Trauma Scene Cleanup Services in California

What you should know before you call anyone

You do not have to be involved. Not in the room, not in the building, not in the detail. Arrangements can be made entirely by phone, by a friend, a neighbor or a funeral director acting for you, and a company that does this work regularly will not ask you to look at anything or describe anything you would rather not.

There may be help with the cost, and this is the fact most often missed. Homeowner and renter policies frequently cover biohazard cleanup. Where a crime is involved, the California Victim Compensation Board can assist a victim or their family. Ask about both on the first call — a company that does this regularly will know how to bill them and will usually deal with the insurer directly.

This is regulated work in California. A company carrying it out has to be registered with the state as a trauma scene waste practitioner, and the waste leaves on a licensed, tracked route. You are entitled to ask to see that registration, and a firm that cannot produce it should not be doing the job. A general cleaning company is not a substitute.

And the property is usually restorable. Porous material — flooring, subfloor, sometimes drywall — is removed rather than cleaned, but the room is rebuilt afterwards. Families are not handed back a stripped shell, and it is reasonable to ask for the restoration to be quoted alongside the decontamination.