After an unattended death in Gig Harbor, an independent biohazard cleanup company that the family, landlord or property manager hires directly does the cleanup, once the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office1 and law enforcement have released the home. Biohazard Network does not do this work; we can connect you with an independent local company that serves Gig Harbor.
An unattended death means a person died alone and was not found right away. If this has happened to someone you love, or to a tenant, you are not expected to clean anything yourself. This page explains what comes first and what the work involves.
Why ordinary cleaning is not enough
When a person is not found right away, body fluids can reach floors, furniture and walls. This is a biohazard, meaning biological material that can carry germs that cause disease, including bloodborne pathogens, which are germs carried in blood, such as hepatitis B. Porous materials, meaning things that absorb liquid such as carpet, padding, drywall and mattresses, can hold contamination below what anyone can see, and household cleaners treat only the surface. Professional cleanup protects the health of everyone who enters the home later, and it protects the home, because contamination left in a subfloor can cause lasting odor and damage.
What happens first in Pierce County
The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office
Pierce County uses a medical examiner system. A medical examiner is a county office that investigates certain deaths and determines the cause and manner of death. Washington law places a body found dead, and the sudden death of a person in apparent good health without recent medical attendance, under the county medical examiner’s jurisdiction, which is why this office may be part of what happens next. It has statutory authority to perform autopsies without family permission. If your family wants the reports, plan to wait: they may not be ready until months after the examination, and the fee for one copy is waived for family members. Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office1: (253) 798-6494, Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, except holidays.
The funeral home, scene release and what not to touch
Choosing a funeral home is one of the first decisions for the legal next of kin, and the office releases the person’s personal property, other than money, to that funeral home. Until police or the medical examiner release the home, a step called scene release, they control who goes in. After release, please do not try to clean, and do not move or throw away items in the affected room. Close that door if you can and keep children and pets out.
What to expect from the company you hire
Ask the company to explain its plan before work starts. Cleanup workers wear protective equipment such as gloves, coveralls and respirators. The work includes containment, which means sealing off the area so contamination does not spread; removal of affected porous materials; and disinfection, which means treating hard surfaces with products that kill germs. Odor work comes after the source materials are gone; see odor remediation in Gig Harbor. Ask for photos and a written list of what was removed and why, for your records and any insurance claim.
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 works2. For damage from those risks, dwelling coverage typically covers repairing or replacing your damaged home.
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 exclude3.
Ask your insurer: “Without filing a claim yet, can you tell me if my policy covers cleanup and repairs after a death in my home, and what limits apply?” Source: Filing a homeowner insurance claim (Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner)4
Biomedical waste is Washington’s legal term for certain listed types of waste, including discarded human blood, materials containing free-flowing blood, and used needles and syringes. Here, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department’s Infectious Waste Management program permits and inspects businesses that generate, transport or treat infectious waste, so ask who will haul and treat the waste from your home and whether that business is permitted through the program.
Questions to ask before you hire
Ask the company how its work follows OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens standard5, 29 CFR 1910.1030, and the ANSI/IICRC S540 Standard for Trauma and Crime Scene Cleanup from the IICRC, a non-profit organization for the inspection, cleaning and restoration industries. You can also look the business up yourself in the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) tool Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business, and this guide explains what to look for.
How long unattended death cleanup takes
A company cannot know how long the work will take until it has seen the home, so ask for a written scope that marks which steps depend on what the crew finds.
- Time before the person was found. More time can mean contamination reached more materials and deeper layers.
- Porous materials. Carpet, padding, upholstered furniture and drywall that absorbed fluids must come out, not just be wiped.
- Flooring and subfloor. If fluids reached the subfloor, sections may need to be cut out, and the full extent may not be known until the top layer is lifted.
- Odor work. This is its own stage after the source is removed, and it may take more than one round.
- Rebuilding. Replacing floors or walls is a separate project; see how biohazard cleanup fits with restoration.
The Office of the Insurance Commissioner4 (OIC) says you can ask your agent or company whether a loss is covered without filing a claim, and that homeowners have the right to choose their own contractor for covered repairs.
For landlords and property managers
If a tenant who lived alone has died, RCW 59.18.595, Washington’s rule on the death of a tenant, governs the unit and the tenant’s belongings. On learning of the death, you must promptly mail or personally deliver a written notice to people including any known personal representative, any known designated person, and the emergency contact on the rental application. Check your files first, because a tenant who lives alone may have named a designated person in writing, separate from the rental agreement. The notice must say the tenancy ends 15 days after it is mailed or delivered, or on the date rent is paid through, whichever is later.
You may enter and immediately dispose of perishable food, hazardous materials and garbage; treat everything else as the tenant’s belongings. A tenant representative who asks in writing in time receives the property and gives you an inventory and a signed acknowledgment of possession, not ownership, so keep the cleanup company’s list of removed items with those papers. Before selling or disposing of other property, you must send a second written notice with a date at least 45 days after mailing, and personal papers and personal photographs are excepted. If you are unsure about an item, ask a lawyer before it leaves the unit.
Gig Harbor details
Gig Harbor sits on Gig Harbor Bay across the Narrows Bridge from Tacoma, where the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office1 is. A crew coming from the Tacoma side crosses the SR 16 Tacoma Narrows Bridge, which is tolled only for trips headed to Tacoma, so ask whether travel is in the written estimate. Because Gig Harbor is an incorporated city, its Community Development Department, responsible for land use, planning, development and code enforcement within the city limits, is where to ask about permits for repairs, whether the home is near Skansie Brothers Park and Jerisich Dock on the downtown waterfront or elsewhere in the city. You can also ask the company where it will park and whether its vehicles are marked.
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.