Homicide Cleanup
Once the investigation ends, contaminated materials, blood and tissue are cleared during homicide cleanup.
See homicide cleanupGet blood, body fluids, fingerprint powder and odor removed from a home, apartment, rental or business in Joel Chandler Harris Homes once police release the property. Most crime scene cleanups take one to three days.
Crime scene cleanup means taking out tissue, contaminated materials, body fluids and blood following a violent crime. Often termed trauma scene cleanup or forensic cleaning, it includes odor removal and disinfection to make the property safe for use again.
It starts where the investigation ends. Police, detectives and the medical examiner or coroner collect evidence and remove the deceased, but they do not clean. The scene is released to the property owner, the family or the landlord, and the cleanup becomes their responsibility.
A forensic clean up crew, forensic cleaners and crime scene cleaners all treat blood as infectious, down to every drop. The team tracks its spread and removes materials that disinfection cannot save. All surfaces are treated and cleaned, while hazardous items are taken away in line with medical waste rules. This end-to-end process is a form of biohazard remediation.

Crews separate your keepsakes, documents and photos, and ask you before discarding any of them.
Photos, scope and waste records are ready for insurance companies and landlords, so you can move forward.
You can call during the day or overnight, and unmarked vehicles help keep the situation private from neighbors.
Before work begins, you learn the process and cost factors so your family can choose what is right.
A violent event may create a need for crime scene cleaning services when body fluids or blood remain. These situations commonly include:
After a standoff, pepper spray or tear gas residue can remain on fabric, walls and HVAC ducts.
Fingerprint powder can cover the property alongside damaged doors and glass affected by blood.
Work areas remain isolated while commercial crime scene cleanup takes place in stores, warehouses and offices.
Private cleanup so family members never have to face the scene themselves.
Before cleanup technicians get there, your early actions can affect health, the insurance claim and what the work ultimately costs:
Call (888) 440-9227Published cost guides put most residential crime scene cleanups between $1,500 and $7,500. Most crime scene cleanup companies price by the job, not the hour. A small area of surface blood can cost less, and scenes where blood reached the subfloor or several rooms can pass $10,000. The final price is set after the on-site assessment.
The figures shown are national ranges from published cost guides and are not based on an on-site visit. The price for your property is set after the on-site assessment, and you hear it before work starts.
Ask about cost: (888) 440-9227Check the homeowners or renters policy that applies to the property. It may include crime scene cleanup when an event is classified as accidental and sudden, and you may owe a deductible.
In rental units and common areas, the owner usually arranges and pays for crime scene cleanup.
Your homeowners or renters policy terms determine coverage following a violent crime. Keep your claim number after reporting the event without delay.
Victims of violent crime can ask the Georgia Crime Victims Compensation Program, run by the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, about crime scene cleanup. The program lists crime scene sanitization among eligible expenses. Insurance is usually checked first.
Find out if biohazard cleanup is covered, if the cleanup company is your choice, and what records and photos the adjuster requires.
Although no two crime scenes are alike, each remediation process uses one safe sequence. The crime scene cleanup process moves in that order from an initial walk-through through the final inspection.
Technicians walk the scene with you or your representative, photograph it and agree the scope before work starts.
The affected area is sealed with plastic sheeting and negative air, and technicians wear full personal protective equipment.
Saturated drywall, carpeting, padding, mattresses and furnishings are removed, placed in bags and sealed for medical waste disposal.
All surfaces receive cleaning followed by an EPA-registered hospital-grade disinfectant applied for the full contact time.
Technicians inspect HVAC vents and target the odor source using ozone, hydroxyl generators or air scrubbers.
Sealed containers go to a permitted medical waste facility with the paperwork that tracks them.
Surfaces can be checked with ATP testing, and you get photos and records for your insurance claim.
After cleanup, replacement drywall and flooring may be installed by your contractor or the insurance company's vendor.
Phone any hour. Your crime scene cleanup specialist answers the phone, describes what happens next and works with you on a start time.
Serious health risks can come from blood and bodily fluids, including contamination beyond what you are able to see.
