Blood or other bodily fluid in Renton is cleaned up safely by an independent cleanup company whose crew wears protective equipment, removes materials that cannot be disinfected, and disposes of them as regulated waste. First, make sure any police or medical examiner work at the property is finished, then keep people away from the area. Biohazard Network connects you with an independent local company that you hire directly; we do not do the cleanup ourselves.
If you are facing this after a fall, an injury, a medical emergency or a death that a doctor or hospice attended, it is normal to feel shaken. This page explains what the work involves and what to ask, so you can make calm decisions one step at a time.
Why ordinary cleaning is not enough
Blood and other body fluids can carry bloodborne pathogens, which are germs, such as certain viruses, that can cause disease in a person who is exposed to them. Cleanup workers also talk about OPIM, short for other potentially infectious materials, meaning certain body fluids other than blood that can carry the same germs.
Porous materials are materials with tiny openings that soak up liquid, such as carpet, padding, upholstery, mattresses, drywall and unsealed wood. Fluid can travel down into them, so a surface can look clean while contamination stays underneath. The same is true in a car, where seats and floor mats absorb fluid, and in shops and offices with fabric chairs or carpet tiles.
If it happened at a business
Please do not ask staff to clean it up. Blood can carry disease, and handling it safely calls for training and protective equipment that everyday employees are not expected to have. Close off the area, keep customers and staff away, and contact a cleanup company. If your business produces biomedical waste as part of its normal work, Public Health – Seattle & King County1 has a Biomedical waste program with guidance for businesses like yours.
What happens first
If someone has died, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office2 may be involved. A medical examiner is the county official whose office investigates certain deaths; in King County, this office investigates sudden, violent, unexpected, and suspicious deaths. Its work at a scene can include photographs and evidence collection. Families are not charged for the investigation. You can reach the King County Medical Examiner’s Office at 206-731-3232.
When police or the medical examiner are at a property, they control it until they release it. Scene release means the authorities have finished their work and handed the space back to you. Cleanup starts after that. If the event was an injury or an attended death with no investigation, there may be no hold at all.
While you wait, keep people and pets out and close the door if you can. Do not wipe surfaces, move soaked items, or put anything in household garbage. Do not touch sharps, which are needles, syringes, lancets or blades that can cut or puncture skin; tell the company if you see any. Public Health – Seattle & King County1 offers guidance titled How to handle used or found sharps.
What to expect from the company you hire
The crew should wear protective equipment such as gloves, suits and eye protection. They set up containment, which means sealing off the work area, for example with plastic sheeting, so contamination does not spread to clean rooms. They remove porous materials that fluid has reached and then carry out disinfection, which means using a product that kills germs on a surface, beyond what ordinary cleaning does. If an odor remains after the source is gone, ask about odor remediation in Renton.
Ask for a written scope of work before the job starts, and ask for photos and an itemized record afterward if you plan to file an insurance claim. Ask, too, how the company handles privacy at your property.
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 works3. Personal property coverage includes your furnishings and personal items, such as your TV, clothing and dishes, the same page says.
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 exclude4.
Ask your insurer: “Without filing a claim yet, can you tell me if my policy covers cleaning up blood or body fluids in my home, and what limits apply?” Source: Steps to take after home damage or a loss (Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner)5
To check a company yourself, ask whether its crew works under OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens standard, 29 CFR 1910.1030 (titled Bloodborne pathogens), and follows the ANSI/IICRC S540 Standard for Trauma and Crime Scene Cleanup from the IICRC (the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification, a non-profit for the cleaning and restoration industries). Then look the business up in the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) tool called Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business, and read how certifications work for the details.
The process, step by step
- Assessment. The crew looks at where fluid went, including under flooring, behind baseboards or into seat cushions, and plans the job.
- Containment. The work area is sealed off and other people stay out.
- Removal of porous material. Carpet, padding, drywall, upholstery or other affected materials are cut out and bagged. Ask before anything with personal value is removed.
- Cleaning and disinfection. Hard surfaces that remain are cleaned and then disinfected.
- Disposal. Biomedical waste is waste the law treats as able to carry infection. Under RCW 70A.228.010, the types include human blood and blood products, materials containing free-flowing blood, and sharps waste. In King County, biomedical waste must go through a permitted collection hauler or a treatment method approved by Public Health – Seattle & King County1. Ask the company which one it uses.
- Final check. Ask the crew to walk you through the finished area and explain how they confirmed the cleaning was complete.
If damage is larger, such as after a violent event, see crime and trauma scene cleanup in Renton. If a death went undiscovered for a time, see unattended death cleanup in Renton.
Renton and King County details
Renton is an incorporated city, so if drywall or flooring is removed and needs rebuilding, the City of Renton’s Community and Economic Development (CED) department is the office involved. CED leads land use planning and regulation and services for the development process, and its sections include Permit Services and Code Compliance. Ask the company whether any repair work will need a permit.
Companies may come from elsewhere in the region. I-405 and SR 167 form the only north-south highway alternative to I-5 in the Puget Sound region, running from Lynnwood to Sumner, so ask a company which route it will take and when it expects to reach you.
For public health questions, Public Health – Seattle & King County1 can be reached at 206-296-4600. It also runs a Solid waste disposal program. For more on services across the area, see the King County cleanup page or the Renton overview.
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.