thumbnail-size bloodstain on the carpet, there's a good chance that there's a 2-foot-diameter bloodstain on the floorboards underneath it. You can't just clean the carpet and call it a day. You also need permits to transport and dispose of biohazardous waste. TRIGEN has all of the necessary permits, training and, perhaps most important, willingness to handle material that would send most people running out the door.

4. How long does it take to clean a site?

To truly clean the scene of a messy homicide, suicide, accidental death or undiscovered death and restore the area to its previous state can take anywhere from 3 to 40 hours. It all depends on the "degree of trauma" and the amount of biohazardous material at the site. Most often it takes 5-6 hours.

5. What Standard of work do we comply to?

There are organisations that promote standards as well as certain government regulations that cleaners have to follow, including the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standards, which are guidelines for handling biohazardous material and the proper use of personal protection equipment.

We are listed internationally by Bio-Recovery Corp. click here for more information.

6. How does TRIGEN dispose of materials and bodily fluids?

Regardless of the type of scene, the final step in any clean-up is disposing of the evidence (unless the owners of the apartment or house have contracted the cleaners to do restoration work as well). This is actually a more complicated task than it may seem. You can't put hazardous or biohazardous waste in regular trash dump. One has to have a special permit to transport such waste. To dispose of it, in the case of the blood and gore, TRIGEN have to pay (typically R/kg) to burn it in a medical-waste incinerator. Some incinerators have minimum amounts they'll burn, so TRIGEN might have to pay to store the refuse in a sealed, refrigerated area until they've collected the minimum amount. In the case of poisonous chemical waste, you can only dump it in special areas not accessible to the public, which has an additional associated cost. Transporting and disposing of waste can be a big percentage of a clean-up bill.

7. Does my insurance cover the cost?

This service is often covered under auto, homeowner's or business insurance. TRIGEN will handle the insurance paperwork for their clients if and when required.