A lasting odor after a death, a hoarding situation or a sewage backup goes away only when its source is found and removed, and that work is done by an independent cleanup company you hire directly. Biohazard Network connects you with an independent local company; we do not do the work.
If you are facing this now, you do not have to solve everything today. Remediation means finding and fixing the cause of a problem, not just hiding its signs, and this page explains what that involves here.
Why ordinary cleaning does not remove the odor
A lasting odor comes from material that has soaked into the home. Fragrance sprays and household cleaners can mask it for a while, but it returns once they fade because the source is still there. The Washington State Department of Health1 (DOH) makes the same point about mold when it says not to paint or caulk over it.
Porous materials, meaning materials full of tiny openings that soak up liquid, are the hardest part. Carpet, carpet pad, drywall and wood subfloor are examples. Once fluids, sewage or animal waste reach them, surface cleaning cannot reach what is inside, so those sections may need to be cut out. Smoke raises similar questions, covered in how biohazard cleanup fits with water, fire and mold restoration.
What happens first
If someone died in the home
A coroner is an official who investigates certain deaths. The Thurston County Coroner’s Office2 investigates sudden, violent, unexpected and suspicious deaths in Thurston County and can be reached at (360) 867-2140.
Deputy Coroners are in frequent contact with families and help with next steps toward final arrangements, so you can ask them what to expect. See unattended death cleanup in Tumwater for that part of the process.
What to leave alone
Do not try to clean fluids, pull up carpet or move belongings yourself; close the door and keep children and pets out. If rodents are part of the problem, DOH3 says not to vacuum or sweep, which stirs up dust, and to handle all droppings as if infectious. If you rent, the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) says not to throw damaged things away yet, because the insurer may want to inspect them. If the person living in the home hoards, keep their belongings in place until they or the family decide what to let go; hoarding cleanup in Tumwater covers that conversation.
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 sudden, accidental smoke damage, standard policies typically pay for cleaning and deodorizing, says the Commissioner’s smoke damage page5.
Usually not covered: Damage from smoking tobacco inside your own home over time is not covered, says the Insurance Commissioner’s smoke damage page5.
Ask your insurer: “Does my policy cover removing this odor from my home and belongings, and which items would be cleaned and which replaced?” Source: Smoke damage and your homeowner or renter insurance (Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner)5
What to ask the company you hire
Before work starts, ask each company to explain:
- what protective equipment the crew will wear;
- how it sets up containment, meaning sealing off the work area, for example with plastic sheeting, so contamination does not spread;
- which porous materials it expects to remove;
- how it handles disinfection, meaning treating surfaces with products that kill germs;
- how it deodorizes once the source is gone, and how it checks the result before walls or floors are closed up;
- what records it provides, such as photos and a written list of removed materials, for your insurer.
Some removed material may be biomedical waste, which Washington law limits to listed types such as discarded human blood and sharps waste like used needles. Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission rules require a company that collects, transports and disposes of biomedical waste to keep it separate from other solid waste until treatment or disposal, so ask who will haul it.
Before hiring, ask whether the crew works to OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens standard, 29 CFR 1910.1030 (bloodborne pathogens are germs carried in blood that can cause disease), and to 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. You can look up the business in the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) tool, Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business, and our certifications guide explains what each check tells you.
How long odor remediation takes
No one can give an honest time frame without seeing the home, so ask for a written plan by stage rather than a single finish date. These factors make the work longer:
- How long the source was there. Material left longer can soak deeper into floors and walls.
- How far it reached. If fluids passed through carpet into pad and subfloor, each layer may come out.
- Hidden areas. DOH1 says to hire a professional if a moldy area has been contaminated by sewage or is in hidden places.
- Ventilation. A closed-up room can hold odor after the source is gone.
- Restoration afterward. Replacing drywall or flooring is a separate stage that may need a permit.
- Insurance. When a policy requires protecting the property from further damage, the OIC says insurers have five business days to approve a mitigation scope, the plan to prevent more damage.
The OIC also says you have the right to choose your own contractor for covered repairs, and warns that signing a contractor’s assignment of benefit form could affect your rights.
Odor remediation in Tumwater
Tumwater is an incorporated city, so permit and code questions go to the City of Tumwater’s Community Development Department, which provides permitting services, plan review, inspections and code enforcement.
The Thurston County Public Health & Social Services Department (360-867-2500) offers a Mold & Ventilation page through its Healthy Homes program for information only; it does not take mold complaints or do testing or inspections. After a sewage backup, its Wastewater - Water Quality Resources page lists Tumwater among the sewer providers, but it is a resource page, not a spill-response service. For homes on septic, the department has a Septic Systems program. More on sewage is in sewage and biohazard waste cleanup in Tumwater.
The Thurston County Coroner’s Office2 Resources page lists bio-hazard clean-up companies under “Bio-Hazard Clean-Up Services” without stating that it endorses them, so ask any company the same questions. A company traveling from elsewhere in the county may use a system of more than 1,027 miles of roadway and 150 bridges, and traffic diverting around I-5 can back up downtown Yelm, so ask for an arrival estimate. The Tumwater city page and Thurston County page have more local guidance.
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.
- Thurston County Coroner (opens in a new tab)After a sudden or unexpected death, cleanup waits until this office is done.
- Thurston County Public Health and Social Services (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.