A lasting odor after a death, a hoarding situation or a sewage backup in a Kingston home is removed by finding its source, taking that source out, and only then treating the air and surfaces that remain. If a death was involved, the Kitsap County Medical Examiner’s Office1 comes first, and cleanup starts only after the home is released. Biohazard Network can connect you with an independent local company that does this work; we do not clean, and you hire the company directly.
This is hard to face. This page explains what the work involves, what to do first, and what to ask before you hire.
What odor remediation involves
Odor remediation means finding the cause of a lasting odor and removing it, not covering it. (Remediation is the work of removing or correcting a contamination problem.) The cause may be an unattended death, a home where belongings and animal waste have built up over time, smoke, or a sewage backup.
Fragrance sprays and ordinary cleaners fail because they act on the surface while the source stays in the materials underneath. The Washington State Department of Health2 (DOH) makes the same point about mold: do not paint or caulk over it.
Why some materials may have to come out
Porous materials are materials that soak up liquid and air, such as carpet, carpet pad, drywall and subfloor (the wood layer under the finished floor). Once fluids or moisture reach them, they cannot always be cleaned well enough, so the company may need to cut them out. DOH2 says to hire a professional when mold has been contaminated by sewage or is in hidden places. Kitsap Public Health District3 has its own Mold page for local questions.
What happens first
If someone died in the home, the Kitsap County Medical Examiner’s Office1 is involved before anyone cleans. A medical examiner is an appointed official who investigates deaths and takes charge of the body. This office investigates all sudden, unexpected, or unnatural deaths in Kitsap County, and RCW 68.50.010 places the bodies of people who die suddenly without recent medical care, or from unknown causes, under the jurisdiction of the county coroner or medical examiner.
Odor work waits for scene release, the point when police or the medical examiner have finished and the home may be entered and cleaned. You can reach the Kitsap County Medical Examiner’s Office1 at 360.731.6843. Personal property the office secures goes to the funeral home with the body. The office’s family Resource Guide states that it does not endorse or recommend any specific providers, so choosing a company is up to you. The unattended death cleanup page covers this in more depth.
Whatever the source, do not scrub, spray or throw things out before a company has looked. For rodent droppings, DOH4 says not to vacuum or sweep, and to handle all droppings as if infectious. The Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) tells renters not to throw damaged things away yet, because the insurer may want to inspect them.
What to expect from the company you hire
Ask each company to explain how it handles these steps:
- Protective equipment. Workers wear gear against bloodborne pathogens, which are germs carried in blood that can cause disease.
- Containment. This means sealing off the work area, for example with plastic sheeting, so contamination does not spread to other rooms.
- Removing the source. Affected items and porous materials come out first. In a hoarding cleanup, ask how the company will respect what the person living in the home decides to keep and what the person decides to let go.
- Disinfection. This is treating surfaces with products that kill germs.
- Deodorizing. Treating the air and remaining surfaces for odor comes only after the source is gone.
- Checking the result. Ask how the company confirms the odor is gone, and what happens if it returns.
- Waste disposal. Biomedical waste is a category in state law that includes discarded human blood, materials containing free-flowing blood, and sharps waste such as used needles. In Kitsap County, hauling it is regulated by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission and Kitsap Public Health District3, which publishes a list titled Permitted Solid Waste Companies in Kitsap County | 2026, so ask who will haul it.
- Records. Ask for photos and a written description of the work for your insurer. The OIC says homeowners have the right to choose their own contractor for covered repairs.
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 works. For sudden, accidental smoke damage, standard policies typically pay for cleaning and deodorizing, says the Commissioner’s smoke damage page5.
Usually not covered: Damage from smoking tobacco inside your own home over time is not covered, says the Insurance Commissioner’s smoke damage page5.
Ask your insurer: “Does my policy cover removing this odor from my home and belongings, and which items would be cleaned and which replaced?” Source: Smoke damage and your homeowner or renter insurance (Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner)5
Before you hire, ask the company how its work follows OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens standard, 29 CFR 1910.1030, and the ANSI/IICRC S540 Standard for Trauma and Crime Scene Cleanup, written by the IICRC, a non-profit organization for the inspection, cleaning and restoration industries. Then look the business up yourself with the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) tool, Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business, and see what these terms mean.
How long odor remediation takes
No one can give a fair timeline before seeing the home, but you can understand what makes the work take longer:
- How long the source was there. The longer it was present, the farther it may have reached into floors and walls.
- How much porous material is affected. Each layer that has to be cut out and disposed of adds steps.
- Ventilation. Closed rooms with little airflow can hold odor longer.
- Whether restoration follows. Replacing drywall, flooring or other materials is separate work after cleanup. See how biohazard cleanup fits with restoration.
- Decisions in a hoarding situation. The pace may be set with the person and the family.
- Insurance steps. The OIC says insurers have five business days to approve a mitigation scope, meaning a plan to protect the property from further damage, when the policy requires that protection.
Ask for a written plan that lists the steps in order and says how the result will be checked before the job is called done.
Odor remediation in Kingston
Because Kingston is an unincorporated community, code complaints about property here go to the Department of Community Development, which takes code complaints about property in unincorporated Kitsap County. Whether the property is in Kingston old town, the community’s small-town commercial core, or near the Kingston Ferry Terminal served by the Kingston Fast Ferry, the steps on this page are the same.
If a company would travel from Jefferson County, it may cross the SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge, a 7,867-foot floating bridge over saltwater that links Jefferson and Kitsap counties and can drop to single-lane, one-way alternating traffic for repairs. Ask any company how it plans to reach the property.
For sewage, Kitsap Public Health District3 lists programs including Drinking Water & Onsite Sewage and Water Pollution Identification & Correction. You can reach Kitsap Public Health District at 360-728-2235. The sewage and biohazard waste page covers backups in more detail, and the Kingston page and Kitsap County page cover other local services.
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.