A sewage backup, a failed septic system, discarded needles or a buildup of rodent droppings in a Tacoma home, rental or business is cleaned up by a private biohazard cleanup company that the owner or manager hires directly. First, keep people and pets away, do not sweep or handle anything, and check with your insurer. Biohazard Network can connect you with an independent local company; we do not clean, inspect or remove anything ourselves.
Finding this in a property you own or manage is stressful. This page explains what happens next.
What sewage and biohazard waste cleanup covers
A biohazard is any material that carries germs or substances that can make people sick. This service covers contamination not tied to a death or a crime: sewage from a backup or septic failure, needles and other sharps, rodent droppings and nests, and contaminated items left in rentals, vacant properties and businesses.
Sharps are objects that can pierce the skin. Biomedical waste is a legal category of waste, and Washington’s definition in RCW 70A.228.010 is limited to the types it lists, including sharps waste such as hypodermic needles, syringes and lancets, and human blood and blood products.
Ordinary cleaning falls short because sewage soaks into porous materials, meaning materials such as carpet, drywall and upholstered furniture that absorb liquid. Wiping the surface leaves contamination underneath. The Washington State Department of Health1 (DOH) says to hire a cleaning professional if a moldy area has been contaminated by sewage or is in hidden places.
A former drug lab is a separate job, because Washington requires the workers and contractors who decontaminate one to be certified through DOH’s Drug Lab Cleanup Program.
What to do first, and what not to touch
- Keep people and pets out of the affected rooms.
- Leave needles where they are. The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department2 has a brochure called Safely Remove Discarded Sharps and offers a sharps response kit. Read its guidance or leave the job to a company.
- Do not sweep or vacuum rodent droppings. DOH3’s Hantavirus page says infected deer mice can shed the virus in urine, saliva and droppings, and people can be exposed by breathing dust stirred up while cleaning droppings or nests. It adds that a dust mask does not protect against viruses, that all droppings should be handled as if infectious, and that there is no evidence hantavirus spreads from one person to another.
- Keep damaged belongings for now. The Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) tells renters not to throw damaged things away yet, because the insurer may want to inspect them.
- On a septic system? The health department2 has a Septic System Failure program; ask it what applies to your property.
What to expect from the company you hire
Cleanup workers wear protective equipment such as gloves, eye protection and breathing protection. Ask how the company will set up containment, which means sealing off the work area so contamination does not spread into clean rooms. Porous materials soaked by sewage may need to be cut out and removed. Hard surfaces are cleaned and then disinfected; disinfection means applying a product that kills germs once the surface is clean. Odor work comes after the source is gone, and the odor remediation page explains that step. Ask for the plan and price in writing before work starts, and for before-and-after photos and waste disposal records you can give your insurer.
Bloodborne pathogens are germs in blood that can cause disease. Before you hire, ask the company how its work follows OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens standard4, 29 CFR 1910.1030, and the ANSI/IICRC S540 Standard for Trauma and Crime Scene Cleanup, which comes from the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC), a non-profit for the 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 the waste is handled
Waste from this work moves under its own rules. A company that collects, transports and disposes of biomedical waste must keep an operating plan that holds that waste separate from other solid waste until it is treated or disposed of, and that allows only authorized people to handle it. Hauling solid waste for pay also requires a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission. 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 the company who will haul its waste, and keep the disposal records with your insurance file. At the end, walk through the area with the crew and ask what was removed and what was cleaned.
Insurance, and when restoration comes next
The OIC says you can ask your agent or insurance company whether a loss is covered without filing a claim. It also says most homeowner policies don’t cover gradual leaks, and many offer only limited mold coverage, and only when the mold results from a covered loss. 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. Landlords should know that a landlord’s policy does not cover a renter’s personal property, according to the OIC.
Once the biohazard is removed, rebuilding floors and walls is restoration work. Ask whether the company does that itself or works alongside a restoration contractor; the restoration overview explains how the two fit together.
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)
Sewage and biohazard cleanup in Tacoma
Tacoma is an incorporated city, created by the territorial legislature in 1875. For permit and code questions inside city limits, the city’s office is Planning and Development Services; its Regulatory Compliance division, with Permit Compliance and Code Compliance parts, works for a safe, clean, livable environment for residents. The health department2’s contact list sends reports of rodents, garbage and illegal dumping to Pierce County Code Enforcement.
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department2’s main line is (253) 649-1500, the same number listed for reporting a public health emergency to its Duty Officer. Its programs also include Solid Waste, Hazardous Chemicals at Home and Mold.
Whether the property is near Point Defiance Park or downtown by the Museum of Glass, the Tacoma page is where to start looking for a local company. For property elsewhere in the county, such as the small rural communities of the Key Peninsula or Carbonado, the last town before Mount Rainier National Park, ask whether a company serves that address; the Pierce County page covers the wider 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.