Crime Scene Cleanup
After the property is released by police, crime scene cleaning removes blood and controls odor.
See crime scene cleanupGet blood, bodily fluids, contaminated materials and odor removed after investigators release a home, rental, business or vehicle in Baltimore City. The cleanup scope is based on where contamination traveled.
Homicide cleanup means removing blood, other bodily fluids and contaminated material from a released property after investigative work is complete. It is a specialized type of crime scene cleanup.
Law enforcement and the medical examiner focus on the investigation. They do not clean the property. Once the scene is released, property owners, relatives, landlords or other authorized people arrange the homicide cleaning service.
The cleanup process goes beyond ordinary cleaning services. Cleanup technicians locate contamination in the affected area and surrounding areas, protect unaffected rooms, remove materials that cannot be disinfected and treat cleanable surfaces. The work also includes hazardous waste packaging, waste disposal, odor removal and records for an insurance company when requested.

You are consulted about recoverable personal property after it is isolated and before a removal decision occurs.
Disposal records, scope details, photos and item lists can help when you speak with insurance companies or property owners.
You can request unmarked vehicles and limit entry to authorized people, which helps protect privacy during a painful event.
Ask which materials can be cleaned, which need removal, how waste exits the site and what the restoration stage will include.
Homicide cleanup services may be necessary after a violent death affects a rental, vehicle, home or business with blood or biological material. Common circumstances include:
Blood that appears on the surface may travel behind trim or below flooring, leaving a wipe incomplete.
Tracing the entire path is necessary when tissue and blood can reach carpet, walls, furnishings, ceilings or concealed joints.
The landlord or an authorized property manager may schedule scene cleanup once police release the rental and essential items have been taken by the family.
The affected area can stay separate during contamination assessments of offices, warehouses, stores and common spaces.
Respect for the investigation comes first. You should also avoid exposure and retain details that may be useful for a claim. Before cleanup technicians enter, take these steps:
Call (888) 351-0904Available homicide cleanup cost guides put violent crime scenes in the $2,500 to $9,000 range. They place smaller scenes in a range from $2,000 to $6,000 and larger scenes between $3,000 and $10,000 based on their published figures. These are planning ranges rather than a quote. An assessment determines the final scope.
The figures shown are national ranges from published cost guides and are not based on an on-site visit. You learn what your property will cost after the on-site assessment and before any work begins.
Ask about cost: (888) 351-0904Homicide cleanup may be paid through a renters, homeowners or commercial policy. Whether it applies depends on the specific loss, policy terms and deductible.
The Maryland Criminal Injuries Compensation Board, part of the Governor's Office of Crime Prevention and Policy, lists crime scene cleanup among eligible expenses for crime victims. Insurance is usually checked first.
Check with your insurance company about its requirements for photos, inventories, work notes, bills and waste documentation. Retain everything you send to the insurance company.
Responsibility for arranging the work and covering the cost can vary with local law, ownership, insurance terms and the lease. Tenants and landlords should each contact the appropriate insurer.
After the scene is released by police, inform the insurer about the loss. Check if coverage includes restoration, biohazard cleanup and damaged structural materials.
After scene release, a controlled order guides the remediation work. Each step reflects how far contamination went, which items can remain and the waste rules that govern the material.
After the authorized person points out known affected areas, technicians examine floor edges, belongings, adjacent surfaces and potential travel routes.
The cleanup area is isolated from unaffected rooms. Cleanup technicians rely on proper personal protective equipment and containment controls to keep contamination from being tracked past the scene.
Visible blood and bodily fluids are collected with methods suited to each surface before detailed cleaning and disinfection begin.
Carpet, pad, drywall, upholstery or subfloor that cannot be fully disinfected is removed in the smallest practical area.
After thorough scene cleaning, an EPA-registered disinfectant remains wet on each cleanable surface for the contact time stated on its label.
After source removal, filtered air and focused treatments can reduce odor affecting indoor air, materials that remain and adjoining areas.
Waste containing contamination is labeled, sealed and transported under relevant rules, and disposal records are saved when available.
Once work is complete, retained personal property is returned as arranged, and removed finishes are documented for restoration services.
Phone any hour. You speak with a homicide cleanup specialist who outlines the process and schedules a start time with you.
Blood, bodily fluids and hidden contaminated materials can present serious health risks, even when the visible area looks small or dry.
Applicable medical waste rules may require regulated disposal, transportation and packaging for used protective equipment and saturated porous materials.
Hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV can be carried through blood. Hepatitis B can live on surfaces for at least seven days, the CDC says, which makes controls necessary even for dry blood.
