The Right Casket

Shopping for caskets can be trying and difficult. When people find themselves shopping for caskets, they are usually filled with grief and sadness, and the wide selection of caskets can be overwhelming. Burial caskets and funeral caskets are available in a wide variety of materials ranging from wood to gold. There are an endless number of designs available for caskets as well. They can be simple solid colors or can be covered with elaborate decorations and paintings.

 It is not uncommon for funeral homes to tell people about their more expensive caskets first and then give shoppers other options only at their request. Research shows that people usually buy the middle priced casket of the first three they are offered. Many people are also afraid of appearing cheap if they ask to see the less expensive models. It is a good idea that shoppers familiarize themselves with the Federal Trade Commissions Funeral Rule before buying a casket.

They need to decide whether they want an open funeral casket that displays the deceased during the memorial service. Funeral caskets often have two hinged doors that allow the torso of the deceased to be visible during the service. Burial caskets usually only have one hinged door that runs the length of the casket. Usually, either type of casket is suitable for burial, but some funeral caskets are not suitable for burial and are merely rented for the funeral service.

Cleaning Embalming Room

As municipalities adopt more stringent health codes, ceramic tile still in good condition may not be good enough. Often health inspectors are requesting the ceramic tile be replaced with seamless epoxy coatings to assure clean room standards. Now you can coat right over that good ceramic tile to encapsulate it at a fraction of the cost of demolition.

Epoxy coatings with 100% solids can be applied right over your ceramic tile for good looks and healthful environments. Epoxy flooring is not only seamless but can be Class III Laboratory qualified. These mold and mildew resistant surfaces are easy to clean with hose and squeegee. Bleach resistant epoxy flooring can take strong cleaners and heavy abrasion.

 Epoxy coatings have been used successfully in swimming pools, laundries, warehouses, garages, and various types of shops for decades. Now they are being used increasingly in embalming rooms, smooth or with fine skid resistant textured surfaces that are still easy to mop and squeegee clean.

Pumping Embalming Fluid

The embalmer must inject about 1 gallon of fluid for every 50 pounds of body weight. A typical gallon of fluid might be made up of 1 bottle of arterial fluid, 1 bottle of co-injection fluid, 1 bottle of water corrective, and enough water to complete the gallon. This recipe changes depending on the condition of the body.

The embalming machine has two knobs which regulate pressure (the force of the fluid) and rate of flow (speed of the fluid). These knobs are adjusted differently during embalming for each case to create the optimum rate of injection for the body. Some machines have a pulse feature that pumps the fluid much like a heart would pump, with alternating pressure. This is very effective in avoiding swelling of tissues. The machine is switched on and the fluid begins to move through the hose, through the arterial tube and into the body.

Once the embalming fluid begins to flow into the arterial system, pressure begins to build up in the entire vascular system. This helps the fluid reach all parts of the body and penetrate into the tissues. Evidence of this can be seen in bulging veins throughout the body. The jugular drain tube is opened periodically (it is normally closed) to allow blood to escape and prevent too much pressure in the vascular system which could cause swelling. The blood drains directly into the sewer system, which sounds gross, but in reality MUCH worse things go into our sewers.