Soaked materials are regulated medical waste. They must be taken to an authorized treatment site instead of a dumpster or household garbage.
HIV and the hepatitis B and C viruses may be carried in blood. Despite dry-looking blood, hepatitis B may survive on surfaces for at least seven days, according to the CDC.
Carpet does not stop blood from reaching the pad and subfloor, while grout and spaces under baseboards can trap it. A surface-only cleaning leaves concealed residue that can bring back bacteria and odor.
Can you clean it yourself? With gloves and disinfectant registered by the EPA, you can clean a few fresh blood drops from a solid, non-porous surface. Anything that reached fabric, carpet, wood or drywall, or any amount you cannot see the edges of, needs professional cleanup.
Materials that can be completely disinfected are cleaned and kept. Anything penetrated by blood must be taken out.

Most crime scene cleanup work requires one to three days at the property. A small scene that happened recently may take one day, but a heavy scene requiring structural removal can last two to five days.
| Scene | Typical time on site |
|---|---|
| Light scene, one area | Often one to two days |
| A common scene across one to two rooms | Often one to three days |
| Several affected rooms or a subfloor removal | Often two to five days |
The source must be removed before the odor can be addressed. Spraying fragrance on tissue or blood masks the smell for just a few days.
Once contaminated materials have been removed, HEPA air scrubbers can capture particles. The cleanup team may run hydroxyl generators safely with people present, or use ozone in empty rooms when odor persists. Thermal fogging can enter wall cavities and fabrics, while checks of HVAC ductwork help keep the smell from moving into other rooms.
The full crime scene cleanup guide covers what is cleaned or removed, odor and air quality work, and the rules that apply in Georgia and Fulton County.
Read the full crime scene cleanup guide
Planning for access, containment and cleanup can depend on local population, housing and entry conditions.
For an injury during discovery, Grady Memorial Hospital is the nearest listed hospital at approximately 1.8 miles away.
The surrounding area includes West End, atlanta-university-center, and Storehouse Lofts - The Enclave At Castleberry, so cleanup travel may cross several local streets or municipal boundaries.
Properties within this Atlanta neighborhood may share alleys, entries, or parking, so equipment movement should be planned around nearby residents.
Ask on the call about cleanup options for neighboring communities and ZIP codes.
Once the investigation ends, contaminated materials, blood and tissue are cleared during homicide cleanup.
See homicide cleanup
Careful, private suicide cleanup keeps family members from having to confront the scene.
See suicide cleanup
Trauma scene cleanup is needed after violent events, accidents and injuries.
See trauma scene cleanup
Blood cleanup on carpet, hard floors, walls and furniture with safe disposal.
See blood cleanup
Cleanup when a death went unnoticed for days, with decomposition and odor control.
See unattended death cleanup
Air scrubbers, hydroxyl and ozone treatment support death odor removal at its source.
See death odor removal
Hoarding cleanup combines respectful sorting, removal and deep cleaning.
See hoarding cleanup
Disinfection and drying follow sewage cleanup of Category 3 black water from raw sewage.
See raw sewage cleanupNo. Law enforcement returns control of the scene after gathering the evidence. Responsibility for cleaning belongs to the property owner or whoever oversees the location.
Cleaning crime scenes follows a set cleaning process: seal off the area, remove soaked materials, clean and disinfect every surface, treat odor and dispose of the waste as medical waste.
Most crime scenes require one to three days of on-site cleaning. A light scene can be done in a day and a heavy scene with subfloor removal can take up to five days.
Fingerprint powder and chemical residue are part of forensic cleaning. The powder is removed dry before a surface-appropriate cleaner is used to prevent staining.
Crime scene cleanup is also known as biohazard remediation, forensic cleaning, trauma cleanup or forensic clean up. The people doing this work are known as forensic cleaners and crime scene cleaners.
Police, detectives and the medical examiner or coroner collect evidence and remove the deceased, but they do not clean. The family, landlord or property owner generally arranges crime scene cleanup through professional crime scene cleaners.
Discreet, respectful crime scene cleanup, 24 hours a day, with crews in unmarked vehicles.