Cleaning and Disinfecting a Blood or Body Fluid Spill

Introduction

Date of Last Review 3/16/10

Date of last Review 10/10/11

Review Date: 1/17/2012
SME: Infection Control Manager

This topic provides information for cleaning and disinfecting walls, table tops, floors, or other inanimate objects contaminated with blood or other body fluids.

Cleaning and disinfecting

Follow these steps to clean and disinfect walls, table tops, floors, or other inanimate objects contaminated with blood or other body fluids:

Step	Action
1	Nursing will immediately notify Housekeeping of the spill. Notification of the spill will include the location and the type of spill.
2	If Housekeeping is not immediately available, Nursing staff will put on gloves and cover the blood with a paper towel.
3	Nursing will isolate the area by keep clients and staff away from the area where the spill is located.
4	Housekeeping will put on gloves and any other personal protective equipment (PPE) necessary.
5	This table describes how to begin the decontamination procedure: IF the spill is in... THEN... A patient-care area Go to Step 6. The laboratory Flood the spill with a liquid disinfectant.
6	Wipe the spill area with an approved liquid disinfectant.
7	Leave the solution in contact with the contaminated surface for 1 minute. If spill contains broken glass go to step 10, step 11, and 12
8	Place paper towels on the spill to soak up the contaminated fluid and approved disinfectant solution Bag the paper towels and wipe up the remainder of the spill with approved disinfectant solution
9	Place all of the paper towels, cloths, and gloves used to wipe the spill in red hazardous waste bags.
10	Sweep broken glass pieces into a dust pan using the disposable dust pan and broom kit.
11	Place broken glass in a sharps container.
12	Dispose of the red bags. Reference: See the Solid Waste Disposal topic in Section D of this chapter.

Related standards

The Joint Commission: Surveillance, Prevention, and Control of Infection

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