How to Clean Up Blood Spills

Manage the spill

• Inform others of the situation if necessary.
• Put on personal protective equipment (PPE), including gloves, a smock, eye/face coverings and shoe covers.
• Overlap the smock with the gloves, then wrap duct tape around the top of the gloves, securing them to the smock to prevent your wrists/skin from exposure.
• Block off the area to keep others from tracking the spill to other locations.

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Pick up all sharp objects

• Pick up broken glass, knives, razor blades or any other sharp objects with kitchen tongs. Place the sharps into the disposable hard plastic container.
• Close the plastic container, seal the lid with duct tape and place in a plastic bag.
• Move bloody tools or reusable objects off to the side and place on a clean towel.

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Cleaning hard surfaces using disposable towels

• Cover, then blot (never rub) the spill with clean towels, puppy pads or paper towels, soaking up as much of the spill as possible.
  • Wiping the spill spreads the blood around, making the area larger and more difficult to sanitize.
• Continue adding towels, etc., to absorb as much of the spill as you can. This will prevent the blood from dripping and splattering when disposing in plastic bags.
• Pick up saturated towels with the tongs and carefully place them in the plastic bag with the sharps container.
• Continue blotting with clean towels until the spill has been removed.
• Working from the outside in, wipe the area one more time with clean towels to dry.
  • Broad spectrum disinfectants are not as efficient if the surface is still covered in wet blood.

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Cleaning hard surfaces with kitty litter or sawdust

• Spread sawdust or kitty litter, starting around the perimeter of the spill and working toward the middle.

• Scrape, using the three-inch paint scraper, toward the middle of the spill when the sawdust or kitty litter starts to solidify.
• Collect the sawdust in the dustpan with the paint scraper and place into plastic bags.
  • Adding more sawdust or kitty litter until the spill is fully absorbed prevents dripping when placing waste material into plastic bags.
• Working from the outside in, wipe the area one more time with clean towels once the blood has been removed.

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Cleaning and disinfecting soft surfaces, like carpet

• Follow the first four bullets in Step 3 above.

• Mix one cup vinegar with two cups warm water.
  • Alternatives are full-strength hydrogen peroxide or disinfectant. But vinegar’s natural antimicrobial and antibacterial properties make it ideal for removing blood from and sanitizing carpets.
• Spray the vinegar mixture or alternative directly onto a towel and keep blotting the blood.
• Repeat until all blood is removed.
• Blot the area dry with clean towels to absorb as much of the moisture as possible.
• Use a wet-dry vacuum to fully dry the area, or try a hot water extraction machine like the Bissell SteamShot or the Bissell SpotBot to reduce bacteria.

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Disinfecting hard and soft surfaces

• Saturate the area for 10 minutes with a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certified broad spectrum disinfectant/antimicrobial that meets Design for the Environment standards under the EPA’s Safer Choice program.
• Scrub the area from the outside in with the stiff bristle brush, then let dry.
• Repeat.
• Spray the area with disinfectant, then wipe the area with a clean towel dampened with disinfectant. Let dry.
• Dispose of all towels in plastic bags.

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Decontaminate reusable tools

• Spray tools with the disinfectant and let them sit for 10 minutes.
• Scrub the tools and rinse with fresh water.
• Follow these steps to clean your vacuum and other cleaning tools.
• Replace vacuum filters. Do not clean or reuse.

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Material disposal

• Be sure you don’t contaminate any other surfaces during this process.
• Use disinfectant wipes on the outsides of all plastic bags.
• Check for and use disinfectant wipes to remove any blood on your PPE.
• Dispose of used wipes in plastic bags.
• Close the bag and seal with duct tape or zip ties.
• Place sealed bag with contaminated PPE inside a second, new, clean plastic bag and seal that.
• Affix a biohazard sticker on the bags, or add a piece of duct tape and write “Biohazard,” “Infectious” or “Health Hazard” on the tape with a Sharpie marker.

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PPE disposal

• Wash hands with the gloves still on in hot water with an antibacterial soap.
• With your gloves still on, carefully remove all PPE and place in a clean plastic bag.
• Close the bag and seal with duct tape or zip ties.
• Place sealed bag with contaminated PPE inside a second, new clean disposable bag.
• Wash your hands a second time (your gloves should still be on).
• Remove gloves following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines and place in plastic bag.
• Close second bag and seal with duct tape or zip ties.
• Affix a biohazard sticker on the bags, or add a piece of duct tape and write “Biohazard,” “Infectious” or “Health Hazard” on the tape with a Sharpie marker.
• Wash face, arms and hands again, then shower thoroughly ASAP using an antibacterial soap. Rinse well.

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Final disposal

• Check with your local health department or waste management provider before discarding any biological, infectious or anything considered medical waste or hazardous materials with household trash.
  • According to Deanna Miller, recycling coordinator in Bucks County, Pa. (where I live), as long as all materials are doubled bagged, sealed and will not come in contact with anyone else, they can be disposed of with household trash.
  • A fact sheet from Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality states personal protective equipment not “saturated” with blood or other bodily fluids may be “disposed of as trash.”
•  Follow these tips to successfully launder lightly blood-stained clothes.

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