Frequently Asked Questions
Commonly asked questions about our industry, services, and practices can be found below.
Crime scene cleanup is a service provided to home and business owners after a traumatic incident occurs on a premises. Quite often, after the police release a scene, there are various hazardous materials and crime scene investigation materials left behind. Some examples would be blood, bodily fluid and fingerprint dust. Even though the coroner is responsible for removing the body from the scene, these aforementioned hazards are left for the home or business owner to remove. Due to the dangerous and damaging aspects of the hazards (Due to bloodborne pathogens), crime scene cleanup companies are often contracted to properly dispose, clean and restore a crime scene back to it’s original, safe space.
Suicide cleanup is a clean up service used after someone commits or attempts suicide in their home or business. While most of the procedures and processes of the clean up match crime scene cleanup services, there is usually more emphasis on home-based cleaning, in direct contact with the victim’s family.
Unattended death is when a person expires, usually within their home, and is often undiscovered for quite some time. Due to the physical nature of a human body, bodily fluids over time, in addition to decomposition, stains and contaminates the area they passed in. This is accompanied by strong odors, and sometimes carrion insects, such as flies, which in return, can cross contaminate large areas of a home. Items such as furniture and carpets are unsalvageable and are usually torn out and discard. If allowed to sit for long periods of time, bodily fluids from a corpse can leak into flooring and structural foundations, causing massive damage and requires major house renovations to remediate and replace affected building materials.
Many people in the general public believe that after a crime occurs in a home or business, that the police, medical examiner or coroner is responsible for cleaning the scene in addition to removing the body. This is untrue. They are only responsible for removing the body after an investigation to the morgue. The family or business owner is left responsible for hiring a professional company that specializes in remediating living and work spaces so that the transmission of diseases and bloodborne pathogens is eradicated. Due to the nature of these cleanups, homeowners insurance will usually cover costs of the clean up. This is all based on your insurance policy, and contacting them will clarify if a homeowners policy covers clean up costs and to what degree.
Crime scene cleanup services are performed by companies known as crime scene cleanup companies. Crime scene cleanup companies employ technicians which possess proper certifications, knowledge, expertise and equipment in remediating and properly cleaning a wide variety of blood and bodily fluids from various types of surfaces, locations and items.
Depending on the type of scene and the severity of damage, each crime scene is approached differently. However, the method for removing blood and bodily fluids has a general process. First, our technicians will remove contaminated items that can be discarded such as clothing, small disposable items, and nonessential furniture which cannot be cleaned. Once the area is clean of these items, the technicians begin using a chemical solution that cleans blood and eradicates bloodborne pathogens on contact. Every inch of the affected area is treated with this solution.
In most cases, homeowners insurance covers services in relation to crime scene and trauma cleanup. However, this is not guaranteed. Contact your insurance company to find out if crime scene cleanup services are covered by your homeowner’s policy. If it is not covered, or if you do not have homeowners insurance, your local government has crime victim funds set up to help those affect pay for clean up services.
Crime Victims Fund is set up in every state of the United States. They are set up by the Office for Victims of Crimes. If your home was affected, and it was directly related to a documented crime, the Crime Victims Fund will cover or partially cover costs associated with clean up services. You can check the link below to get contact information for your local state’s office.
There is no “crime scene cleanup certification”, only certifications that are OSHA or HAZWOPER offer that are used by crime scene technicians. These certify them in doing crime scene cleanup or hazardous remediation.