Biohazard cleanup in Poulsbo is handled by independent private companies that clean, disinfect and remove contaminated materials after a death, an injury, a crime, a hoarding situation or a sewage problem. If police or the Kitsap County Medical Examiner’s Office1 are involved, the first step is waiting for them to finish and release the home, because cleanup can only start after that. Biohazard Network can connect you with an independent local company that you hire directly; we do not do the cleanup ourselves.
A biohazard is any material, such as blood or other bodily fluids, that may carry germs that can make people sick. For the wider picture, see biohazard and trauma cleanup in Kitsap County.
Poulsbo is a city, so city offices handle code questions
Poulsbo is an incorporated city on Liberty Bay. The Planning and Economic Development Department is the city office for permit and code questions, and code enforcement sits there and with the Police Department.
When a death happens in Poulsbo
A medical examiner is an appointed official whose office investigates certain deaths to learn how and why they happened. Here, that is the Kitsap County Medical Examiner’s Office1, which investigates all sudden, unexpected, or unnatural deaths in Kitsap County. The office’s public phone line is 360.731.6843.
Under RCW 68.50.0102, jurisdiction over the deaths that law lists, such as deaths from unknown causes or under suspicious circumstances, rests with the county coroner or medical examiner. For your family, this means the office and police control the home until their work is done. The moment they hand it back is called scene release: they tell you they are finished, and the home can be entered and cleaned.
While you wait, you can ask the investigator for the pamphlet investigators carry for families, which answers common questions, explains autopsies and lists grief-counseling resources. The office’s family Resource Guide states that it does not endorse or recommend any specific providers, so choosing a cleanup company is your decision. If you are searching for something the person had with them, such as a wallet or a ring, know that personal property the office secured is released to the funeral home with the body.
The health department for Poulsbo
Kitsap Public Health District3 is the health department for Kitsap County, including Poulsbo, and you can reach it by phone at 360-728-2235 or online. The district lists programs called Report a Public Health Concern and Safely Handling Sharps. Sharps are used needles, syringes, lancets and similar items that can puncture skin. If you find any in the home, leave them in place for the cleanup company rather than picking them up.
How a company reaches Poulsbo
Where a company is based affects how its crew gets to you. SR 3 and SR 16 through Gorst are the only land-based route onto the Kitsap Peninsula, and they are congested. A company coming from Jefferson County crosses the SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge, a floating bridge that can drop to single-lane, one-way alternating traffic for repairs. From the Seattle side, Washington State Ferries routes include Edmonds / Kingston and Seattle / Bainbridge Island, and the Agate Pass Bridge on SR 305 is Bainbridge Island’s road link to the Kitsap Peninsula. When you call, ask where the crew is coming from and which route it plans to take, so you have a realistic idea of arrival. Nearby pages cover Kingston and Bainbridge Island.
Cleanup services in Poulsbo
Pick the service closest to what happened. A company can tell you if more than one applies.
Unattended death cleanup
This is for a home where a person died alone and was not found right away. The work includes disinfection, which means using products that kill germs on surfaces, and removing porous materials, such as carpet, mattresses or drywall, that soak up fluids and cannot be fully cleaned. See unattended death cleanup in Poulsbo.
Crime and trauma scene cleanup
This covers a home or business after a violent crime or serious injury, and cleanup after someone died by suicide. It begins only after scene release. Ask the company to explain what it plans to remove and what it will try to save. See crime and trauma scene cleanup in Poulsbo.
Hoarding cleanup
Hoarding is a recognized condition, and this work is about making the home safe again for the person living there. The person living in the home, or the family, decides what to keep and what to let go. Ask the company how it handles sorting, papers and items of value. See hoarding cleanup in Poulsbo.
Blood and bodily fluid cleanup
This is for incidents such as an injury or a fall at home. The concern is bloodborne pathogens, which are germs carried in blood that can cause disease, and OPIM, short for other potentially infectious materials, meaning certain bodily fluids that can carry those germs. See blood and bodily fluid cleanup in Poulsbo.
Odor removal
Odor removal means fixing a problem at its source instead of covering it up. Odor removal removes the cause of a lingering odor after a death, a hoarding situation or a sewage problem. See odor removal in Poulsbo.
Sewage and biohazard waste cleanup
This covers sewage backups and contaminated waste that must leave the property safely. Kitsap Public Health District3 runs a Drinking Water & Onsite Sewage program for septic systems and a Mold program if dampness follows a spill. Hauling biohazardous or biomedical waste is regulated by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission4 (UTC) and the district, so ask the company who will haul the waste away. See sewage and biohazard waste cleanup in Poulsbo and, for water or mold damage afterward, how biohazard cleanup fits with restoration.
Checking a company before you hire
When you call, ask whether the crew works under OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens standard, 29 CFR 1910.1030, and follows the ANSI/IICRC S540 Standard for Trauma and Crime Scene Cleanup, published by the IICRC (the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification, a non-profit for the cleaning and restoration industries). You can also look the business up yourself with the Department of Labor & Industries5 (L&I) tool called Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business5, and our certifications guide explains what each of these means.