When people think about biohazard cleanup, they often think about some type of hazardous chemical or perhaps a crime scene. However, at Bio-One® Augusta, we are called in for a wide range of biohazard cleanup jobs and often we are helping families during the most challenging times of their lives.
Types Of Hazardous Materials
Anything that can pose a threat to a human being can be considered a hazardous material. After all, even household cleaners can be dangerous if ingested or, in some cases, the fumes can be dangerous. However, when we talk about biohazard remediation, we typically mean one of the following materials:
Human Bodily Fluids – There are many bloodborne pathogens, and blood and other bodily fluids can transmit a wide range of viruses (HIV, hepatitis, COVID-19) or bacteria (MRSA, E-Coli, salmonella, etc.)
Human & Animal Waste – Urine and feces from either humans or animals also can transmit disease. In homeless encampments, death cleanup and hoarding cleanup situations, we often remove human waste as well as rat dropping or pet waste.
Hazardous Chemicals – Hundreds of chemicals pose a danger to humans, and OSHA defines a chemical as hazardous if it poses a threat to your health, such as a toxin that could affect your lungs, skin or eyes. In some cases, the chemical or compound might be hazardous because it is flammable or explosive. These are just a few examples of what might constitute a hazardous chemical or substance.
When Should You Call Bio-One® Augusta?
If your home or facility has been contaminated by hazardous materials, it’s always best to use a professional biohazard cleanup service. Likewise, if a person dies, such as an unattended death or suicide, a professional should be called. Handling biohazardous material on your own is never a good idea.
Businesses must adhere to OSHA rules regarding biohazard situations and cleanup, so for a landlord/property owner or business owner, it’s always best to contact a professional cleanup service. Failure to properly clean up after an accident can result in fines and even set you up for lawsuits for negligence.
Proper biohazard cleaning requires the use of personal protective equipment as well as special OSHA-approved cleaners and equipment. Additionally, we ensure that all hazardous materials are removed from the area. In some cases, this requires removing furniture and other items, as well as removing carpet, padding, flooring and drywall. None of this should be handled by a family member, business owner or employee.
Additionally, for a family member, friend or even a landlord or boss, attempting to clean up after a traumatic event isn’t something you should have to handle. When a loved one has died, we can provide compassionate, discrete cleanup services and complete these tasks as quickly as possible for your peace of mind.
When it comes to hoarding cleanup, this can be a horrific ordeal for families and landlords, and highly emotional. Hiring a biohazard cleaning company not only ensures complete biohazard remediation but also can lessen the grief of a difficult situation.
Our Biohazard Cleaning Services Include:
What To Expect: Fast & Compassionate Services
While some biohazard situations are more emotional than others, we know that any type of accident or hazardous situation can be stressful, so first and foremost you can expect compassionate services from the whole Bio-One® team. We understand that this is a difficult time, and do our best to be helpful, kind and discrete and work as quickly as possible to complete the cleanup.
We are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year. There is never a time when we aren’t available to help you with biohazard cleanup, so whether you need crime scene cleaners, suicide cleanup or there’s been a traumatic accident at your home or place of business, we are always here to help.
We work with all major insurance companies as well, so you don’t need to worry about paying upfront for our services. We understand that this is a trying time, and we do our best to limit paperwork and other minutiae at the time of service to make the cleanup process as easy as possible for our clients.
When we arrive at the scene, our first step is to complete an OSHA-mandated assessment of the area. We then secure the area and limit access to ensure that there is no cross-contamination of hazardous materials. The next step is to remove all traces of biological materials and other biohazards. After all biohazardous material has been removed, we disinfect and deodorize the area.
Our Service Area
As our name suggests, we serve the entire Augusta metro area and all of Richmond County. Our service area also includes Aiken, Barnwell, Burke, Columbia, Edgefield, Jefferson, Lincoln and McDuffie counties. If you need any type of biohazard cleanup, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at (706) 305-5029. We are here to help 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
For many cleanup tasks, it’s often wise to opt for professional hazmat cleaning services. While some cleanups can be handled by maid services or even by homeowners, there are times when hiring a pro is the best and safest option. At August Bio-One®, we can provide you with many different types of hazmat cleanup.
We are called in to provide hazmat cleaning services for a wide range of situations. For instance, we often provide crime scene cleanup, suicide cleanup services or unattended death cleanup services. When these types of traumatic events occur it’s important the any blood and bodily fluids are completely removed, and that we clean and disinfect any contaminated surfaces.
