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The use of these readily accessible household cleaners to destroy human remains and hide evidence of a crime presents a considerable challenge for human identification. However, research on the success of recovering DNA from such remains is limited. Therefore, we investigated the effects of submerging partial human remains (including whole heads, forearms, and hands) in five different household products: bleach, Rid\u2010X\u00ae septic treatment, lye drain opener, sulfuric acid drain opener, and muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid) pool cleaner. We evaluated the impact of each chemical, focusing on visual changes, DNA recovery, and the potential for successful human identification through traditional STR or mitochondrial DNA analyses. Exposure to all chemicals altered the appearance of the remains, but DNA recovery was still possible across various time periods, up to 28\u2009days. Human remains exposed to bleach, Rid\u2010X\u00ae, and lye produced full STR profiles after 4 weeks. Sulfuric acid shortened this time to 3\u2009weeks, while hydrochloric acid, the most damaging chemical, limited\u00a0full STR profile recovery to just the first 3\u2009days of exposure. This study demonstrates that although differences in the rate of damage occur depending on the amount of tissue introduced, volume of chemical used, and the specific chemical of choice, DNA\u2010based human identification of remains treated with everyday household cleaners is likely, particularly if bone fragments are recovered.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1111\/1556-4029.15682","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,10]],"date-time":"2024-12-10T11:28:28Z","timestamp":1733830108000},"page":"460-475","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Twenty\u2010eight days later: The recovery of <scp>DNA<\/scp> from human remains submerged in aggressive household chemicals"],"prefix":"10.1111","volume":"70","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4597-5384","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jennifer","family":"Snedeker","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Forensic Science, College of Criminal Justice Sam Houston State University  Huntsville Texas USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9833-6837","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rachel","family":"Houston","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Forensic Science, College of Criminal Justice Sam Houston State University  Huntsville Texas USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3092-4605","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sheree","family":"Hughes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Forensic Science, College of Criminal Justice Sam Houston State University  Huntsville Texas USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_12_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.legalmed.2005.01.001"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2174\/1874210601509010250"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.forsciint.2023.111615"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fsisyn.2021.100154"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0032258X5002300306"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.13140\/2.1.2157.2488"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_8_1","first-page":"254","volume-title":"Proceedings of the 63rd annual scientific meeting of the American Academy of forensic sciences; 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