After an unattended death in Lynnwood, the cleanup is done by an independent biohazard cleanup company that the family, landlord or property manager hires directly. First, the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office1 and any police involved must finish their work and release the home. Biohazard Network can connect you with an independent local company; it does not clean or do any of the work itself.
An unattended death means a person died alone and was not found right away. If this has happened in your family or your building, you are not expected to clean anything yourself.
Who comes first: the medical examiner, then a funeral home
Snohomish County uses a medical examiner system. A medical examiner is a public official whose office investigates certain deaths. The Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office1 determines the cause and manner of death when someone dies suddenly or unexpectedly while in apparent good health. Investigators at the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office are on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at 425-438-6200.
The office’s Information Guide for Families answers common questions about next steps. Its Biohazard Cleanup Services list is a convenience, not a recommendation. The office says the list is not comprehensive, being on it or left off it is neither endorsement nor disapproval, and it takes no responsibility for the quality of any listed company’s services. Use it as a starting point and ask every company the same questions.
What not to touch
Scene release is the point when the medical examiner and any police say their work is done and the home can be cleaned. Even after release, stay out of the affected room, keep pets away, and leave the cleaning to the company you hire. Try not to throw anything away yet. The Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) tells renters that an insurer may want to inspect damaged items.
Why ordinary cleaning is not enough
A biohazard is biological material, such as blood or body fluids, that can carry disease. When a death goes unnoticed for a time, fluids can reach porous materials. These are things that soak up liquid, such as carpet, padding, drywall and mattresses. Household cleaning can make a surface look clean while the material underneath stays contaminated. Professional removal protects everyone who enters, and it protects the home’s future.
What to expect from the company you hire
Ask the company to explain its plan before work starts:
- Protective equipment. The crew wears it because of bloodborne pathogens, which are germs carried in blood that can cause disease.
- Containment. This means sealing off the work area so nothing spreads through the home.
- Removal. Materials that cannot be made safe are cut out. Ask which belongings can be cleaned and kept.
- Disinfection. This means applying products that kill germs on the surfaces that remain.
- Odor work. It works only after the source is removed; see odor remediation in Lynnwood.
- Biomedical waste. This is a legal category in Washington that includes discarded human blood and materials containing free-flowing blood. State rules require a company that collects and hauls it to have an operating plan that keeps it separate from other solid waste until treatment or disposal. Ask where it goes.
- Records and privacy. Ask for photos and a written description of the work for your insurer. If privacy matters, ask about vehicle markings.
Before you hire, ask how the company follows OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens standard2, 29 CFR 1910.1030, and the ANSI/IICRC S540 Standard for Trauma and Crime Scene Cleanup, which comes from the IICRC, a non-profit organization for the inspection, cleaning and restoration industries. Then look the business up yourself in the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries3 (L&I) tool called Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business3; the certifications guide explains what to look for.
How long it takes, and what makes it longer
No one can give an honest time before seeing the home, so ask for a written plan after an inspection. These things add time:
- Time before the person was found. More time can mean deeper impact on materials.
- Porous materials. Carpet, upholstered furniture and mattresses mean more removal than hard surfaces.
- Flooring and subfloor. The subfloor is the structural layer under the finished floor. If it was affected, sections may need to be cut out.
- Odor work. It follows source removal and may need a return visit.
- Rebuilding. Replacing flooring or drywall is restoration work. L&I says a good faith asbestos inspection of materials a repair or renovation could disturb must come first. See how biohazard cleanup fits with restoration.
If you own or manage a Lynnwood rental
When a tenant who lived alone dies, RCW 59.18.595 sets out the landlord’s duties. A landlord who follows it is relieved of liability relating to the tenant’s property. Before scheduling cleanup, promptly mail or deliver a written notice to any known personal representative, any person the tenant designated, and the emergency contact on the rental application. That notice ends the tenancy 15 days after it is sent or on the date rent is paid through, whichever is later. A tenant representative may also prepay rent for no more than 60 days from the date of death, so plan the cleanup around the family’s timeline.
On learning of the death, you may enter the unit and right away dispose of perishable food, hazardous materials and garbage. You may also turn the tenant’s animals over to a tenant representative, an animal control officer, a humane society, or another willing caretaker. Leave the affected room itself to the cleanup company. Ask the crew to set aside personal papers and photographs, which the law leaves out of what a landlord may sell or dispose of. Selling or disposing of other belongings requires a second written notice naming a date at least 45 days after it is mailed.
Lynnwood and Snohomish County offices
Lynnwood is an incorporated city. Its Development and Business Services Department, which is responsible for permitting of land use and building projects and code enforcement, handles permits for any rebuilding. The Snohomish County Health Department, 425-339-5200, lists Garbage & Waste and Hazardous Waste among its programs. These are the offices that apply whether the home is near Scriber Lake Park in the center of Lynnwood or near Lynndale Park in west Lynnwood. A company coming from across the Snohomish River may use the US 2 trestle, the only direct highway route over the river to I-5. Traffic on and near the trestle has increased, so ask for a realistic arrival window.
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.
- Snohomish County Medical Examiner (opens in a new tab)After a sudden or unexpected death, cleanup waits until this office is done.
- Snohomish 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.