In some cases, we will need to dispose of carpeting and carpet pads, mattress and even remove drywall to ensure that all biohazardous materials are removed. Of course, we always do our best to preserve any personal items when possible.
While removing blood borne pathogens and other potentially infectious materials is a common task for a hazmat cleaning company, we also are sometimes called in to clean up chemical contaminants, such as tear gas, or chemical spills. Tear gas (and many other chemicals) cannot simply be cleaned up with water or typical cleaning products.
Additionally, we often are called in to provide professional odor removal services or even rodent dropping cleanup or dead animal removal. There are many odors that simply cannot be removed using typical cleaning methods, so it can be wise to contact a professional for severe odor issues.
In general, none of these cleanup tasks should be handled by homeowners or landlords or a typical maid service. For professional biohazard cleanup services, we use special OSHA-approve cleaners and cleaning methods, and our crew also wears personal protective equipment to ensure safety.
Additionally, while it’s not safe for family or landlords to try and clean up potentially hazardous materials, it’s also can take a huge toll on your mental health. We often are called in to handle trauma cleanup after horrible tragedies have occurred and loved ones (and even landlords) should not have to handle these types of tasks. It’s important to note that we can provide hazmat cleaning services at just about any location, including residences and commercial properties, inside or outside. We also can provide hazmat cleanup for vehicles. Whether a tragedy has occurred or perhaps you need odor removal services after an animal dies in your car (this is quite common), we can help.
Hoarding cleaning services are a unique type of hazmat clean up. This process can take longer to handle, depending on the size of the property and the scope of the hoarding situation.
Hoarder cleaning services require a team that not only understands how to provide complete biohazard remediation, but also a team that understands that this is a highly emotional situation. We will work with your family and provide compassionate, caring cleanup services and do our best to preserve any important personal items, if possible.
We know it can be difficult for a person to come to terms with their hoarding disorder and we have handled many of these cleanup jobs. It’s tough, but once we’ve restored order and disinfected the dwelling, it can make it much easier for a person to recover from this mental health issue.
Of course, safety is the most important factor, and our biohazard cleaning crews ensure that all contaminants are removed, including dead animals, rodent droppings, mold, mildew and any other hazardous materials.
This is another unique situation that necessitates a high level of expertise and compassion. Homeless encampments often require everything from feces and urine cleanup to needle and narcotics removal. Our goal is to ensure that the community’s safety needs are met, but we also want to treat these unsheltered people with as much dignity as possible and handle their belongings with care.
Depending on the situation, our crew has a myriad of personal protective equipment and cleaning equipment at their disposal. This includes protective suits and non-porous gloves, chemical-resistant boots and respirators or N95 masks, depending on the situation.
We also use special types of solvents and special containers and bags created to safely store biohazard materials. Other equipment we can use includes special brushes that can access hard-to-reach locations, fogging machines to aid with odor removal and equipment to help us remove carpeting and flooring. We also take pictures of the area before and after the cleanup is complete as this will be needed by the insurance company.
When a tragedy occurs, the last thing family members need to handle is wrangling with an insurance company. We know that you have enough on your mind, and we will handle the interaction with your insurance company. We work with most major carriers and can open the claim and work directly with the adjusters.
At Augusta Bio-One® we are available to provide hazmat cleaning services at anytime night or day. You can call us 24/7 and 365 days a year at (706) 305-5029, and we will provide you with fast, comprehensive and compassionate biohazard cleaning services.
The roots of crime- and trauma-scene cleaning companies can be traced to the 1990s, and at that time only a dozen or so companies existed. The industry was widely unregulated and awareness of contamination risks were relatively non-existant.
"I was young and dumb and saw something you only see in movies, so I quickly shut the door, took a deep breath, sat on the couch with the widow and told everyone else to get her out of here and take her to lunch, and we’ll clean this up for her," said Nick-Anthony Zamucen, Founder of Bio-One Inc. "We were just trying to help a lady in her greatest time of need, and that’s for me how I got into the crime scene and cleaning business." Read Nick's story in Franchise Times.
Today, there are hundreds of companies that advertise crime and trauma scene cleaning, and a simple Google search may prove overwhelming when you're experiencing one of the most traumatic moments in your life. To help, we've listed pre-qualifying questions to ask before choosing a crime and trauma scene company.
Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Crime and Trauma Scene Cleaner
There are a number of key questions to ask crime and trauma scene cleaning technicians or business owners to properly root out which one is best for your goals and circumstances.
Last but certainly most important, make sure the business you speak with shows care and compassion for your situation. They should want to do everything possible to support you and your loved ones.
If you are searching for a crime and trauma scene cleaner, Bio-One is here for you. All of our offices adhere to our business motto Help First, Business Second and are available 24/7. Click here to search for a Bio-One team near you.
Bio-One teams across the U.S. answer calls to help their communities and remediate a variety of scenes. In our new blog series, we'd like to bring you into the Bio-One world by sharing stories of the unique and important work we do for local communities.
Here is Week 7 of our Bio-One Weekly Wrap-Up.
Thank You to the Thin Gold Line
The second week of April is a time to celebrate and thank telecommunications professionals who dedicate their lives to serving the public. Often called the thin gold line, 911 dispatchers are true heroes behind the scenes.
Coast to coast, Bio-One teams found fun and unique ways to recognize the Thin Gold Line.
Bio-One Helps Homeless Man with Vehicle Clean Up
This week, News San Diego reported "Homeless man's story inspires San Diego mom to enlist community's help", featuring Rene Flohr and Nicki Chipp-Flohr, owners of Bio-One. The Bio-One duo spotted a NextDoor post asking for anyone who could help 79 year-old, Les, who had been living out of his vehicle and was recently diagnosed with skin cancer. His vehicle was floor to ceiling full of items, and Bio-One was ready to help clean and disinfect the vehicle so it could be sold or donated.
In a message to Bio-One owners, Nicki said, "I am very proud of what we are doing to help someone. I thought you’d all appreciate it, since we live the Bio-One motto of #helpfirstbusinesssecond." We couldn't agree more!
Read the entire story on News San Diego.
A "Week in the Life" at Bio-One
The Bio-One team in Tuscon, AZ had a busy week with work ranging from COVID-19 disinfections, mold remediations, bird dropping clean up, medical waste disposal, suicide remediation, and more.
If you've ever wondered what it takes to be a crime and trauma scene cleaner, we recommend read through the Tuscon team's Weekly Wrap-Up!
Bio-One teams across the U.S. answer calls to help their communities and remediate a variety of scenes. In our new blog series, we'd like to bring you into the Bio-One world by sharing stories of the unique and important work we do for local communities.
Here is Week 6 of our Bio-One Weekly Wrap-Up.
Cherokee County Biohazard Remediation
Lives in the Atlanta area were forever altered on Tuesday, March 16, 2021 after a shooting spree at three metro Atlanta spas left eight people, including six Asian women, dead within the span of 45 minutes.
Our hearts and sympathies are with everyone impacted by this tragedy.
Two weeks after the tragic events in Atlanta took place, Bio-One answered the call to remediate the spa in Cherokee County. Led by Michele O'Brien and Rebecca Phillips, the Bio-One team provided a quick response and thorough decontamination. Read more in our recent blog post.
Tragedy in Rock Hill, South Carolina
As details from the tragedy in Rock Hill, South Carolina unfold, one Bio-One team paid special tribute to the victims, first responders and other local law enforcement officials. Bio-One owners, John and Jen Symons, live in Rock Hill and experienced the police response first-hand. "It's a tight-knit community. We just can't believe it," said Jen Symons.
Their team is currently in communication with local law enforcement, and activity supporting neighbors through this difficult time.
COVID-19 Disinfection at Dojo
This week, we're spotlighting the Atlantic City team where they are regularly disinfecting Ganguly's Mixed Martial Arts. According to Bio-One owner, Victor Russomanno, "We are contracted with a local martial arts studio to disinfect them weekly. In addition to their in-house protocol, we use an electrostatic sprayer to ensure maximum coverage and protection, to ensure those who are training are staying safe through our efforts."
Across the United States, Bio-One teams actively disinfect local businesses, government buildings, and residents in the fight against coronavirus. Learn more about our COVID-19 disinfection process.
If selling or buying a home is in your future, you're likely well versed the entire process, from the initial offer to closing. But are you aware that disclosing a death in the home may be required? The rules vary by state. Here's what you need to know.
