What’s the Difference Sealed Casket vs. Unsealed Casket?

If you might be preparing for the funeral of a relative or a friend, you would have to deal with different questions and variations in the funeral specifics. It might cause a little bit of confusion since not everyone usually organizes a funeral. Some even do it for the first time and it is good to know which choices affecting a specific part of the funeral should be well thought out depending on the cost, family tradition, and the cultural impacts underlying with them.

There are a lot of burial types and the most common is the casket and burying it on the ground. caskets have a lot of specifications and kinds depending on the needs of the family and the deceased. A common question asked about caskets is whether it should be sealed and unsealed. Both have a lot of differences and you must be well aware of all of them if you are going to make the decision.

Here are the differences between a sealed casket compared to an unsealed casket.

1. Uses – Sealed caskets are mainly used in the body of the deceased requires to be transferred from a relatively far location, for example outside the country or in a different province where it has to travel by air. This is a requirement from airlines as sealed caskets are designed not to protect the body itself but to protect the casket where the body is placed. Sealed caskets avoid liquids from leaking out of it which may cause a foul smell and transfer diseases.
2. Safety – if the deceased died from a virus or an illness that can easily be transferred to people, then having a sealed casket is indeed a requirement more than an option. Public health is very important and the family of the deceased has to make the decision of getting a sealed casket so that the remnants of the virus or the bacteria still in the body of the deceased will be controlled and the guests will not have to worry about any form of contamination. On the other hand, if the deceased died of natural causes or accidents, then there is no need for a sealed casket.
3. Cost – Since sealed caskets protect the casket itself and the people surrounding the body of the deceased, they are more expensive compared to unsealed caskets. Mainly because the funeral service will have to use special equipment to make sure that the body is completely sealed and airtight to avoid any damages to the casket itself and the leaking of liquids and even viruses and bacteria. If there is no need for a sealed casket, the funeral bills will surely be a lot cheaper with an unsealed casket.
4. Decomposition – Sealed caskets are maybe believed to slow down the decomposition of the body since it is sealed completely and is airtight. However, this is the complete opposite from the truth. A sealed casket will only increase the speed of the body’s decomposition since the decomposing matter coming from the body is controlled inside and do not have the ability to evaporate or go throughout the inside of the casket. If decomposition is an issue, buying an unsealed casket is much better since a sealed casket will not do better.
5. Environmental safety – sealed caskets are preferred if the body of the deceased will be buried in the ground. during the embalming phase, the body is being subjected to different toxic chemicals that may be harmful to the surrounding soil and dirt around the casket once it is buried. If the casket is sealed, these chemicals do not have any chances of penetrating through the casket and affecting the soil quality with harmful chemicals.
6. Mausoleum burial – if the body of the deceased is planned to be buried above the ground, unsealed caskets are better as they have a more natural way of decomposition, hence, slower than that in a sealed casket. Sometimes, if the funeral organizer got a mistake of purchasing a sealed casket and they are planning to bury the casket above the ground, the servicemen usually poke some holes to the sealed part of the casket so that the decomposition will go as normally expected.
7. Wooden caskets – If the family prefers a wooden casket, then an unsealed one must be chosen. If the material of the casket is eco-friendly, then sealing will not help and will only add extra cost. Because water and moisture can easily sip through wood and other environment-friendly materials, they can damage really quickly, and sealing will not stop or slow it down.
8. Metal caskets – If the family prefers a metal casket, then a sealed one must be chosen. Usually, metal caskets are the perfect partner of sealed caskets as they both serve the purpose of protecting from any leaks. The material of the seal used in sealed caskets also goes perfectly with metal caskets as the glue and any other adhesive used will stay put even after the burial.
9. Protection to the body – Other contaminants in the air could penetrate to an unsealed casket and cause premature decomposition in the process. Sealed caskets are a great choice to prevent this from happening as it protects the body from those contaminants. If you are planning to prolong the funeral, protection is indeed important to keep the body at its best shape before the burial.

Depending on the needs and the requirements, sealed and unsealed caskets can be a very important aspect in organizing a funeral. You have to understand the process that must be done to the remnants of the deceased and plan out which kind of casket perfectly fits these requirements. Important aspects include the travel of the remains from one place to another, the cost of the whole funeral, and the environmental and healthy safety procedures needed to be followed to ensure the safety of the guests and the relatives of the deceased.