Blood and other bodily fluids in Bainbridge Island are cleaned up safely by an independent biohazard cleanup company whose crew works in protective gear, removes materials that absorbed fluid, disinfects what stays, and sends the waste to a permitted hauler. First, keep everyone away from the area, and if police or the Kitsap County Medical Examiner’s Office1 are involved, wait until they release it. Biohazard Network connects you with an independent local company that you hire directly; we do not do the cleanup.
If you are facing this after an injury, a fall, a medical emergency or a death under medical care, there is no need to handle it yourself. This page explains the process and what to ask, so you can decide calmly.
What this cleanup involves and why ordinary cleaning falls short
A biohazard is a biological material, such as blood, that can carry disease. Blood and other bodily fluids can carry bloodborne pathogens, which are germs in the blood that can make people sick. These fluids also soak into porous materials, meaning materials with tiny openings that absorb liquid, such as carpet and padding, drywall, mattresses, upholstery and fabric car seats. A surface can look clean after scrubbing while fluid remains below it, so ordinary household cleaning is not enough.
This service suits smaller or contained incidents, and places beyond the home: a car, a shop, an office or a rental unit. For larger scenes, see crime and trauma scene cleanup, and when a death went undiscovered for a time, see unattended death cleanup.
If it happened at your business
Do not ask staff to clean it up. Blood can carry disease, and the work calls for training and protective equipment. Close off the area, keep customers and employees out, and contact a cleanup company.
What happens first
If police responded, or if a death was sudden, unexpected, or unnatural, wait for scene release, which means the authorities have finished their work and handed the property back to you. A medical examiner is a county official who investigates certain deaths, and here the Kitsap County Medical Examiner’s Office1 investigates all sudden, unexpected, or unnatural deaths in Kitsap County. If you are not sure whether the office is finished, you can call the Kitsap County Medical Examiner’s Office at 360.731.6843.
The office’s family Resource Guide says it does not endorse or recommend any specific providers, so choosing a company is up to you. Personal property the office secured is released to the funeral home with the body, so there is no need to search the area for those belongings.
Until the cleanup company arrives:
- Do not wipe, scrub or move anything that has fluid on it.
- Keep children, pets and visitors away.
- Do not bag up stained items or put them in household bins.
- Leave sharps where they are. Sharps are used needles, syringes, scalpel blades and lancets, and the Kitsap Public Health District2 offers guidance called Safely Handling Sharps.
- If you can do it without touching anything, take photos for insurance.
The process, step by step
Assessment
The crew checks how far fluid reached, including under flooring and into the seams of furniture or a vehicle, and builds a work plan. Ask for a written scope of work before anything starts.
Containment
Containment means sealing off the work area, for example with plastic sheeting, so contamination does not spread into clean rooms. The crew wears protective equipment such as gloves, suits, eye protection and respirators.
Removal of porous materials
Materials that absorbed fluid are cut out and sealed in bags, because they cannot be fully disinfected in place. Ask the company to explain each item before it is removed, especially belongings you may want to keep.
Cleaning and disinfection
Hard surfaces are cleaned first and then disinfected. Disinfection means applying a product that kills germs, which is different from making a surface look clean. If an odor remains, it is treated only after the source is gone; see odor remediation.
Disposal of biomedical waste
Biomedical waste is the legal category that includes discarded human blood, materials containing free-flowing blood, and sharps. Ask the company who hauls its biomedical waste. In Kitsap County, that hauling is regulated by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission3 (UTC) and the Kitsap Public Health District2, and the hauler needs UTC approval and a KPHD Solid Waste Hauling Permit. You can compare the answer with the district’s list, Permitted Solid Waste Companies in Kitsap County | 2026. Keep in mind that a KPHD Site Restoration Hauler permit, which covers a company hauling site waste away in its own equipment, is not the biomedical waste hauling permit.
Final check
Before the crew leaves, walk through the area with them and ask how they confirmed it is clean. Ask for a written report with photos, the scope of work and disposal records. Homeowners insurance sometimes covers this work, so check your policy and ask the company whether it can prepare documents your insurer will accept.
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 works4. 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 exclude5.
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)
How to check a company before you hire it
Ask the company how its crew follows OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens standard, 29 CFR 1910.1030, and the ANSI/IICRC S540 Standard for Trauma and Crime Scene Cleanup, published by the IICRC (Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification), a non-profit organization for the inspection, cleaning and restoration industries. You can look the business up yourself with the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) tool Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business, and the certifications guide explains what to look for.
Getting help on Bainbridge Island
Whether the property is in Winslow, along Winslow Way in the Core District, near Waterfront Park & City Dock on Eagle Harbor beside downtown, or elsewhere on the island, give the company the exact location when you first reach out.
A company coming from the Jefferson County side may cross the SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge, which links Jefferson and Kitsap counties and can drop to single-lane, one-way alternating traffic for repairs, so ask how that could affect its arrival. On the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, tolls apply only toward Tacoma; if the company is based on that side, ask whether it charges for travel.
Bainbridge Island is an incorporated city. If repairs after cleanup involve development or land-use activity, the city’s Planning and Community Development (PCD) Department coordinates and manages that activity on Bainbridge Island. For waste questions, the Kitsap Public Health District2’s Solid & Hazardous Waste program and its Waste Handling A to Z page are places to start, and the district can be reached at 360-728-2235.
For other services, see the Bainbridge Island page or the Kitsap County page. If water or mold damage is also involved, this restoration guide explains how the work fits together.
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.
- Kitsap County Medical Examiner (opens in a new tab)After a sudden or unexpected death, cleanup waits until this office is done.
- Kitsap Public Health District (opens in a new tab)For local health questions, such as a home that was used as a drug lab.
- Kitsap Public Health: permitted waste haulers (opens in a new tab)Cleanup companies that haul away waste here need this permit.
- 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.