Property Disclosure Documents
No matter how perfect a house looks on the outside, there is often property information a buyer needs to disclose before the sale can go through. Property disclosure documents reveal known structural issues, neighborhood nuisances, hazards, HOA details, water damage, notable repairs made to the home and death in the home.
Rules for reporting a death in the home vary by state, and variations in rules may include:
To be more specific, here are three death disclosure examples as stated from experts or articles based in Texas, New Jersey, and California:
For a state by state guide on disclosure laws we recommend visiting this resource on Nolo.com.
How to Search Property Records
If you'd like to do your own sleuthing and search property records, look no further than DiedInHouse.com. Founded in 2013, this website promises to instantly search millions of records to determine if a death has occurred at any valid U.S. address.
In a 2015 interview with Forbes.com, founder Roy Condrey stated, "I went online to find a ‘Carfax’ of sorts for deaths in homes and I didn’t find anything, but I did find pages and pages of people asking if there’s a way to find out if their house is haunted."
The service isn't free, though. Once you enter an address, you're prompted to pay a minimum of $11.99 for a single search. The report will, however, provide a number of property records including meth labs, fire, death, and registered sex offender information.
Remediating After a Death in a Home
If a death recently occurred in the home you're hoping to purchase, there may have been biohazards from bloodborne pathogens that required remediation. Consider asking the seller how the death was remediated to ensure proper steps were taken. Remediation processes may vary depending on the location of the death, how the death occurred, types of flooring, and if the death was undiscovered for days or weeks.
Bio-One technicians are trained and equipped to properly disinfect biohazards from bloodborne pathogens, and we ensure safe biohazard material handling and disposal. Once the entire area is cleaned of blood and body fluids, we also help property owners restore the location to its pre-incident state.
If you are selling a home and need a biohazard remediated or want to ensure remediation was done correctly, give Bio-One a call. Our experts not only contain and disinfect the dangerous biological materials, we carry out our work in a caring and private manner. Find a Bio-One team near you.
Mirror Review published the article "Nick-Anthony Zamucen - A Game-Changer in the Restoration Industry" and we couldn't be prouder! Over the past 15 years, Nick has established a Pizzeria Chain franchise, a home care franchise, a bio-recovery franchise, and BOR. All of which are stories of success!
If you're considering stepping into the Bio-One family, here are our top 5 favorite Nick-Anthony Zamucen quotes from this article and how they relate to owning a Bio-One franchise.
1. “They’ve gone through enough, let’s go in there and end their day better than it started.”
This is a core mentality of the Bio-One motto Help First, Business Second. Crime scene cleaning is an industry where you know you are making a positive difference in people’s lives, and you will have the opportunity to help people in their greatest time of need. It's as close to being a hero on a day-to-day basis as you can get.
2. “One of the greatest enjoyments of business is interrupting the ‘status quo’ in set industries."
Over twenty years ago, the 'status quo' in crime and trauma scene cleaning was DIY. But after first-hand experience, Nick knew it was time for things to change.
Nick encountered a fellow church member who recently lost her husband after he had sadly taken his own life. After police had finished their inspection, she was left with the traumatizing aftermath from the suicide that occurred. With the mindset of helping a community member in need, Nick visited the home with the church minister and helped clean the biohazard. Soon after, Nick realized similar situations are unfortunately faced by countless individuals throughout the country and world, and with the simple idea of helping others, Bio-One was born.
Fast forward to today, Bio-One Inc. is still paving the way in this industry. In 2021, Bio-One was named number one in crime scene cleaning and trauma scene cleaning in Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 list. Why? Our experienced training and support team will help you launch and build your franchise business. Bio-One has developed the necessary referral networks, created top tier marketing plans, and established vendor relationships to increase your profitability.
3. “You don’t have to wear every hat and figure out every detail by yourself. When you buy a franchise, you are buying into a success strategy, a road map, and a proven game plan."
One of the benefits of buying into a franchise is that you can be in business for yourself, but not by yourself. Once you begin your Bio-One business, there is a robust training and support program, systems and tools. We begin with our initial franchise training at our headquarters, and ongoing training classes are hosted throughout the year via live webinars and conference calls.
4. “This is fun and business is challenging, but how fun would it be if it were easy? I live to win and compete. I don’t live my life aiming for the second prize. It’s first or nothing…that’s what keeps me motivated."
