In Lakewood, a sewage backup, a failed septic system, discarded needles or a buildup of rodent droppings is cleaned up by an independent biohazard cleanup or restoration company that you hire directly. A biohazard is any material that can carry germs able to cause disease, so the first step is to keep people and pets away from it and leave it alone. Biohazard Network can connect you with an independent local company; we do not do the cleanup ourselves.
Finding this in your home, a rental unit or a business is stressful, and it is reasonable not to want to handle it yourself. This page explains what the work involves, what to do first, and what to ask the company you choose.
What this service covers
This service is for contaminated material that is not tied to a death or a crime. It includes sewage that has come up through a drain or toilet, a septic system that has failed, and sharps, meaning needles, syringes, lancets and blades. It also covers rodent droppings and nests, and waste left behind in rentals, vacant properties and commercial spaces. Homeowners, landlords and property managers can all hire this work.
Why ordinary cleaning is not enough
Sewage soaks into porous materials, meaning materials that absorb liquid, such as carpet, pad, drywall, insulation and upholstered furniture. Wiping the surface does not reach what has soaked in underneath. The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) says on its Mold page to hire a cleaning professional when a moldy area has been contaminated by sewage. It also says not to paint or caulk over mold, so covering a stain is not a fix.
Rodent droppings and hantavirus
DOH1’s Hantavirus page says infected deer mice can shed the virus in urine, saliva and droppings, and that people are at risk in any part of Washington. If you have found droppings in a garage, crawl space or empty unit, this matters before anyone starts cleaning. DOH says exposure can happen by breathing contaminated dust after disturbing or cleaning droppings or nests, and because no one can tell a dropping’s age, all of them should be handled as if infectious. For a large area, that is a good reason to hire the work out. DOH also notes there is no evidence that hantavirus spreads from one person to another.
What to do first
When no death or crime is involved, no office has to release the property before cleanup. If the material is linked to a crime, police control the property until they hand it back, which is called scene release. If someone has died, the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office determines the cause and manner of death and investigates deaths in Pierce County under its jurisdiction; see unattended death cleanup in Lakewood.
Until a company is on site:
- Keep children, pets and anyone else out of the affected area.
- Stop using sinks, toilets and drains that are backing up.
- Do not pick up needles with bare hands. The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department2 has a brochure, Safely Remove Discarded Sharps, and offers a sharps response kit.
- Do not sweep or vacuum droppings; DOH1 says not to stir up dust that way.
- If you rent, hold on to damaged belongings. The Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) says the insurer may want to inspect them.
For a failed septic system, start with the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department2’s Septic System Failure page. To report a public health emergency, call the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department Duty Officer at (253) 649-1500.
What to expect from the company you hire
Ask each company to explain its plan before work begins. Cleanup workers wear protective equipment such as gloves, eye protection and breathing protection. Ask how the crew will set up containment, which means sealing off the work area so contamination does not spread. Affected porous materials are cut out and bagged, and hard surfaces are cleaned and then disinfected, meaning treated with a product that kills germs. Odor work comes after the source is gone; see odor remediation in Lakewood.
Sewage cleanup overlaps with water damage restoration. Once the biohazard is removed, drying and rebuilding can follow, by the same company or another one; how biohazard cleanup fits with water, fire and mold restoration explains that handoff. Ask for photos, a written scope and a list of what was removed for your insurer. Read any paperwork before signing, since the OIC warns that signing a contractor’s assignment of benefit form could affect your rights.
Before you hire, ask how the company’s workers follow OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens standard3, 29 CFR 1910.1030 (the workplace rule for germs carried in blood), 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 with the Department of Labor & Industries4 (L&I) tool Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business4, and our certifications guide explains what to look for.
How disposal works
What happens to the bags depends on what is in them. Biomedical waste is the state’s legal term for certain infectious waste, and Washington limits it to the types listed in RCW 70A.228.010, which include sharps waste and discarded human blood and blood products. Ask the company which items from your property fall under that definition and which will go out as other solid waste.
In Pierce County, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department2’s Infectious Waste Management program permits and inspects businesses that generate, transport or treat infectious waste. Ask which hauler or treatment facility will receive the material. Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission rules require a company that collects, transports and disposes of biomedical waste to keep an operating plan that holds that waste apart from other solid waste until treatment or disposal. A company may not haul solid waste for pay without a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the commission, so ask who is hauling the bags away.
A former drug lab is a different job: in Washington, contractors and workers who decontaminate one must be certified through DOH’s Drug Lab Cleanup Program, and the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department2’s Methamphetamine Contaminated Properties program keeps a list of approved cleanup contractors.
Cleanup in Lakewood
Lakewood is an incorporated city, and its Planning and Public Works Department performs permitting, building inspections and development review. If cleanup means removing drywall or flooring that will be rebuilt, ask whether that work needs a permit.
If you also manage property elsewhere in the county, ask each company whether it serves that address. Pierce County includes the Key Peninsula, whose small communities such as Key Center, Longbranch and Vaughn are in a distinctly rural setting, and Carbonado, near the Carbon River, the last town before Mount Rainier National Park. For more, see cleanup in Lakewood and cleanup across Pierce 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.
- 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.