Loved ones may find the scene profoundly upsetting. Direct contact with the affected room and personal property can be avoided by family members through professional cleanup.
Can you clean it yourself? With disposable gloves, a small quantity of fresh blood may be cleaned off a hard, non-porous area by keeping an EPA-registered disinfectant on it for the full label contact time. Stay out and seek professional cleanup if blood affected drywall, fabric, wood, carpet or any space whose boundaries are uncertain.
Blood-absorbing porous materials generally must be taken out. A non-porous surface can often stay if the entire exposed portion can be reached and disinfected.

The OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1030, establishes requirements for worker protective equipment, training and controls for exposure.
The selected disinfectant should have EPA registration for its intended purpose and stay on the material for the complete labeled contact time.
Maryland calls this special medical waste, which can include blood-soiled articles. Maryland Department of the Environment rules control how it is handled, transported and treated, so it cannot go in household trash.
Maryland uses a statewide system run by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, part of the Maryland Department of Health, which investigates sudden, violent or suspicious deaths. Cleanup starts after police or the medical examiner release the scene.
A timeline for homicide cleaning is shaped by scene access and size, the number of affected rooms, depth of contamination and amount that must be taken out. You can receive a more practical schedule once the initial assessment is complete.
The full homicide cleanup guide covers what is cleaned or removed, odor and air quality work, and the rules that apply in your state.
Read the full homicide cleanup guide
Local population patterns, housing and site access may affect how containment and cleanup are planned.
For an injury during discovery, University of Maryland Medical Center is the nearest listed hospital at approximately 1.2 miles away.
Crews coming in from Penn North, Reservoir Hill or Sandtown-Winchester should keep vehicles and equipment staged close to the affected property for privacy.
Neighborhood level directions help narrow the location, but crews still need entrance details before bringing containment and cleaning equipment inside.
Ask on the call about cleanup options for neighboring communities and ZIP codes.
After the property is released by police, crime scene cleaning removes blood and controls odor.
See crime scene cleanup
Blood cleanup clears blood from furniture, walls, hard floors and carpet, followed by safe disposal.
See blood cleanup
Trauma scene cleanup after accidents, injuries and violent events.
See trauma scene cleanup
Fluids, odor and impacted belongings are addressed when a home is cleaned after a death.
See death cleanup
Suicide cleanup is completed privately and with care, protecting families from seeing the scene.
See suicide cleanup
Cleanup after an undiscovered death includes odor control and the effects of days of decomposition.
See unattended death cleanup
Forensic cleaning of blood, tissue, fingerprint powder and investigation residue.
See forensic cleaning
Death odor removal at the source with air scrubbers, hydroxyl and ozone treatment.
See death odor removalSome or all covered expenses may be paid after the deductible, although terms vary for every policy and every situation. Share claim facts with the insurance company, then ask how the policy addresses restoration, building materials, biohazard cleanup and emergency response work. Store copies of photographs, scope documentation, invoices and disposal papers.
Each falls under death cleanup and trauma scene cleanup, yet the conditions may not be the same. Until law enforcement releases a homicide scene, it stays under official control and may contain residue from evidence processing. Decomposition and broader odor problems are often present after an unattended death because some time elapsed before discovery.
Cleaning it yourself is inappropriate if blood reached an unseen space or absorbent materials such as carpet, drywall, furniture, fabric or wood. Serious health risks can result from contamination you cannot see and bloodborne pathogens. Keep people and pets out while awaiting scene release, then arrange professional cleanup when any affected area has uncertain edges.
Once property clearance comes from law enforcement as well as the medical examiner, an authorized manager, relative, owner or landlord may organize cleanup. For biohazard remediation and blood cleanup, homicide cleaners can disinfect surfaces, treat odors and complete hazardous waste removal. Police conduct the investigation, but the cleaning service is not part of their work.
Whether homeowners coverage applies to homicide scene cleanup depends on what happened, the policy wording, its deductible and any exclusions. The same is true for death cleanup. Before work starts, contact the insurance company. Check which exact records you need before work begins, along with policy terms for affected materials, personal property, restoration and biohazard cleanup.
Unaffected items can remain under protection or be moved away from the contaminated zone to a clean location. Every object within the scene is reviewed separately. Belongings with hard, non-porous surfaces might be cleaned. Absorbent items may need removal, while photos, documents and keepsakes should be discussed with you before a decision is made.
Respectful, discreet homicide cleanup is available 24 hours a day, and crews arrive in unmarked vehicles.