Situation
Unattended death cleanup
When a person dies alone and is not found for days or weeks, the home needs more than ordinary cleaning. Fluids can soak into flooring and walls, and the odor stays until the source is removed.
Answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Why this cleanup is different
Time matters more than anything else here. The longer a body was there, the further fluids travel: through carpet and pad, between boards, into the subfloor, and sometimes into the ceiling of the room below.
In a two- or three-family house, tell the company if there is a unit underneath or beside the room. They will want to check the ceiling and shared walls too.
Air fresheners and household cleaners only cover the smell for a while. It fades for good once the contaminated material is out and the surfaces under it are sealed or treated.
Order of events
From release to a usable room
Release
Police and the medical examiner finish their work. The person is taken into the office's care.
Assessment
The company inspects how far contamination reached and explains what has to go.
Removal and cleaning
Affected materials are cut out and bagged, and the surfaces left behind are cleaned and disinfected.
Odor treatment
Once the source is gone, the company treats what odor is left in the air and in the structure.
Rebuild, if needed
Replacing flooring or drywall is building work. In Rhode Island that work needs a registered contractor.
Belongings and papers
Tell the company before work starts about anything the family wants kept: photographs, jewelry, documents, a particular chair. Ask them to set aside papers such as bank statements and bills. The estate may need them.
Things that have absorbed fluids usually cannot be saved safely. A company should explain why before it throws anything out, and should not decide for you.
When you are ready, one call is enough
You will speak with an independent biohazard cleanup company that works around Providence. Say what happened in your own words, ask what they would do and how they price it, then decide. Nothing is agreed until you say yes.
Speak with an independent cleanup company
Call (401) 498-1593Answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Calls may be recorded. More in the referral disclosure and privacy policy pages.