After an unattended death in Lakewood, the cleanup is done by an independent biohazard cleanup company that the family or property owner hires directly, after the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office1 and any police have finished at the home. An unattended death means a person died alone and was not found right away. Biohazard Network does not do this work; we can connect you with an independent local company, and this page explains what to expect.
If you are the one who found a relative or a tenant, take this one step at a time. You are not expected to clean anything yourself.
What this cleanup involves
When a person is not found for some time, fluids can spread beyond what anyone can see. They can soak into porous materials, which are materials with tiny openings that absorb liquid, such as carpet, padding, mattresses, drywall and wood. Household cleaners reach only the surface, and these fluids can carry bloodborne pathogens, which are germs in blood and body fluids that can cause disease. Professional cleanup protects anyone who lives in or visits the home later, and it protects the home itself, because material wiped clean on top can still hold contamination underneath.
What happens first
The medical examiner and the funeral home
Pierce County uses a medical examiner system; a medical examiner’s office is the county office that investigates certain deaths and determines their cause. Washington law gives the county coroner or medical examiner jurisdiction when a person is found dead, or dies suddenly while in apparent good health without recent medical attendance, among other situations. The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office1 determines the cause and manner of death and investigates deaths in Pierce County that are under its jurisdiction and of concern to public health, safety and welfare. Its public line is (253) 798-6494.
If you are the legal next of kin, choose a funeral home early, because the office releases the person’s personal property, other than money, to the funeral home you choose. Be aware that the office has statutory authority to perform an autopsy without family permission. If an estate or insurer will need the written report, ask about timing, since reports may not be ready until months after the examination; the fee for one copy is waived for family members.
Scene release and what not to touch
Scene release means the police or the medical examiner have finished and handed the home back, and cleanup should not begin before then. After release, try not to move, wash or throw away anything in the affected room. Close the door if you can and keep children and pets out.
What to expect from the company you hire
The company’s crew wears protective equipment such as gloves, suits and respirators. It sets up containment, which means sealing off the work area so contamination does not spread through the home. It removes affected porous materials, then cleans and disinfects what remains; disinfection means using products that kill germs, not only removing what can be seen. Odor work comes after the source is removed, as explained on odor remediation in Lakewood.
Some removed materials may count as biomedical waste, a term state law limits to listed types such as discarded human blood and materials containing free-flowing blood. The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department’s Infectious Waste Management program permits and inspects businesses that generate, transport or treat infectious waste, so ask the company who will haul and treat the waste.
Ask for a written scope of work, photos and a list of what was removed. The Office of the Insurance Commissioner2 (OIC) says you can ask your agent or insurance company whether a loss is covered without filing a claim, and that homeowners can choose their own contractor for covered repairs. It also warns that signing a contractor’s assignment of benefit form could affect your rights. Ask each company directly about privacy, vehicles and billing.
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. 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 exclude4.
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)2
Before you hire, ask how the company 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 (Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification), a non-profit organization for the inspection, cleaning and restoration industries. You can look the business up yourself with the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) tool Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business, and the certifications guide explains what each of these means.
How long the cleanup takes
No one can give a set length of time before seeing the home. These things make the work longer:
- How long before the person was found. More time can mean fluids reached deeper into the room.
- Porous materials. Items that absorbed fluid are removed and replaced, not cleaned.
- Flooring and subfloor. The subfloor is the wood layer under carpet, vinyl or tile; if fluids reached it, sections may need to be cut out.
- Odor work. It starts only after the source is gone.
- Rebuilding. Lakewood’s Planning and Public Works Department performs permitting, building inspections and development review, so ask whether a repair needs a permit; how biohazard cleanup fits with restoration explains the handoff.
- Insurance. The OIC2 says the insurer has 30 days from the date a claim is filed to inspect the damage.
Ask the company to put its planned steps in writing and to tell you what could change them.
For landlords and property managers
When a tenant who was the sole occupant dies, RCW 59.18.595 sets out the landlord’s steps. On learning of the death, promptly mail or hand-deliver written notice to the people the law lists, including any known personal representative, any known designated person and the emergency contact from the rental application. 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.
The law lets you enter right away and dispose of perishable food, hazardous materials and garbage. Beyond that, plan the cleanup around the tenant representative, who is first the estate’s personal representative if you know of one; a person the tenant named in a separate written designation acts only when there is no personal representative or successor. Before selling or disposing of other belongings, you must send a second notice naming a date at least 45 days after mailing, and that step does not reach personal papers or personal photographs. Ask the cleanup company to set aside belongings outside the affected area and to give you its list of removed materials.
Lakewood and Pierce County details
Lakewood is an incorporated city in Pierce County, so repair permits go through its own Planning and Public Works Department, while the death investigation goes to the county medical examiner. Whether the home is near Fort Steilacoom Park, a 340-acre city park, or American Lake Park on the north shore of American Lake, these steps are the same. If a company you are considering is based in Gig Harbor, which sits on Gig Harbor Bay across the Narrows Bridge from Tacoma, note that the SR 16 Tacoma Narrows Bridge is tolled only for trips headed to Tacoma, and ask whether travel is in the estimate.
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.