Blood and other bodily fluids in Bremerton are cleaned up by an independent cleanup company whose crew wears protective equipment, removes materials that absorbed the fluid, disinfects the area, and sends the biomedical waste out through a permitted hauler. If police or the Kitsap County Medical Examiner’s Office1 are involved, their work comes first; then you hire a company directly. We can connect you with an independent local company, but Biohazard Network does not clean or send anyone.
If this follows a fall, an injury, a medical emergency, or an expected death at home, you do not have to handle it yourself.
Why wiping it up is not enough
Blood and other bodily fluids are a biohazard, meaning biological material that can make people sick. They can carry bloodborne pathogens, which are germs in blood that cause disease. Safety rules also use the term OPIM, short for other potentially infectious materials, for certain body fluids besides blood.
A surface can look clean while fluid remains underneath. Porous materials, meaning materials that soak up liquid, such as carpet padding, drywall, upholstery, mattresses and unsealed wood, can hold fluid below the surface, so some may need to be removed rather than cleaned. Sooner is better, because fluid has less time to spread into those materials.
What happens first
A medical examiner is the public official who investigates certain deaths. Here that is the Kitsap County Medical Examiner’s Office1, which investigates all sudden, unexpected, or unnatural deaths in Kitsap County. If that office or police responded, they control the scene until scene release, meaning they tell you their work is done and cleaning can begin. If you are not sure, call the Kitsap County Medical Examiner’s Office at 360.731.6843. Its family Resource Guide states that it does not endorse or recommend any specific providers, so the choice of company is yours. If no one died and police did not investigate, you can contact a company once everyone is safe.
What not to touch
- Do not scrub, bleach or throw out soaked items before the company sees them.
- Do not pick up sharps, meaning needles, syringes, lancets or other items that can puncture skin. The Kitsap Public Health District2 has guidance titled Safely Handling Sharps.
- Keep children, pets and visitors away, and close the door if you can.
- Homeowners insurance sometimes covers this work, so call your insurer to ask about your policy.
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
Shops, offices and vehicles
Blood can also need professional cleanup in a shop, an office, a rental unit or a car. For a business, bloodborne pathogens rules protect employees who might be exposed at work, so staff should not be asked to clean it up without training. Car seats, carpet and headliners are porous, so ask whether the company works on vehicle interiors and whether any parts may need removing. A landlord or manager can ask for a written scope of work, a plain list of what will be cleaned, removed and replaced.
The cleanup process, step by step
Each company has its own methods, so ask yours to walk you through its plan. Here is the general order.
Assessment
The company inspects where fluid reached, including under flooring where needed. Ask for a written estimate and scope before work starts.
Containment
Containment means sealing off the work area, for example with plastic sheeting, so contamination is not carried into other rooms. The crew wears protective equipment such as gloves, suits and eye protection.
Removing porous materials
Soaked materials, such as a section of carpet pad or drywall, are cut out and bagged. Ask the company to check with you before it removes any belongings, so you decide what to keep.
Cleaning and disinfection
Hard surfaces are cleaned first, then disinfected. Disinfection means applying a product that kills germs, and it works only after visible material is gone. If an odor stays after the source is removed, see odor remediation in Bremerton.
Disposal of biomedical waste
Washington defines biomedical waste by a fixed list of types, including discarded human blood, materials containing free-flowing blood, and sharps waste. In Kitsap County, hauling it is regulated by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) and the Kitsap Public Health District2 (KPHD). Ask which hauler your company uses: a hauler needs UTC approval and a KPHD Solid Waste Hauling Permit, and KPHD has a list titled Permitted Solid Waste Companies in Kitsap County | 2026 that you can compare against. A company that hauls other site waste in its own equipment needs a KPHD Site Restoration Hauler permit, which is a separate permit and not the biomedical waste one.
Final check and records
Ask the company to walk you through the finished area and explain what it removed. Ask for before-and-after photos, a list of removed materials and an itemized invoice for your insurer. If drywall or flooring must be replaced, see how biohazard cleanup fits with restoration.
How to check a company
Before you hire, ask whether the crew follows OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens standard, 29 CFR 1910.1030, titled “Bloodborne pathogens,” and the ANSI/IICRC S540 Standard for Trauma and Crime Scene Cleanup, a guideline from the IICRC (the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification, a non-profit organization for the cleaning and restoration industries). You can also look the business up yourself with the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) tool called Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business, and our guide to cleanup certifications explains what each of these means.
Bremerton offices and travel
Bremerton is an incorporated city. If repairs after cleanup need a permit, the city’s Department of Community Development processes permit applications. For waste or health questions, the Kitsap Public Health District2 has a Solid & Hazardous Waste program and a Report a Public Health Concern option, and you can reach it at 360-728-2235.
When you contact a company, give the exact address and say whether it is a home, a business or a vehicle, whether that is a business near the Port of Bremerton Marina in the downtown Harborside area or an address near Evergreen Rotary Park, a few blocks north of downtown. If the company is based outside Kitsap County, ask how it will travel. The SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge links Jefferson and Kitsap counties and can drop to single-lane, one-way alternating traffic for repairs, and Tacoma Narrows Bridge tolls apply only toward Tacoma, so ask whether travel is included in the estimate.
For other services, see biohazard and trauma cleanup in Bremerton or cleanup across Kitsap County. If someone died alone or a crime occurred, the pages on unattended death cleanup and crime and trauma scene cleanup cover those situations, and sewage and biohazard waste cleanup covers sewage.
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.