In order to expect your new business to be a success, prepare to work. You can't just throw a bunch of seeds into the wind and expect a high yield crop. You have to be willing to put in effort from sun up to sun down to get where you want to go.
Bio-One provides the training and game plan, but the fun begins when you push yourself to execute all you've learned. You will have an incredible support system behind you, but you are the key to your own success. Once you buy a Bio-One franchise, prepare to work like never before. And prepare to be rewarded like never before.
5. “We teach life skills and business ownership. There is no one size fits all plan for everything, because everyone is uniquely different and needs different things.”
Supporting franchise owners is the backbone of our success. We recognize that Bio-One owners have unique skill sets and business backgrounds. Whether you're a retired police officer, military service member, marketing professional, or data analyst - there's a place for you.
If you answer "Yes" to any of these questions, Bio-One is a good fit for you!
An unattended death occurs in solitude. It often takes several days before somebody suspects that something is wrong. Sometimes it takes weeks, months and even years. When phone calls, text messages and emails go unanswered, friends, family members and landlords check in on the person at home, only to find that they’ve passed. If you’ve been in this position, you’re not alone. It happens more often than you might think.
Discovering an unattended death can be an emotionally wrenching experience. It’s even more traumatic when the victim is a loved one. Although you may feel obligated to clean up the remains yourself, there are several reasons why you shouldn’t do that.
For one, it’s dangerous. Body fluids from corpses release dangerous pathogens into the immediate area, creating a hazard for anyone without personal protective gear. To understand why this happens, you need to know how the decomposition process of the human body works. When someone dies, bacteria in the body lose the nutrients that keep them sustained. They look for other food sources to nourish themselves, and end up settling on the organs. These organs, which include the liver, the pancreas and the intestinal tract, are broken down with remarkable speed. To put this feeding process into perspective, there are trillions of bacteria in our bodies. That averages to about four pounds of bacteria for a 200-pound adult. Operating all at once, bacteria remove all the organs from the body within a 48-hour window.
Depending on the temperature and humidity of the room, the skin will begin to tear within this timeframe, allowing biohazardous materials to seep from the body. Rising pressure from the body’s gasses will quicken the process, releasing a terrible odor that’s often referred to as the stench of death. Sometimes, these gases will even cause the body to explode. As harmful pathogens pool on the floor, they release noxious gasses into the air, which can be inhaled through the nose and mouth. People who haven’t been trained to deal with biohazard remediation should remove themselves from the scene to escape these fumes and other threats from the decomposing body. Although it may not be obvious, people who approach a body without safety equipment risk exposing themselves to disease. Proper precautions must be taken, which brings us to another reason you shouldn’t embark on this endeavor yourself.
You likely don’t have the training or equipment to safely dispose of human remains. Gloves, goggles, respirators and body suits are necessary to protect yourself against airborne and bloodborne pathogens. But they’re not enough to keep you safe. Biohazard remediation follows a regimented process to disinfect the area safely and effectively. The chemicals allotted to clean decomposing bodies are regulated by the state. Thus, over-the-counter solutions simply aren’t powerful enough to remove and decontaminate body fluids soaked into the floor. While a surface may look clean, harmful pathogens will linger behind and pose a threat to others if the proper chemicals haven’t been used. Bio-One hires certified technicians that have the training and materials to thoroughly disinfect and disinfect an area contaminated by biohazardous waste. Moreover, they carry chemicals that can effectively deodorize the scene, which often proves difficult to do for death odors.
You also don’t want to clean up human remains if you’re connected to the deceased. If you do so, you will only exacerbate your trauma and prolong your grief. Asking professionals to take care of the task will not only spare you additional anguish, it will leave you assured that the job is done right.
Bio-One is available 24 / 7 / 365 at 303-625-6543 to speak with you regarding services. We complete this work across the nation with compassion and confidentiality. Give us a call if you have any questions and we will help you.
Contact Bio-One at 303-625-6543 for more information or for an estimate today.
Bio-One Inc. is the first crime and trauma scene cleaning franchise, operating in 35 States with over 90 locations. Bio-One is committed to providing excellent service in recovery and suicide cleanup, homicide cleanup, hoarding situations, junk removal, deceased animal recovery, feces removal, pest and rodent droppings and much more. Each office is independently owned and operated by a member of the local community. For more information about becoming a Bio-One franchisee, visit us at BioOneInc.com and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
