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 Miami-Dade County. 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.
Cleanup technicians first trace where contamination reached, including areas around the affected room. Unaffected spaces are protected. Materials that cannot be disinfected come out, while surfaces suitable for disinfection receive treatment. This goes beyond routine cleaning and also includes odor removal, proper hazardous waste packaging and disposal, plus insurance company records if requested.

Ask which materials can be cleaned, which need removal, how waste exits the site and what the restoration stage will include.
Before any removal choice, salvageable personal property is set aside and discussed with you.
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.
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:
The complete path needs assessment because blood and tissue may extend to furniture, carpet, ceilings, hidden joints and walls.
A landlord or authorized property manager may arrange scene cleanup after police release the unit and the family removes essential belongings.
Checks of carpet, insulation, seats and trim determine which materials are cleanable and which require removal.
Blood that appears on the surface may travel behind trim or below flooring, leaving a wipe incomplete.
Your first steps are to respect the investigation, avoid exposure and preserve useful claim information. Before cleanup technicians enter:
Call (888) 440-9227Available 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.
These ranges come from published national cost guides, not from a 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) 440-9227Homicide cleanup may be paid through a renters, homeowners or commercial policy. Whether it applies depends on the specific loss, policy terms and deductible.
Report what occurred to the insurance company after police clear the scene. Ask about policy coverage for biohazard cleanup, affected construction materials and the restoration phase.
Who organizes and pays for the work may depend on ownership, the lease, applicable local law and insurance terms. The tenant and landlord should contact their respective insurance companies.
Victims of violent crime can ask the Florida Attorney General's Bureau of Victim Compensation about cleanup, since its rules count crime scene cleanup costs as a compensable loss. Insurance is usually checked first.
Ask the insurance company which photos, item lists, scope notes, invoices and waste records it needs. Retain everything you send to the insurance company.
The remediation process follows a controlled order after scene release. Every step is based on where contamination traveled, which materials can be saved and what waste rules apply.
The authorized person identifies known affected areas, and technicians inspect nearby surfaces, floor edges, contents and possible travel paths.
Clean rooms are kept apart from the work area. To reduce tracking into other areas, cleanup technicians wear appropriate personal protective equipment and follow work-zone controls.
Surface-specific methods collect bodily fluids and blood that are visible before detailed cleaning and disinfection.
Removal focuses on the smallest practical area when affected padding, upholstery, drywall, carpet or subfloor cannot be fully disinfected.
Cleanable materials undergo detailed scene cleaning before an EPA-registered disinfectant is applied and stays wet throughout the label contact time.
Once the source is gone, air filtration and targeted treatment can address odor in room air, remaining materials and connected spaces.
After contaminated waste is sealed and labeled, it is moved in accordance with applicable requirements and available disposal records are retained.
A final check covers finished work, the agreed return of saved personal property and a list of removed finishes for restoration services.
Call at any time. 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.
Hepatitis C, HIV and hepatitis B may be present in blood. The CDC says hepatitis B can survive on surfaces for at least seven days, so dried blood still requires careful controls.
Fluids can enter seams, grout, carpet pad, subfloor and wall cavities. A surface mark may be cleaned while affected material underneath or behind it goes untreated.
The scene can be deeply distressing for loved ones. With professional cleanup, your family can avoid touching personal property or entering the affected area.
When a small blood spill is safe to clean yourself. Disposable gloves may be used to clean a minor amount of fresh blood from hard non-porous material, along with an EPA-registered disinfectant left for the entire label contact time. Seek professional cleanup and keep away whenever blood reaches fabric, carpet, drywall, wood or a location with unknown edges.
Porous material usually comes out after it absorbs blood. Non-porous surfaces can often be kept, provided that every exposed section is accessible and can be disinfected.

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.
| Scene | Typical time on site |
|---|---|
| Accessible surfaces within a small affected area | Timeline determined once the scene is released and inspected |
| A single room requiring removal of porous materials | May involve cleanup followed by restoration as another phase |
| Several rooms or structural contamination | Usually needs a staged scope and longer restoration work |
Source removal comes before other odor work. Adding fragrance cannot resolve odor from fluid absorbed by subfloor, furniture, concealed cavities, drywall or carpet.
HEPA air scrubbers may filter particles from the air following removal of contaminated material. If equipment instructions permit, hydroxyl treatment can be suitable where a space remains occupied. Strict controls apply to ozone, and nobody may be in the treatment area. Vents and rooms next to the scene may also be checked as part of cleaning before you continue.
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 Florida and Miami-Dade County.
Read the full homicide cleanup guide
Planning for access, containment and cleanup can depend on local population, housing and entry conditions.
With a 35.6% renter share, some cleanup calls require a tenant and property owner to agree on access and material removal.
A median build year of 1970 means fluids can pass through carpet or seams and affect padding or subfloor below.
There are 3,586 seniors living alone locally, making simple welfare check plans useful even when the overall share is lower.
The 73.1% single-family share means odor may move through connected rooms and ventilation even without shared walls between households.
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
Walls, carpets, furnishings and hard floors receive blood cleanup, with safe disposal afterward.
See blood cleanup
Following accidents, violence or injuries, trauma scene cleanup addresses the affected area.
See trauma scene cleanup
Fluids, odor and impacted belongings are addressed when a home is cleaned after a death.
See death cleanup
Careful, private suicide cleanup keeps family members from having to confront the scene.
See suicide cleanup
Cleanup when a death went unnoticed for days, with decomposition and odor control.
See unattended death cleanup
Forensic cleaning of blood, tissue, fingerprint powder and investigation residue.
See forensic cleaning
Death odor removal targets the source through ozone treatment, hydroxyl and air scrubbers.
See death odor removalSome or all covered expenses may be paid after the deductible, although terms vary for every policy and every situation. When reporting claim details, ask the insurance company about biohazard cleanup, emergency response work, structural materials and restoration. Store copies of photographs, scope documentation, invoices and disposal papers.
Once property clearance comes from law enforcement as well as the medical examiner, an authorized manager, relative, owner or landlord may organize cleanup. Homicide cleaners perform biohazard remediation, blood cleanup, disinfection, odor work and hazardous waste removal. Scene investigation belongs to police, while the cleaning service does not.
The process starts when the right team identifies the affected area boundaries and isolates the scene. With protective gear in place, trained technicians gather visible matter and take away absorbent materials unsuitable for disinfection. They clean what stays, then apply a disinfectant registered by the EPA and follow its labeled contact time. Next, technicians package the hazardous waste and inspect all completed work.
Unaffected items can remain under protection or be moved away from the contaminated zone to a clean location. Items within the scene are assessed individually. Belongings with hard, non-porous surfaces might be cleaned. Porous belongings may require removal, but you should be consulted about photographs, documents and treasured items before any choice is final.
Coverage under a homeowners policy may extend to homicide scene cleanup, and death cleanup may also qualify, depending on the event, deductible, exclusions and exact policy terms. Call the insurer promptly. Ask about biohazard cleanup, damaged materials, personal property, restoration and the exact documents needed before work begins.
DIY cleaning is not appropriate when blood reached carpet, wood, fabric, drywall, furniture or a hidden space. Contamination that is not visible, along with bloodborne pathogens, can present serious health risks. Keep people and pets away, wait for scene release and arrange professional cleanup for any affected area whose full boundary is unclear.
Discreet, respectful homicide cleanup, 24 hours a day, with crews in unmarked vehicles.