A sewage backup, a failed septic system, used needles or rodent droppings in a Kent home, rental or business are cleaned up by an independent biohazard or restoration company that the owner or property manager hires directly. The first step is to keep people and pets out of the area and, for sewage or septic problems, to check the guidance from Public Health – Seattle & King County1. Biohazard Network can connect you with an independent local company; it does not do the cleanup itself.
Finding this in a basement, a vacant unit or a back room is upsetting. This page explains what the work involves, what to ask the company you hire, and how the waste must leave the property.
What this service covers
A biohazard is any material that can carry germs that make people sick. This page deals with biohazards not tied to a death or a crime: sewage from a backed-up line or failed septic system, needles and other sharps, rodent droppings and nests, and contaminated items left in rentals, vacant properties and businesses. Sharps are objects that can puncture skin, such as needles and blades.
Washington’s definition of biomedical waste, a legal category of waste that must be kept apart from ordinary garbage, is limited to the types listed in RCW 70A.228.010. Those include discarded human blood and sharps waste such as hypodermic needles, syringes and lancets.
Ordinary cleaning falls short because sewage soaks into porous materials, meaning things that absorb liquid, like carpet, drywall and insulation. The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) says to hire a cleaning professional when a moldy area has been contaminated by sewage. DOH also says infected deer mice live throughout the state, and that people can be exposed to hantavirus by breathing dust after disturbing or cleaning droppings or nests.
What to do first
Keep everyone out of the area. Do not vacuum or sweep droppings, because DOH2 says that stirs up dust, and do not rely on a dust mask, which DOH notes does not protect against viruses. Do not pick up needles with bare hands; Public Health – Seattle & King County1 publishes guidance called “How to handle used or found sharps.”
For sewage, the same department has a page called “Sewage releases in Seattle and King County” and an On-site Sewage/Septic System Program, and it takes rodent complaints. Its main number is 206-296-4600.
No one has to release the property before a sewage or rodent cleanup. If police are involved, they control the property until they release it. If someone has died, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office investigates sudden, violent, unexpected and suspicious deaths in the county, and the unattended death cleanup page covers that situation.
If you rent, the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) says not to throw damaged things away yet, because the insurer may want to inspect them.
What to expect from the company you hire
The crew should wear protective equipment such as gloves, eye protection and breathing protection. Ask how it will set up containment, which means sealing off the work area so contamination does not spread. Then come removal of soaked porous materials, remediation (removing the contamination itself), and disinfection, which means applying products that kill germs on the surfaces that remain.
Odor work belongs after the source is gone; odor remediation in Kent covers that step. Sewage cleanup overlaps with water damage restoration, and drying and rebuilding follow once the biohazard is removed, as how biohazard cleanup fits with restoration explains. Ask for written records and photos of what was removed and why, to support an insurance claim.
A former drug lab is a separate job: Washington requires workers and contractors who decontaminate clandestine drug labs to be certified through DOH’s Drug Lab Cleanup Program.
Before hiring, ask how the company protects its workers under OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens standard3, 29 CFR 1910.1030, and whether it follows the ANSI/IICRC S540 Standard for Trauma and Crime Scene Cleanup from the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC), a non-profit for the cleaning and restoration industries. Then look the business up with the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries4 (L&I) tool “Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business4,” and read the certifications guide for what each item means.
How the process works, including disposal
- Assessment. The company inspects the area and explains what must be removed and what can be cleaned.
- Containment. The work area is sealed off and protected.
- Removal and packaging. Soaked materials are bagged, and sharps go into puncture-resistant containers.
- Cleaning and disinfection. Remaining surfaces are cleaned, then disinfected.
- Confirmation. Ask how the company confirms the area is clean before restoration starts.
- Disposal. Waste leaves under the rules below.
Where the waste goes
The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) also requires a company that collects, transports and disposes of biomedical waste to keep an operating plan that holds this waste apart from other solid waste and limits who may handle it. For sewage-soaked carpet or drywall that is not biomedical waste, the health department1’s Solid waste disposal program is the place to ask about disposal. Ask the company which hauler takes each kind of waste, and ask for a disposal record.
Insurance questions to settle early
The OIC says you can ask your agent or insurance company whether a loss is covered without filing a claim. That is worth doing first, because the OIC also says most homeowner policies don’t cover gradual leaks. You have the right to choose your own contractor for covered repairs, and the OIC warns that signing a contractor’s assignment of benefit form could affect your rights, so read any form before you sign it.
Usually covered: If your home is on a sewer system, sewer backup coverage can be added to a home policy as an optional endorsement, says the Insurance Commissioner’s flood insurance page5.
Usually not covered: A standard home policy does not cover sewer backup, but it can be added as an optional endorsement, says the Insurance Commissioner’s flood insurance page5. If you rent, your landlord’s or property management company’s policy covers the building but not your belongings, says the Commissioner’s renter insurance page.
Ask your insurer: “Does my policy include a sewer backup endorsement, and does it cover this backup?” Source: Learn how home insurance works (Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner)
Sewage and biohazard cleanup in Kent
Kent is an incorporated city, so local permits come from the city. Its Economic and Community Development department runs the city’s Permit Center; if restoration means replacing walls or flooring, ask the company whether a permit is needed and confirm with the Permit Center. The city’s directory also lists a separate Code Enforcement entry.
Whether the property is on Meeker Street downtown or near the accesso ShoWare Center arena, the county health department for Kent is Public Health – Seattle & King County1. When you contact a company, ask where its crew will come from and when it can reach Kent, since King County also includes Vashon Island, reached through the Fauntleroy ferry terminal, and the rural Snoqualmie Valley around Duvall, Carnation and North Bend. The Kent page and the King County page cover other situations in the area.
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.