Blood or other bodily fluid in Silverdale is cleaned up by a biohazard cleanup company, a business that handles biohazards (biological material, such as blood, that can carry disease), using protective gear, removal of soaked materials, disinfection and regulated waste disposal. If police or the Kitsap County Medical Examiner’s Office1 are involved, the work starts only after they release the property. Biohazard Network does not do the cleanup; we connect you with an independent local company that you hire directly.
If you are here after a fall, an injury at home, a medical emergency or an attended death, you have already been through a lot. This page explains what the work involves, what to do first and what to ask, one step at a time.
Why ordinary cleaning is not enough
Blood and some other body fluids can carry bloodborne pathogens, which are germs in blood that can cause disease. Safety rules also use the term OPIM, short for other potentially infectious materials: body fluids that can carry the same germs. These fluids soak into porous materials, meaning materials with tiny openings that absorb liquid, such as carpet padding, upholstery, mattresses, drywall and unsealed wood. A surface can look clean while contamination stays underneath. Once any scene is released, it is better to have the area assessed sooner, because fluid keeps soaking in.
Cars, shops and offices
This service is not only for homes. In a car, seats and floor carpet can hold fluid out of sight, and in a shop or office the same goes for carpet tiles, fabric chairs and cubicle panels. At a business, bloodborne pathogens rules exist to protect employees who could be exposed, so staff should not be asked to clean it up without that training.
What happens first
If a death was sudden, unexpected or unnatural, the Kitsap County Medical Examiner’s Office1 investigates it. A medical examiner is a county office that looks into the cause of certain deaths, and this one can be reached at 360.731.6843. Cleanup waits for scene release, the point when police or the medical examiner finish and hand the property back. The office’s family Resource Guide says it does not endorse or recommend any specific providers, so choosing a company is up to you. If the death was not discovered right away, see unattended death cleanup in Silverdale; after a violent incident, see crime and trauma scene cleanup in Silverdale.
After an injury or medical emergency where no one died, there may be no investigation. If police came, ask whether they are finished before work starts.
Until a company arrives:
- Do not try to clean the area, and keep children and pets away.
- Close off the room or lock the vehicle if you can.
- Take photos, and keep stained items for the company to assess and for insurance.
- Do not pick up needles or other sharps, a term for needles, syringes, lancets and blades. The Kitsap Public Health District2 (KPHD) has a page called Safely Handling Sharps, and the district can be reached at 360-728-2235.
What to expect from the company you hire
The crew wears personal protective equipment, such as gloves, gowns, eye protection and respirators. They set up containment, which means sealing off the work area so contamination does not spread. They remove affected porous materials, then clean and disinfect what remains; disinfection means applying a product that kills germs after the visible material is gone. Any odor left after the source is out is a separate step, covered on odor remediation in Silverdale.
Ask before work begins for a written scope of work, photos and an itemized invoice. Homeowners insurance sometimes covers this work, so ask whether the company will bill your insurer or expect payment from you. If privacy matters, ask whether it uses unmarked vehicles.
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 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 from the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC), a non-profit organization for the inspection, cleaning and restoration industries. Then look up the business with the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) tool called Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business, and read how biohazard cleanup certifications work for what each of these means.
The cleanup process, step by step
Assessment. The company finds where fluid has spread, including under flooring or inside seats, and sets out a plan.
Containment. The area is sealed off before anything is disturbed.
Removal of porous material. Materials that absorbed fluid are cut out and bagged rather than cleaned in place.
Cleaning and disinfection. Hard surfaces are cleaned, then disinfected.
Disposal of biomedical waste. Biomedical waste is the legal term for certain medical-type waste, which in Washington includes discarded human blood, materials containing free-flowing blood, and used sharps. In Kitsap County, hauling it is regulated by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) and KPHD2, and a hauler needs UTC approval and a KPHD Solid Waste Hauling Permit. The district publishes a list, Permitted Solid Waste Companies in Kitsap County | 2026, and has a Solid & Hazardous Waste section. A KPHD Site Restoration Hauler permit, for hauling site waste in a company’s own equipment, is not the biomedical waste hauling permit, so ask who will haul the biomedical waste.
Final check. Walk through with the company and ask how it confirmed the area is clean. Rebuilding removed flooring or drywall is a separate job; see how biohazard cleanup fits with restoration.
Blood cleanup in Silverdale
Silverdale is an unincorporated community, so if a tenant or neighbor raises a concern about a property here, the Department of Community Development takes code complaints about property in unincorporated Kitsap County. The steps on this page are the same whether the address is in historic Old Town, near Silverdale Waterfront Park, a county waterfront park, or elsewhere in Silverdale.
Tacoma Narrows Bridge tolls apply only toward Tacoma, so if a company is based on the Tacoma side, ask whether travel is part of the estimate.
For other services here, see biohazard and trauma cleanup in Silverdale, or for the wider area, biohazard and trauma cleanup in Kitsap County.
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.