A sewage backup, a failed septic system, discarded needles or a buildup of rodent droppings in a Gig Harbor home, rental or business is cleaned up by an independent biohazard remediation company that the owner or manager hires directly. Remediation means removing a hazard and returning the space to a safe condition. The first step is to keep everyone away from the affected area; Biohazard Network can then connect you with an independent local company, but it does not do the cleanup itself.
If you are a homeowner, landlord or property manager facing this right now, it is normal to feel overwhelmed. This page explains what the work involves, what to leave alone, and which Gig Harbor and Pierce County offices may matter.
What this service covers
A biohazard is biological material that can carry germs that make people sick. This service covers sewage that has backed up into a building, septic failures, sharps, rodent droppings and nests, and contaminated items left in rentals, vacant properties or businesses. Sharps are needles, syringes, lancets and blades that can puncture skin. If the situation follows a death, see unattended death cleanup in Gig Harbor instead.
Ordinary cleaning is not enough because sewage soaks into porous materials, meaning things like drywall, carpet, padding and insulation that absorb liquid. Wiping the surface leaves contamination behind. The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) says to hire a cleaning professional when a moldy area has been contaminated by sewage, and not to paint or caulk over mold.
Rodent droppings and hantavirus
Hantavirus is a virus that infected deer mice can shed in their urine, saliva and droppings. DOH1 says these mice live throughout the state, so people are at risk in any part of Washington. Breathing dust stirred up while cleaning droppings or nests is how people can be exposed, which is why sweeping and vacuuming should wait for a proper plan. Because the age of a dropping cannot be told, DOH advises treating every dropping as infectious. It also says there is no evidence hantavirus spreads from one person to another, which may ease worries about tenants or family.
What to do first
- Keep people and pets out of the affected rooms, and avoid walking through sewage or touching soaked items.
- Leave droppings and dried material alone rather than sweeping or vacuuming them.
- Do not pick up needles with bare hands. The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department2 links a brochure called Safely Remove Discarded Sharps from its Infectious Waste Management page and offers a sharps response kit.
- If you rent, the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) says not to throw damaged things away yet, because the insurer may want to inspect them. If they are contaminated and unsafe to handle, ask your insurer what to do.
- Take photos from a safe distance for your records.
If someone has died at the property, contact police first. A medical examiner is a public official who investigates certain deaths, and here the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office, (253) 798-6494, investigates deaths under its jurisdiction and determines cause and manner of death. Cleanup waits until police or the medical examiner release the scene.
What to expect from the company you hire
The crew should wear protective equipment for the whole job. Ask the company to explain each step in writing before work begins:
- Containment: sealing off the work area so contamination does not spread to clean rooms.
- Removal: taking out soaked porous materials that cannot be made safe.
- Disinfection: applying products that kill germs on the surfaces that remain.
- Odor work: treating lingering odor only after the source is gone; see odor remediation in Gig Harbor.
- Records: photos and a written scope of work you can give your insurer.
Sewage cleanup overlaps with water damage restoration. Once the biohazard is out, drying, rebuilding and mold work can follow, and how biohazard cleanup fits with restoration explains how the two connect.
Ask any company you are considering how its crew follows OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens standard3, 29 CFR 1910.1030, a federal rule on workers’ exposure to blood and other potentially infectious materials, 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. You can also enter its business name in the Department of Labor & Industries4 (L&I) tool called Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business4, and the certifications guide explains what each of these means.
How the process works, including disposal
The work moves from inspection to a written plan, then containment, removal, disinfection and a final check that the area is clean. Disposal is the step owners see least, so it is worth asking about directly.
Washington’s legal definition of biomedical waste is limited to a fixed list, which includes sharps waste and discarded human blood or materials containing free-flowing blood. Needles found in a vacant unit fall into that group. Ask the company how it will classify everything it removes, including sewage-soaked materials, and where each kind goes.
Hauling has its own rules. The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) says companies must obtain a certificate of public convenience and necessity before transporting solid waste for compensation. If the cleanup company does not haul its own waste, ask which hauler it uses. A company that collects, transports and disposes of biomedical waste must keep a biomedical waste operating plan that holds that waste separate from other solid waste until treatment or disposal. Locally, the health department2’s Infectious Waste Management program permits and inspects businesses that generate, transport or treat infectious waste. Ask for a written record showing how your waste was disposed of.
Before work starts, the OIC says you can ask your agent or insurance company whether a loss is covered without filing a claim. The cause matters, since the OIC says most homeowner policies don’t cover gradual leaks. You have the right to choose your own contractor for covered repairs, and the OIC warns that signing a contractor’s assignment of benefit form could affect your rights, so read any form first.
Usually covered: If your home is on a sewer system, sewer backup coverage can be added to a home policy as an optional endorsement, says the Insurance Commissioner’s flood insurance page5.
Usually not covered: A standard home policy does not cover sewer backup, but it can be added as an optional endorsement, says the Insurance Commissioner’s flood insurance page5. If you rent, your landlord’s or property management company’s policy covers the building but not your belongings, says the Commissioner’s renter insurance page.
Ask your insurer: “Does my policy include a sewer backup endorsement, and does it cover this backup?” Source: Learn how home insurance works (Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner)
A suspected former drug lab is a separate job in Washington that falls under DOH’s Drug Lab Cleanup Program, and the health department2’s Methamphetamine Contaminated Properties program keeps a list of approved cleanup contractors.
Gig Harbor and Pierce County offices
Gig Harbor is an incorporated city. Its Community Development Department is responsible for land use, planning, development and code enforcement within the city limits, and it includes the building & fire safety division. If rebuilding after sewage damage raises building questions, or a rental’s condition needs a code report, that department is the city office to contact.
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department2’s contact list sends complaints about rodents, garbage and illegal dumping to Pierce County Code Enforcement rather than to a health program. For a failing septic system, the department has a Septic System Failure program. Its main line, (253) 649-1500, is also the number for reaching the Duty Officer to report a public health emergency.
When describing a downtown property to a company, you can name Skansie Brothers Park, the waterfront park with the historic Skansie Brothers House and Netshed, or Jerisich Dock, the public dock and mini-park beside it. Pierce County also includes the Key Peninsula, made up of small communities in a distinctly rural setting such as Key Center, Home and Vaughn. If your property is there rather than inside Gig Harbor’s city limits, the city department’s role does not reach it, so ask the company you contact whether it serves that area. The Gig Harbor page and the Pierce 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.
- Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department (opens in a new tab)For local health questions, such as a home that was used as a drug lab.
- 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.