Pure Cremation is body disposal right?

[josephiine]

The advert makes it sound like it’s a lovely thing and saves money. I get that it’s cheaper but surely that’s because it is literally a body disposal service?
My FIL has just planned his, he asked my husband if he minds which he doesn’t, but it got us talking, am I missing anything?

A body is kept in really cold conditions so it doesn't decompose.

My DH was in storage for a month before he was released for cremation and certainly wasn't embalmed.

For viewing purposes and/or if there's a delay in crematorium availability

Even cold storage can only do so much, and some causes of death can cause faster deterioration than others

I saw my daughter 4 days after death and she certainly smelled dead. Despite the wet towel put on her head.

Why on earth was a wet towel.on her head?

Was something wrong with the Undertakers facilities?

I'm sorry you had such an awful experience. I saw my Mum 2 weeks after her death and never smelled anything (wasn't embalmed either).

for viewing.

this about causes of death

It is just a basic cremation, you choose the urn and they come to your home once everything is done and bring the ashes back to you at a time pre arranged. So no i wouldn’t say it was body disposal, you receive you loved one back.

My mum had an unattended cremation through a local FD. We then got ashes back and did a memorial service and buried ashes in local churchyard.

From a selfish POV I found that much easier than watching a coffin go through the curtains.

If family want to view the body especially if they can't get there for a few days. Bodies decompose quite quickly. If no one wants to view the body it's not worth doing it.

It didnt at my mums funeral
She was catholic so she had a requiem mass and then a small service at the crematorium
At the end of it the funeral directors asked everyone to leave except immediate family so we could say our final good byes and then we left before the coffin went behind the curtain which i preferred
I also went to a funeral a few dsys ago and it was a crematorium service and evreyone left before the coffin went behind the curtain.

It was the hospital morgue. He said he did it to reduce the smell of decay. But it only did so much. She wasn't cremated until 4 weeks later. Once she was sorted at the funeral place she didn't smell of anything.

They can't just leave a body intact with nothing done to it. They go off quick, despite a fridge.

Because that isn't really what she wants. She floated the idea, briefly, once, that "you can do that pure cremation thing with me if you want..." We said a version of "we don't want", and that was the end of the discussion.

so you didn't "shut it down" she asked, you answered.

From Google

*A body can be kept for anywhere from a few days to several weeks using standard refrigeration or embalming, and indefinitely with specialized long-term storage or freezing. 1]

Without Preservation (Room Temperature)

• 24 to 48 hours: Decomposition and noticeable odors begin quickly at room temperature without cooling.
• Action required: Most local laws require a body to be refrigerated, embalmed, buried, or cremated within 24 to 48 hours. 1, 2]

With Refrigeration
2 to 4 weeks: Modern mortuary coolers (kept around 2°C to 5°C / 35°F to 40°F) safely preserve a body for up to a month during legal, administrative, or travel delays.
Limits: Hospital morgues usually limit un-embalmed storage to about 21 days due to space and tissue changes over time. 1, 2, 3]

With Embalming
1 to 2 weeks: Standard embalming slows decomposition effectively enough for standard funeral services and open-casket viewings.
Longer periods: High-index chemical preservation combined with continuous care can maintain a body for months, though visual quality for open-casket viewings degrades over time. 1, 2, 3]*

I do - if they're not stored properly. I also know not one single person (I'm 70, so old enough to have known a lot of people and been to a lot of funerals) who has been embalmed. It's not standard, at least not in UK.

ETA I've just seen a post from a PP which indicates refrigeration is actually effective for longer than embalming.

That's not acceptable and should have been a cause for complaint though I realise you probably weren't in a frame of mind to do that.

I have viewed plenty of dead people who were not embalmed. Regulations about temperature control are very strictly enforced. See @BMW58 's post about the relative effectiveness of embalming v refrigeration.

Bodies kept at the correct temperature do not need to be embalmed in order to be viewed. See @BMW58's post about refrigeration v embalming. Some funeral directors don't offer embalming. It's regarded as old fashioned and inefficient.

I've seen plenty of bodies. None of them have been embalmed. I personally know no-one who has been embalmed. Some funeral directors don't offer it as a service any more because it actually isn't as efficient as proper refrigeration. See @BMW58's post about the relative efficency of refrigeration v embalmed.

You are not allowed to be there and there has been complaints snout bodies being kept in aircraft hangars etc. I’m not sure you can be confident about whose ashes you are being given. It is just body disposal with no love or respect. So grim.

When I lost my daughter, we had a very small service in the local crematorium with just very close family there. Then we had a celebration of her life in a church in the afternoon. I could not have sent her off on her own to some warehouse. I loved her too much.

There are very strict laws about cremation and the ashes. You are just scaremongering.

My great uncle had it. There’s different packages. Tge cheapest being they collect the body, cremate it and dispose of the ashes . It’s significantly cheaper than holding a funeral.

My mum wasn't embalmed because she had a woodland burial and they don't allow it. I didn't view the body as I'd been with her when she died. But they offered it right up to the funeral. She died on 15th, funeral was 3rd, so a couple of weeks.

As an aside, I used to work in a hospital and my office was above the morgue. I asked for a tour, it was really interesting (and scrupulously clean) and they had a body there (they only told me, obviously) which was part of an investigation which had been there years.

Some years ago, I watched a TV documentary about this practice. It was very interesting.

Initially, it sounds brutal but if you live in an area with little soil for a safe burial, it seems as reasonable to me as being put in a grave in a coffin and left to decompose over a period of 10 to 15 years. Vultures are certainly a quick and efficient solution in a part of the world where there are few other options. (I hope this comment does not offend anyone.)

As I've mentioned upthread, I have recently had to make choices about funeral arrangements for my late husband. I decided on a local funeral company's direct cremation service. It was more expensive than Pure Cremation's service but his body remained in their care and they have a private crematorium onsite at their woodland burial site, which is just a mile or so from our village. I was able to collect my husband's ashes a few days after the cremation, though my adult son and I probably won't scatter them until spring, next year.