Blood Spill Cleanup in Stuyvesant Town / Peter Cooper Village, New York, NY

Wash the skin with soap and water right away, and rinse the eyes or mouth with clean water if blood splashed there. Then talk with a doctor or the local health department about next steps. This is general information, not medical advice.

Safely cleaning up blood means gloves, eye protection, disposable absorbent towels and an EPA-registered disinfectant used by the label. A small spill on a hard surface can be managed with that protection. Large spills, or blood that soaked into carpet or wood, call for a cleanup team.

It depends on the germ and the conditions, and nobody can judge it by looking at a stain. Hepatitis B, for example, can survive on surfaces for a considerable time. That is why dried blood is treated as infectious until it has been properly disinfected.

No single product is best for every surface. Blood is lifted first, then the area is disinfected with a product made for bloodborne pathogens. Porous materials such as carpet or drywall often have to be removed instead of cleaned.

Items heavily soaked with blood or that could release liquid blood are handled as regulated medical waste. A small amount on a lightly stained item is treated differently. A blood cleanup company can sort what must be removed and how.

Bleach can disinfect some hard surfaces when it is used by the label, but it does not reach blood that has soaked into porous materials. It should never be mixed with other cleaners because the fumes can be dangerous. A cleanup team uses a full process.