After an unattended death in Kent, an independent biohazard cleanup company that you hire directly does the cleanup, once the King County Medical Examiner’s Office1 has finished its work and the home is released. An unattended death is one where a person died alone and was not found right away. Biohazard Network connects you with an independent local company; we do not do the cleanup.
If you have just lost a family member or learned that a tenant has died, you do not have to clean anything yourself. This page explains who comes first, what to expect, and what can add time.
Why ordinary cleaning is not enough
A biohazard is material, such as blood or other body fluids, that can carry germs; germs carried in blood that can cause disease are called bloodborne pathogens. Fluids can soak into porous materials, meaning things that absorb liquid, like carpet, padding, mattresses, drywall and wood. Household cleaners can make a surface look clean while contamination stays underneath. Professional cleanup removes affected materials instead of covering them, which protects anyone who later lives in or works on the home.
What happens first
The medical examiner and the funeral home
King County uses a medical examiner system. A medical examiner is a public office that investigates certain deaths, and the King County Medical Examiner’s Office1 investigates sudden, violent, unexpected and suspicious deaths in King County. Washington law gives it jurisdiction over a body found dead, and over a person in apparent good health who died suddenly without medical attendance in the 36 hours before death, so an investigator may come even when nothing seems unusual.
The investigation can include photographs, evidence collection and information from family. Meanwhile, you choose a funeral home or crematory to receive the person afterward; the office asks families to select one within 3 days. If you are looking for a wallet, keys or a phone, ask the funeral home, because personal effects the office collects go there. Families are not charged for the investigation or examination. Medicolegal death investigators at the King County Medical Examiner’s Office1 are available 24/7 at 206-731-3232, ext. 5.
Scene release and what not to touch
Scene release means the medical examiner, and police if involved, have finished and handed the home back to the owner or family. After release, do not try to clean the affected area, move bedding or furniture, or throw anything away. Close the door, keep children and pets out, and let the company you hire assess the room first.
What to expect from the company you hire
Cleanup workers wear protective equipment such as gloves, suits and respirators. Ask the company how it handles each step:
- Containment: sealing off the work area, for example with plastic sheeting, so contamination does not spread.
- Removal: taking out affected porous materials, which can include flooring.
- Disinfection: applying products that kill germs on the surfaces that stay.
- Odor work: treating odor after the source is gone; see odor remediation in Kent.
- Disposal: biomedical waste is a category Washington law limits to listed materials, including discarded human blood and items containing free-flowing blood.
- Records: ask for photographs, a written scope of work and a list of removed items for your insurer or the estate.
The Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) warns that signing a contractor’s assignment of benefit form could affect your rights, so read any form before you sign it.
To check a company yourself, ask whether its workers follow OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens standard2, 29 CFR 1910.1030, and the ANSI/IICRC S540 Standard for Trauma and Crime Scene Cleanup from the IICRC (Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification), a non-profit for the cleaning and restoration industries. Then search the business in the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries3 (L&I) tool Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business3, and see certifications explained for what to look for.
How long it takes, and what makes it longer
No one can give an honest timeline before seeing the home, so ask the company to explain its estimate. These things can add time:
- How long before the person was found. More time can mean a larger affected area and deeper contamination.
- Porous materials. Items that absorbed fluids are removed rather than cleaned, and each layer beneath has to be checked.
- Flooring and subfloor. If fluids reached the subfloor, the wood layer under the floor covering, a section may need to be cut out.
- Odor work. It starts only after the source is removed and may need rechecking before the job is done.
- Rebuilding. Replacing floors or drywall is separate repair work; in Kent, Economic and Community Development runs the city’s Permit Center. L&I says that before renovation, repair or demolition, owners and contractors must have a good faith asbestos inspection of materials the project could disturb. See biohazard cleanup and restoration.
- Insurance. The OIC4 says an insurer has 30 days from the date a claim is filed to inspect the damage.
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
If a tenant has died
If the tenant was the sole occupant, follow RCW 59.18.595 before belongings leave the unit. On learning of the death, you must promptly mail or personally deliver a written notice to people including any known personal representative, any known designated person and the emergency contact on the rental application. Check your files first for a separate written designation the tenant may have signed naming someone to act for them. The notice must say the tenancy ends 15 days after it is mailed or delivered, or on the paid-through rent date, whichever is later.
You may enter and immediately dispose of perishable food, hazardous materials and garbage, but the tenant’s other belongings wait for the tenant representative. Talk with that person before the cleanup company removes affected belongings, and ask the company for a written list of what it takes out. Before selling or disposing of remaining property, you must send a second written notice giving a date at least 45 days after mailing, and even then personal papers and personal photographs are excepted. Following the rule relieves you of liability relating to the tenant’s property.
Finding help in Kent
Kent is an incorporated city in King County whose landmarks include the accesso ShoWare Center and the Green River Natural Resources Area. If you find needles or other sharps, meaning items that can puncture skin, leave them for the company; Public Health – Seattle & King County publishes guidance on how to handle used or found sharps. Ask any company where its crew would travel from, since only two transportation facilities cross Lake Washington: the I-90 and SR 520 floating bridges. We can connect you with an independent local company serving Kent, which you then hire directly.
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.