After an unattended death in Silverdale, an independent biohazard cleanup company hired directly by the family, landlord or property manager does the cleanup. First, the Kitsap County Medical Examiner’s Office1 and a funeral home care for the person who died. Biohazard Network can connect you with an independent local company; we do not do the work ourselves.
We are sorry you are facing this. An unattended death means a person died with no one present and was found later. The family is not expected to clean anything.
Why ordinary cleaning is not enough
When a person is not found right away, body fluids can reach floors, furniture and the materials underneath. These fluids are a biohazard, meaning biological material that can carry germs harmful to people. Household cleaning reaches only surfaces, not what has soaked into porous materials, which are materials that absorb liquid, such as carpet, padding, mattresses and drywall. Professional cleanup protects the health of anyone who enters later, and it protects the home, because contamination left in floors or walls can keep causing odor and damage.
What happens first
The medical examiner and the funeral home
A medical examiner is a public official who investigates certain deaths, and Kitsap County’s is appointed. The Kitsap County Medical Examiner’s Office1 investigates all sudden, unexpected, or unnatural deaths in Kitsap County; its number is 360.731.6843. Under Washington law, when someone dies suddenly without recent medical care or is found dead, the county coroner or medical examiner has jurisdiction over the body, which may be taken to the morgue.
That is why investigators and then the funeral home come first. Investigators carry a pamphlet for families that explains autopsies and lists grief-counseling resources, so ask for one. Personal property the office secures goes to the funeral home with the person, so ask the funeral home about it. If you later want the office’s report, its page links a family declaration form.
Scene release and what not to touch
Scene release means the police or the medical examiner have finished at the home and allow others in. Until then, stay out. After release, you still do not need to touch the affected area: close the door if you can, keep children and pets away, and leave bedding, furniture and flooring for the company. The office’s family Resource Guide says it does not endorse or recommend any specific providers, so the choice is yours.
What to expect from the company you hire
The crew should wear protective equipment, because the work involves bloodborne pathogens, which are germs carried in blood that can cause disease. Ask how it will set up containment, meaning sealing off the area so contamination does not spread. It then removes affected porous materials and disinfects what remains; disinfection means using products that kill germs, not just wiping. Odor work comes after the source is removed, as odor remediation in Silverdale explains. Related work is covered under blood and bodily fluid cleanup in Silverdale.
Some removed materials are biomedical waste, a category Washington law defines by a fixed list that includes materials containing free-flowing blood. The Kitsap Public Health District2 says hauling biohazardous or biomedical waste is regulated by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) and the district, and haulers need UTC approval and a KPHD Solid Waste Hauling Permit. Ask the company who will haul that waste from the home. The district’s separate KPHD Site Restoration Hauler permit, for site waste a company hauls in its own equipment, is not the biomedical waste permit. Also ask for written records to give an insurer: the work done, photos, and a list of what was removed.
When you call a company, ask whether its crew works under OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens standard3, 29 CFR 1910.1030, and follows the ANSI/IICRC S540 Standard for Trauma and Crime Scene Cleanup from the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC), a non-profit group for the cleaning and restoration industries. You can check the business yourself with the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries4 (L&I) lookup, Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business4, and the certifications guide explains what to look for.
How long it takes, and what makes it longer
No one can give an honest time without seeing the home, so ask the company to explain in writing what its estimate depends on. These things can add time:
- How long before the person was found, since fluids may have reached deeper layers.
- Porous materials such as carpet and upholstered furniture, which are removed rather than cleaned.
- Flooring and subfloor removal, if fluids passed into the subfloor, the wood layer under the floor covering.
- Odor work, which starts only after the source is gone and may need follow-up.
- Rebuilding, such as new flooring or drywall, which is separate work after cleanup; see how biohazard cleanup fits with restoration.
For landlords and property managers
If a tenant who lived alone dies, RCW 59.18.595 sets the steps. On learning of the death, the landlord must promptly mail or deliver a written notice to people including any known personal representative and the emergency contact on the rental application. It must say the tenancy ends 15 days after the notice is mailed or delivered, or on the date rent is paid through, whichever is later.
The law lets the landlord enter right away to dispose of perishable food, hazardous materials and garbage. Treat everything else as the tenant’s belongings, and tell the cleanup company which items to set aside. A tenant representative who asks in writing receives them and must give you an inventory and a signed acknowledgment of possession, not ownership; keep both with your records. Before selling or disposing of what remains, the landlord must send a second notice giving a date at least 45 days after mailing. Personal papers and personal photographs are excluded even then, so ask the crew to keep any it finds. For future leases, a tenant who lives alone may name a designated person in writing, separate from the rental agreement.
Silverdale and Kitsap County offices
Silverdale is an unincorporated community, so county offices serve it. The Kitsap Public Health District2 runs a Birth & Death Certificates program, which a family settling affairs may need.
A company driving in from outside the Kitsap Peninsula comes through Gorst, at the western end of Sinclair Inlet, on SR 3 and SR 16, the only land-based route onto the peninsula. That route is congested, so ask where a company’s crew is based. The Silverdale page and the Kitsap County page cover other services here.
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.