When someone dies alone at home in Tacoma and is not found right away, an independent biohazard cleanup company handles the cleanup, not the family. First, police and the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office1 finish their work and release the home, and the funeral home the family chooses takes the person into its care. Biohazard Network does not do this work; we can connect you with an independent local company that you hire directly.
We are sorry you are facing this. This page explains what happens in order, what you can leave to others, and what to ask the company you hire.
What unattended death cleanup means
An unattended death is one where a person died with no one present and was not found for a while. Material from the body can soak into floors, furniture and walls. Some of it can carry bloodborne pathogens, which are germs in blood that can cause disease, and OPIM, short for other potentially infectious materials, meaning body fluids that can carry the same germs.
Household cleaners treat the surface. They do not reach what has soaked underneath, and they do not protect the person cleaning. Professional cleanup protects the health of whoever uses the home next. It also protects the home’s future, because material left in a subfloor can keep causing problems after the surface looks clean.
What happens first
The medical examiner and police
Pierce County uses a medical examiner system. A medical examiner is a public official who investigates certain deaths. 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. Washington law gives the county medical examiner authority when a person is found dead or dies suddenly without recent medical care, and the body may be taken to the morgue.
Scene release means police and the medical examiner have finished at the home and allow others to enter and work. No cleanup should begin before that. If you have questions, you can reach the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office1 at (253) 798-6494.
It helps to know that the office has legal authority to perform an autopsy without family permission. Plan your paperwork around this: written postmortem reports may not be ready until months after the exam. Family members are not charged for one copy of a requested report.
The funeral home
The legal next of kin chooses a funeral home. The medical examiner releases the person’s personal property, other than money, to that funeral home, so ask the funeral home about items such as jewelry or a wallet.
What you do not need to do
You do not need to clean, move or throw away anything. Keep the door closed and keep children and pets out. If you rent, the Office of the Insurance Commissioner tells renters not to throw damaged things away yet, because the insurer may want to inspect them.
What the company you hire does
Cleanup workers wear protective equipment such as gloves, suits and respirators. The crew sets up containment, which means sealing off the work area so contamination does not spread to the rest of the home. They remove porous materials, meaning things like carpet, padding, drywall and upholstered furniture that absorb fluids and cannot be fully cleaned. Then comes disinfection, which means applying products that kill germs on the surfaces that remain. Odor work is done after the source is removed; see odor remediation in Tacoma.
Biomedical waste is waste Washington law defines as a health risk, and its listed types include 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. Ask the company who will haul and treat this waste. Ask, too, for photos, a written scope and a list of removed items for your insurer.
Before hiring, ask whether the company trains its workers under OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens standard2, 29 CFR 1910.1030 (“Bloodborne pathogens.”), and follows the ANSI/IICRC S540 Standard for Trauma and Crime Scene Cleanup from the IICRC, the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification, a non-profit for the cleaning and restoration industries. Then look the business up yourself with the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries3 (L&I) tool, Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business3, and read what these terms mean.
For landlords and property managers
When a tenant who was the only occupant dies, RCW 59.18.595 requires the landlord, once aware, to promptly mail or hand-deliver a written notice. It goes to people such as any known personal representative, any designated person, and the emergency contact on the rental application. Check whether the tenant signed a separate written form naming a designated person, since that person may be able to access the unit and remove belongings.
The notice must say the tenancy ends 15 days after it is sent or on the date rent is paid through, whichever is later. A tenant representative can arrange to pay rent in advance for up to 60 days from the date of death so belongings can be removed in an orderly way.
On learning of the death, you may enter and immediately dispose of perishable food, hazardous materials and garbage. The tenant’s belongings are different. Before a cleanup company removes affected items, agree in writing with the tenant representative which ones will go, so the inventory they give you stays accurate. A second written notice is required before you sell or dispose of belongings, and personal papers and personal photographs are never sold or disposed of that way.
How long cleanup takes, and what makes it longer
No one can name a time before seeing the home. These things add to the work:
- How long before the person was found. More time can mean material has spread farther into the home.
- Porous materials. Each soaked rug, mattress or chair must be removed and packaged.
- Flooring and subfloor. If fluids reached the layer under the floor, it may need to be cut out.
- Odor work. This comes only after the source is gone, and the company may test before calling it done.
- Insurance steps. The insurer has 30 days from filing a claim to inspect the damage.
- Rebuilding. New flooring or drywall is a separate stage. See how biohazard cleanup fits with restoration.
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 works4. 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 exclude.
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)5
Ask the company to explain each stage in writing and what could change it.
Tacoma and Pierce County details
Tacoma is an incorporated city, incorporated by the territorial legislature on 12 November 1875. If rebuilding needs permits, that goes through the City’s Planning and Development Services, whose Regulatory Compliance division has a Permit Compliance part and a Code Compliance part.
A company coming from Gig Harbor crosses the SR 16 Tacoma Narrows Bridge, which is tolled only for trips headed to Tacoma, so ask whether travel is included in the estimate. For other help here, see blood and bodily fluid cleanup and the Tacoma city page.
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.