Homicide Cleanup
After investigators depart, homicide cleanup removes blood, tissue and contaminated materials.
See homicide cleanupGet blood, body fluids, fingerprint powder and odor removed from a home, apartment, rental or business in Bothell West once police release the property. Most crime scene cleanups take one to three days.
Forensic cleaning, trauma scene cleanup and crime scene cleanup all describe the same work: removing tissue, blood, contaminated materials and body fluids following a violent crime. The property can safely be used again after odor treatment and disinfection.
Police and detectives gather evidence, while the medical examiner or coroner removes the deceased. Their work does not include cleaning. When the investigation ends, they release the scene, leaving cleanup to the landlord, the family or whoever owns the property.
Crime scene cleaners, also called forensic cleaners or a forensic clean up crew, treat every drop of blood as infectious. They trace how far it traveled, remove what cannot be disinfected, clean and treat every surface, and haul the hazardous materials away under medical waste rules. It is a form of biohazard remediation, and the cleanup process covers these steps from start to finish.

Photos, scope and waste records are ready for insurance companies and landlords, so you can move forward.
Calls are answered day and night, and crews arrive in unmarked vehicles so neighbors do not know what happened.
You hear the cleanup steps and what affects the price before any work starts, so you can make the right decision for your family.
Your documents, photographs and keepsakes are separated for you to check, and nothing is discarded without your permission.
Crime scene cleaning services are needed any time a violent event leaves blood or body fluids behind. Common situations include:
A fall can leave blood on walls and ceilings, with saturation reaching carpet and subfloor.
After a standoff, pepper spray or tear gas residue can remain on fabric, walls and HVAC ducts.
A private service means your family does not need to confront the scene.
Tissue and blood may affect furniture, walls and flooring across multiple rooms.
What you do during the first hours matters to your insurance claim, health and total cost. Take these steps before technicians arrive:
Call (888) 440-9227Guides list an usual price of $1,500 to $7,500 for a residential crime scene cleanup. Cleaning a small patch of blood on a hard surface costs less, at $500 to $2,500 per job, and multi-room scenes or blood under the floor can run $10,000 and up. Companies quote by the job rather than by the hour, and the on-site assessment fixes your price.
Published national cost guides are the source for these ranges, rather than an inspection of your property. The price for your property is set after the on-site assessment, and you hear it before work starts.
Ask about cost: (888) 440-9227Your policy controls whether crime scene cleanup has coverage. A homeowners or renters policy might classify the event as accidental and sudden, with a possible deductible.
Find out whether your policy covers biohazard cleanup, whether a cleanup company is your choice, and which records or images the adjuster requires.
In rental units and common areas, the owner usually arranges and pays for crime scene cleanup.
Coverage after a violent crime depends on the terms of your homeowners or renters policy. Make the event report quickly, then write down your claim number.
Washington's Crime Victims Compensation Program, run by the Department of Labor and Industries, does not pay for crime scene cleanup, so victims of violent crime should ask what it does cover. Insurance is usually checked first.
Differences between crime scenes do not change the safe order of the work. Often described as the remediation process, crime scene cleanup proceeds step by step, beginning with the first walk-through and ending at final inspection.
You or your representative walks through the area with technicians, who document it in photos and settle the scope before cleaning begins.
Plastic barriers and negative air isolate the affected area while technicians use complete personal protective equipment.
Soaked carpet, pad, drywall, mattresses and furniture are cut out, bagged and sealed as medical waste.
Every surface is cleaned, then treated with EPA-registered, hospital-grade disinfectant for the full contact time.
Odors are addressed where they begin with air scrubbers, ozone or hydroxyl machines, while HVAC vents receive inspection.
Sealed containers go to a permitted medical waste facility with the paperwork that tracks them.
ATP testing can be used to check surfaces, while photographs and records support your insurance claim.
Removed flooring and drywall can then be replaced by your contractor or your insurer's vendor.
Call any hour. You speak with a crime scene cleanup specialist who outlines the process and schedules a start time with you.
Serious health risks can come from blood and bodily fluids, including contamination beyond what you are able to see.
