The Restoration Revolution Podcast

Beyond Grief: The Science and Compassion of Biohazard Restoration

• Chad Mallonee • Episode 14

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What Makes Unattended Death Biohazard Cleanups So Complex?

Death comes for us all, but what happens in the aftermath when someone passes away alone and isn't discovered for days or weeks? The biological reality is both fascinating and sobering.

Chad Mallonee from Hazard Clean Restoration pulls back the curtain on one of restoration's most challenging scenarios: the unattended death. The human body begins decomposing within four minutes of death, and by the 72-hour mark, significant changes create serious biohazards. With approximately 85% of our weight comprised of soft tissue and blood, these biological fluids penetrate carpets, drywall, floorboards, and surrounding materials, creating contamination that extends far beyond what's visible to the naked eye.

What many don't realize is how extensively contamination spreads throughout a home. Vectors like flies transfer biological material across surfaces, while first responders and family members unknowingly track contaminants up to 72.5 feet from the scene. Even beloved pets become carriers, potentially spreading biohazards throughout an entire residence. The restoration process involves meticulous forensic cleaning, hospital-grade disinfection protocols, and sometimes the complete removal of materials that cannot be safely sanitized.

Beyond the scientific approach, Chad's work carries profound emotional weight. "The last thing we want is for family members to have to deal with any more pain," he explains, highlighting the deep compassion driving this specialized field. Every restoration aims to remove all traces—both visible evidence and lingering odors—so grieving families aren't faced with traumatic reminders when they return.

Curious about how environmental factors affect this process or what happens when a professional restoration team arrives? Listen now to understand a vital service that happens largely out of public view but provides essential support during life's most difficult moments. Share this episode with someone who works in healthcare, emergency services, or property management—knowledge that might one day make a difference when it matters most.

To learn more about Hazard Clean Restoration visit:
https://hazardclean.net/
Hazard Clean Restoration
772-259-5018

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Restoration Revolution podcast, where we help restore hope and put your family on the road to recovery, one episode at a time.

Speaker 2:

Here's your host and owner of Hazard Clean what happens when someone passes away alone and isn't discovered right away? Unattended death scenes require professional restoration and more empathy than you might expect. Welcome back everyone. I'm sophia yvette, co-host, slash producer, back in the studio with Chad Melanie, owner of Hazard Clean Restoration. Hi Chad, how have you been?

Speaker 3:

Hi Sophia, I'm glad to be here today. Thanks for having me of biohazard cleanup.

Speaker 2:

That isn't often talked about, but it's something your team deals with regularly. Can you talk a little bit about unattended death?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, yeah, of course it's the kind of call really no one really wants to get. It's really the kind of scene that a lot out there aren't prepared to handle, whether it's some companies, if it was family. When it comes to an unintended death, it isn't just a tragedy, it's a crisis that unfolds behind closed doors, and when someone passes away and they're undiscovered for days, weeks, nature really begins to take over in ways that a lot of us don't understand, unless you're in this industry. It's heartbreaking, but it's also hazardous, and that's why the cleanup is really meant for trained professionals. It's a sad situation, and it really is. You know, when someone passes away, the human body starts to decompose in about four minutes after death, and that's been proven through science and about the 72-hour mark. If the conditions are warm, you're going to start seeing bloating, tissue liquidification, the release of biofluids, and about 85% of our weight is actually just soft tissue and blood, and about 85% of our weight is actually just soft tissue and blood. And so all that has to go as it decomposes somewhere and it typically penetrates the carpets, the surrounding materials, the baseboards, the drywall, anything in that If it's wood floors and it's a lot, and so all that's going somewhere, all that biological matter is going somewhere. You know, then you're going to have what we call vectors and vectors are, like you know, flies or vectors and they're going to spread that biocontaminate cross-contamination somewhere and they're going to spread it basically throughout the the, the structure, the room, anything like that. And what happens is they'll land on some of the biohazard or the biofluids and then they'll land on walls and counters and dishes and other rooms and spread it throughout the structure and not only those factors.

Speaker 3:

When the first responders show up or the family shows up or friends. It's been proven that it actually they'll cross-contaminate up to about 72.5 feet throughout the structure wherever they go. And that really means that first responder, if they walk through that scene, anywhere that first responder or anywhere that family member walks, potentially they may now have cross-contaminated that scene. There's also things we don't think of all the time, like pets and so dogs. You know, let's think of a pet, like a dog, if they were in the home, which we've seen time and time again, they will almost cross-contaminate the whole structure because they'll be there with, you know, with their owner who's passed away, and you know they their owner who's passed away, and you know they'll stand next, they'll sit next to them, it'll get on their fur, they'll walk through the structure and that really can impact that.

Speaker 3:

You know what we do is we forensically clean.

Speaker 3:

And so you know we're going to clean forensically clean, which means that we're going to prepare the both vertical and horizontal you know the vertical and horizontal area of the structure for professional disinfection or neutralization. When we do that, we always apply an EPA registered hospital grade tuberculosis side disinfectant with a six log kill to. It's been proven to kill both gram negative and gram positive bacteria and it also inactivates both enveloped and non-enveloped viruses. And you know, if we find that the biohazard has gone into maybe the poorest material from there, if we can't be clean, if it can't be clean you think mattresses, if it got soaked in a drywall then we're going to remove them. You know, if we can't clean it and verify that it was clean and it's going to be safe, then we remove it. We really do this by just using science to make sure we don't just get all the services and I'm talking all the services, not just clean visually clean. Someone looks at it and is like, okay, it's clean, but we actually get them food-grade clean and hospital-grade clean.

Speaker 2:

Wow, now Chad. One other question for you how do environmental factors like heat or humidity accelerate the decomposition process?

Speaker 3:

So it's a great question. You know it can accelerate or cause the decomposition to slow down, and so really it's influence. 68 degrees really is the magic number to either slow down that cell breakdown or speed it up. And so if we come into a home and you know or it's winter time or something like that, and you know it's been 60 degrees in that environment, then that process will slow down dramatically.

Speaker 3:

You know we've gone into, you know into homes and you know the owner wasn't feeling well and actually put the heat up, you know, because they weren't feeling well before they passed away, and you know, in that situation actually speeds up, you know, the decomposition very fast, and so it's really 68 degrees kind of is the magic number for that. You know, and no matter if and I guess what the point I would make is that when we show up, no matter if it's the decomposition is days, weeks, anything like that we do what's right to make sure that we're bringing safety back to those spaces, because the last thing we want is for family members. You know they're already dealing with enough pain and so the last thing we want is for them to have to deal with any more pain, and so we do everything to make sure that when the family member or anyone walks in afterwards, there's no sign of it, there's no smell of it. It's taken care of.

Speaker 2:

Well thanks, chad, for your in-depth discussion today about unattended deaths. We'll catch you in the next episode. Have a fantastic rest of your day.

Speaker 3:

Bye Sophia.

Speaker 2:

Bye.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for listening to the Restoration Revolution Podcast, where recovery starts here. Let us help put your family on the road to recovery. Go to hazardcleannet or call 772-259-5018. That's 772-259-5018.