Unless its that time of the month for you or your girlfriend, and you’re playing the latest zombie video game, or watching the newest Hollywood horror/slasher film, you probably don’t give much thought to blood on a daily basis.
This warm, sticky fluid that flows through our bodies, however, as most people understand on some level, is truly a matter of life or death.
The amount of blood in a human body varies, depending on factors such as age, sex, overall health and even where a person lives. For example, men tend to have more blood than women of comparable size and weight.
Interestingly, people who live at high altitudes may have up to two liters of extra blood compared to those who live at lower altitudes. Because the air at higher altitudes has less oxygen, people who live at high altitudes need extra blood to deliver the right amount of oxygen to their lungs.
Scientists estimate the volume of blood in a human body to be approximately 7 percent of body weight. So an average adult, in say, a city like Atlanta or Columbus, Georgia, who weighs around 160 pounds will have around a gallon and a half of blood coursing through their veins.
Certainly, when I’m called to clean up in the aftermath of a violent crime, the amount of blood on the surfaces inside the home or scene, always seems like way more than just a gallon and a half.
One case that comes to mind anytime someone asks me about the bloodiest job I ever took, involved the double whammy of murder/suicide. We knew that it would be a rough couple of days when the insurance adjustor, who had already seen the home, told us that it looked like the elevator scene from The Shining had been filmed in the house.
After arriving at the Conway, South Carolina residence, located in a older neighborhood of the inland coastal community, I could see why she could think that a slasher flick could easily be filmed in the home.
It was a b-l-o-o-d-b-a-t-h.
The house had been occupied by a couple in their mid forties and their pre-teen son, and the next door neighbor told me quite eagerly that they had all seemed very normal… strange, wearing lots of black and listening to loud music(the neighbor was an elderly woman), but normal for the most part. But in this household, nothing was like it seemed.
It appeared that Mrs. Doe had been caught with her hands down the pants of the middle aged man who lived on the opposite side of their yard. Unnoticed, Mr. Doe got to watch his wife in the throes of passion, lighting up like a young girl, in the arms of another man, until the finale, and with it the last thrust.
Mr. Doe knew he had to act quickly because his son would be getting out of school soon and what he planned on doing he didn’t want his son to witness. I guess there is some honor in criminals after all.
Grabbing a loaded shotgun from his gun cabinet, he went into their master bathroom to wait for his wife to return to the home to take a shower to erase the evidence of her dalliance.
Patiently he waited until he heard her laughter from the adjacent room and he pulled the shower curtain closed. As Mrs. D removed her clothing and jewelry, humming to herself, she had no idea what awaited her just steps behind her until it was too late. As she reached up to draw back the shower curtain, she must have had just enough of a moment to register that her husband, in a murderous rage, was standing before her, seconds away from ending her life. She dropped the towel she had wrapped around herself and turned to run, but the gunshot was quicker and it blasted away the entire side of her face. She died before she hit the ground.
Then he urinated on her corpse, before placing the call to 911 himself to tell them what he had done. As they sat with him on the phone, scrambling to send first responders to the scene, the operator heard the sound of a gun, and then the line went silent. When police arrived, they discovered that Mr. D had committed suicide using the same shotgun that he had used to murder his wife.
The home itself was mostly pristine, it was just the master bedroom and bath that were covered with skull fragments, brain matter and buckets and buckets of blood… i swear it had to be more than just 3 gallons. It took us about four days to completely remediate the home, cleaning away the blood and scalp, before sanitizing it thoroughly and then triple checking our work to make sure that nothing has missed our perusal.
All told, I totally believe that a picture is worth a thousand words. This picture is not hollywood fiction, it is real.
Regardless of whether the scene is at your home and personal property, a commercial business, or industrial site, we’ll strictly adhere to OSHA regulations and API Worksafe guidelines in our cleanup efforts. We only deploy EPA registered hospital grade cleansers and disinfectants.
If you need trauma or accidental death cleanup guidance, have questions about your payment options or current insurance policy covers don’t hesitate to give Advanced Bio Treatment a call at: 800-295-1684
If you think you have what it takes to dBlo this job, and you live in the San Fransico/San Jose area, click here to go to the employment section on our webpage, follow the instructions TO THE LETTER, No Phone Calls and No consideration for applicants that haven’t completely FOLLOWED THE INSTRUCTIONS. Good luck!
