In TV shows, there isn't much in the way of a mess when someone dies. You just pick up the body, maybe clean up some blood, and then you're done. But actual crime, suicide, or accident scenes tend to make a bigger mess. When you die, all your muscles that keep bodily fluids from escaping your body release and you start secreting some pretty nasty stuff.
And the police don't clean any of it up. So if one of your family members passed away in their home and made a bit of a mess, you're stuck cleaning it up. How kind of them.
That sounds awful! What do I do about that?
Well, generally, you're going to need to call a forensic cleaner. They offer services from cleaning up accident scenes to even cleaning up drug labs. They'll usually take everything out of a house, but in the case of cleaning up hoarder's homes, they'll try to make unobstructed pathways throughout the house. While their name sounds like they only deal with crime scenes, forensic cleaners clean just about anything gross or dangerous.
If they didn't exist, traumatized family members would have to clean up bodily fluids from their late family member which no one should have to do. That just adds another level of trauma to an already emotionally fragile person.
You said 'gross or dangerous' what do you mean?
Well, if someone dies and isn't found immediately, their body will begin to decompose as well as leak bodily fluids pretty much everywhere. This is a huge biohazard and normal people shouldn't clean this up themselves. It can be incredibly traumatic not to mention unsafe if you don't have the proper equipment. Anyone part of a forensic cleaning service has to wear a full bodysuit to keep from touching anything potentially harmful and wear goggles and a respirator to keep out any harmful chemicals or smells. If they were to go in with just a mask, jeans, and a t-shirt, they'd get really sick which is why normal people should leave the job of cleaning up to the professionals.
What was that you said about drug labs?
Forensic cleaners are cleaning more and more drug labs in recent years. Meth consumption is highest in Australia, so naturally, there are quite a few meth labs out there and forensic cleaners are most equipped to clean them up. Meth, in particular, is extremely hard to get out of a house. Even if you clean up any damage you can see, there are still chemicals that are absorbed into the walls and floors. And these really shouldn't be breathed in. If exposed to them long enough, you can get super sick. And no one wants that.
Cleaning up crime scenes isn't just a matter of mopping up some blood from the walls. People trained to clean them up can encounter some really gruesome sights like violent accidents or suicides. If these people aren't found quickly, they can begin to make quite the mess and normal people shouldn't try to clean it up. Forensic cleaners enter a lot of dangerous situations like meth labs that were just recently abandoned. They're the best of the best in their profession and as such, know the best ways to bring a house back to a livable condition.
