After an unattended death in Federal Way, an independent biohazard cleanup company cleans the home once the King County Medical Examiner’s Office1 and police have finished and released the property. An unattended death is one where a person died alone and was not found right away. Biohazard Network can connect you with an independent local company; it does not do the cleanup, and you hire the company directly.
If you are facing this now, we are sorry. You do not have to clean anything yourself. This page explains what comes first, what the work involves, and what to ask.
What unattended death cleanup involves
When time passes before someone is found, body fluids can soak into the place where the person was and into the floor below. These fluids are a biohazard, meaning material that may carry germs that can make people sick. Household cleaners and a mop reach only the surface. Carpet, padding, drywall and wood are porous materials, meaning they absorb liquid, so contamination can stay underneath even when a surface looks clean. Professional cleanup protects anyone who enters the home later, and it protects the home’s future, because what is left inside flooring or walls can keep causing problems.
What happens first in King County
The medical examiner and scene release
King County uses a medical examiner system. A medical examiner is a public official who investigates certain deaths to learn the cause. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office1 investigates sudden, violent, unexpected and suspicious deaths that occur in King County, and at the home its work includes photographs, evidence collection, and information from family and other witnesses. No one should begin cleaning until the scene is released, meaning investigators formally hand the property back. You can reach the King County Medical Examiner’s Office at 206-731-3232. Families are not charged for the investigation or examination.
The funeral home
While the examination is under way, the family chooses a funeral home or crematory to receive the body. The office asks families to choose within 3 days. Personal effects collected during the investigation go to that funeral home, and viewing takes place there, not at the Medical Examiner’s Office1.
What not to touch
Keep the affected room closed. Do not try to clean it, and do not throw out bedding, furniture or other belongings yet. Your insurer may want to see them, and some items may be worth keeping once they can be handled safely. If you need important papers from the home, ask the cleanup company whether it can help you retrieve them safely.
What to expect from the company you hire
The crew should wear protective equipment, such as gloves, suits and respirators, to guard against bloodborne pathogens, which are germs carried in blood that can cause disease. Ask the company to walk you through its plan before work starts. That plan should cover:
- Containment: sealing off the work area so contamination does not spread to other rooms.
- Removal of affected materials: carpet, padding, flooring and drywall, and the subfloor (the wood layer under the floor covering) where fluids reached it.
- Disinfection: applying products that kill germs on the surfaces that stay.
- Odor work: a separate step that comes after the source is removed. See odor remediation in Federal Way.
- Disposal: Washington law defines biomedical waste as a set list of waste types, including discarded human blood and materials containing free-flowing blood.
- Records: ask for photos, a written scope of work and an itemized invoice you can give your insurer.
Before you hire, ask the company how its crew follows OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens standard2, 29 CFR 1910.1030, and the ANSI/IICRC S540 Standard for Trauma and Crime Scene Cleanup (IICRC, the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification, is a non-profit organization for the cleaning and restoration industries). You can also look up the business yourself with the Department of Labor & Industries3 (L&I) tool called Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business3, and the certifications guide explains what each of these means.
How long it takes, and what makes it longer
No honest company can give a firm time before seeing the home. These things can stretch the job:
- Time before the person was found. More time lets fluids travel deeper into the materials below.
- Porous materials. Carpet, padding and drywall that absorbed fluids must come out rather than be wiped down.
- Flooring and subfloor removal. If contamination reached the subfloor, that wood is cut out and the area below is treated.
- Odor work. This begins only after the source is gone and is its own step.
- Insurance. The Office of the Insurance Commissioner4 (OIC) says an insurer has 30 days from the date a claim is filed to inspect the damage. Ask your insurer whether it wants to inspect before materials are removed.
- Rebuilding. Cleanup ends with a clean, safe space; replacing floors or walls is a separate job. In Federal Way, the Community Development Department’s Building Division administers and enforces building codes, including plan review and inspection, so ask whether your repair needs a permit. See how biohazard cleanup fits with restoration.
Usually covered: Homeowner insurance protects your home and belongings from damage caused by specific risks, says the Insurance Commissioner’s page on how home insurance works5. For damage from those risks, dwelling coverage typically covers repairing or replacing your damaged home.
Usually not covered: Standard homeowner and renter policies exclude wear and tear: insurance covers sudden accidents, not ongoing issues, says the Insurance Commissioner’s smoke damage page, which lists what standard policies exclude.
Ask your insurer: “Without filing a claim yet, can you tell me if my policy covers cleanup and repairs after a death in my home, and what limits apply?” Source: Filing a homeowner insurance claim (Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner)4
Ask the company to tell you right away if it finds more damage once materials come up.
For landlords and property managers
When a tenant who was the sole occupant dies, RCW 59.18.595 sets out your steps. On learning of the death, you must promptly mail or personally deliver a written notice to people including any known personal representative, any designated person and the emergency contact from the rental application. Check the tenant file first: a tenant who lives alone can name, in writing separate from the lease, a person to act for them on their death. The notice must say the tenancy ends 15 days after it is mailed or delivered, or on the date rent is paid through, whichever is later.
You may enter the unit and immediately dispose of perishable food, hazardous materials and garbage. Before cleanup begins, agree with the tenant representative on which contaminated items the company will remove, and ask the company to list them. A tenant representative can arrange to prepay rent for no more than 60 days from the date of death to remove property in an orderly way. If belongings remain, you must send a second notice giving a date at least 45 days after mailing before you sell or dispose of them, and personal papers and personal photographs are excluded. Keep copies of every notice, because a landlord who follows these steps is relieved of liability relating to the deceased tenant’s property.
Federal Way and King County
Federal Way is an incorporated city, and its city parks include Celebration Park and Steel Lake Park. Because it is a city, property complaints go to the Community Development Department, whose Code Compliance division handles enforcement cases on private property on a complaint basis. Public Health – Seattle & King County is the county health department. If a company you contact is based across Lake Washington, ask how it plans to reach you; only two transportation facilities cross the lake, the I-90 and SR 520 floating bridges. For fluid spills without a death, see blood and bodily fluid cleanup in Federal Way.
Who to call first
In an emergency, call 911.These official offices may be part of the first steps. They are government pages, not ours.
- King County Medical Examiner (opens in a new tab)After a sudden or unexpected death, cleanup waits until this office is done.
- Public Health – Seattle & King County (opens in a new tab)For local health questions, such as a home that was used as a drug lab.
- Washington Crime Victims Compensation Program (L&I) (opens in a new tab)If a crime happened, it may help with some costs, such as funeral expenses. It doesn't pay for cleanup.
- Verify a contractor (L&I lookup) (opens in a new tab)Look up whether a company is a registered contractor before work starts.
- Washington State Department of Health (opens in a new tab)State health rules, such as for drug lab cleanup and hantavirus.