Hepatitis C, HIV and hepatitis B may exist in blood. Despite dry-looking blood, hepatitis B may survive on surfaces for at least seven days, according to the CDC.
Grout may hold blood that also seeps below trim and penetrates carpeting, pad and subfloor. Odor and bacteria may return when hidden material remains after a surface wipe.
You may find it deeply difficult to clean where someone close to you was harmed. Many families choose professional crime scene cleaners for that reason alone.
Can you clean it yourself? Wear gloves and apply an EPA-registered disinfectant when fresh blood is limited to a few drops on any hard, non-porous surface. Professional cleanup is needed when you cannot identify the spill edges or when contamination reaches wood, drywall, carpeting or fabric.
Whether an item stays depends on disinfection. Cleanable materials remain, but anything blood has soaked into is removed.

For most crime scene cleanups, time at the property is one to three days. A recent scene with a small affected area can take a day, while structural removal at a heavy scene can extend the work to two to five days.
| Scene | Typical time on site |
|---|---|
| Light scene, one area | Often one to two days |
| One to two rooms in a typical scene | Often one to three days |
| Several affected rooms or a subfloor removal | Often two to five days |
Odor removal begins by taking away its source. If fragrance is sprayed over tissue or blood, the smell is hidden for only a few days.
Once contaminated materials have been removed, HEPA air scrubbers can capture particles. The cleanup team may run hydroxyl generators safely with people present, or use ozone in empty rooms when odor persists. Thermal fogging can enter wall cavities and fabrics, while checks of HVAC ductwork help keep the smell from moving into other rooms.
The full crime scene cleanup guide covers what is cleaned or removed, odor and air quality work, and the rules that apply in Washington and Snohomish County.
Read the full crime scene cleanup guide
Local housing, population and access details can shape containment, access and cleanup planning.
With renters in 21.4% of local homes, owner occupied properties form most of the housing context for cleanup planning.
Homes centered around a 1993 build year may have open layouts, which can allow odor to reach adjoining living areas.
A 17.7% share living alone still matters because delayed discovery can increase odor movement and the amount of affected material.
Because 80.6% of local housing is single-family, owners often can make direct decisions about removing affected structural materials.
During your call, ask whether cleanup is available in surrounding communities and ZIP codes.
After investigators depart, homicide cleanup removes blood, tissue and contaminated materials.
See homicide cleanup
Suicide cleanup is completed privately and with care, protecting families from seeing the scene.
See suicide cleanup
Following accidents, violence or injuries, trauma scene cleanup addresses the affected area.
See trauma scene cleanup
Carpet, solid floors, walls and furnishings receive blood cleanup that includes safe disposal.
See blood cleanup
Cleanup after an undiscovered death includes odor control and the effects of days of decomposition.
See unattended death cleanup
Death odor removal targets the source through ozone treatment, hydroxyl and air scrubbers.
See death odor removal
Hoarding cleanup with respectful sorting, removal and deep cleaning.
See hoarding cleanup
Sewage cleanup removes Category 3 black water from raw sewage, then disinfects and dries the area.
See raw sewage cleanupAffirmative. Forensic cleaning includes both chemical deposits and fingerprint dust. The powder is removed dry before a surface-appropriate cleaner is used to prevent staining.
It is called crime scene cleanup, forensic cleaning, forensic clean up, trauma cleanup or biohazard remediation. The people who do it are called crime scene cleaners or forensic cleaners.
Initial access and agreement on the scope require someone to be present. After access and scope are settled, your family can choose not to remain during cleanup.
Affirmative. Dried surface blood can hold certain viruses, including hepatitis B, for multiple days. Use the same precautions for dry and fresh blood.
Law enforcement and the medical examiner or coroner remove evidence and the deceased without cleaning the property. The family, landlord or property owner generally arranges crime scene cleanup through professional crime scene cleaners.
Most crime scenes require one to three days of on-site cleaning. A minor scene may need a day, while an extensive job involving subfloor removal may require up to five days.
Discreet, respectful crime scene cleanup, 24 hours a day, with crews in unmarked vehicles.