Crime Scene Cleanup
Crime scene cleaning begins after police release and covers blood, odor and the affected property.
See crime scene cleanupGet private suicide cleanup for blood, bodily fluids, affected materials and odor in a home, rental, workplace or vehicle in Upper Downtown. You do not have to enter or clean the scene yourself.
Suicide cleanup is a private biohazard cleanup service that removes blood, bodily fluids and materials that cannot be safely cleaned, then disinfects the affected area and treats odor at its source.
The property must first be released once work by the medical examiner or coroner and law enforcement is finished. Cleaning is not part of their role. After release, suicide scene cleanup can be arranged by the family, the property owner or whoever is responsible for the space. Work may take place in a vehicle, workplace, hotel room, apartment or home.
Trained technicians wear protective equipment while carrying out a controlled cleanup. They inspect surfaces around the affected area and disinfect cleanable items. Porous materials are removed if they absorbed contamination. For correct disposal, hazardous waste is securely packaged. Care is taken while sorting personal property, with your input on meaningful belongings whenever that is possible.
If you or someone near you may be in immediate danger, call emergency services. In the United States, emotional support is available by calling or texting the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Wait to arrange cleanup until everyone is safe and law enforcement releases the scene.

Keepsakes, photos, papers and other personal items are considered carefully, with your input when a meaningful item may need removal.
Your insurance company or property manager can receive organized disposal paperwork, photographs, scope notes and records of affected items.
Someone can answer your call at any time. To help preserve privacy at homes, rentals and workplaces, crews can use unmarked vehicles when they arrive.
An explanation of necessary cleaning, possible removal and cost factors can help you decide how to move forward.
Suicide cleaning services are needed when blood or bodily fluids remain after the authorities release the property. The right scope depends on the scene, the surfaces and how far contamination traveled.
Before an important belonging is removed, photos, keepsakes and documents can be separated from contaminated property and reviewed with you.
A bedroom, bathroom, living space or another private room may need cleaning, as may nearby hallways and belongings that might be affected.
A workplace, shop, hotel or managed property can require a controlled work area and coordination with the person responsible for the building.
The person controlling the property must grant access, and law enforcement must confirm the release before cleanup starts.
Protecting yourself is the immediate priority. You can stay outside the affected area while preserving the scene and taking the first steps on an insurance claim.
Call (888) 440-9227A published suicide cleanup guide lists a typical range of $1,500 to $5,500 per job. Broader crime scene guides show $2,500 to $15,000 for more involved work, and smaller scenes begin near $1,500 in those figures. These are planning ranges, not a quote. The surfaces affected, what must be removed, odor treatment and waste disposal set your price.
These ranges come from published national cost guides, not from a site visit. You learn what your property will cost after the on-site assessment and before any work begins.
Ask about cost: (888) 440-9227Homeowners, renters or commercial property insurance may cover suicide cleanup, but coverage, deductibles and required records depend on the policy and the loss.
Homeowners or renters insurance, the estate or the property owner usually pays for this kind of cleanup. The Colorado crime victim compensation program helps only when a crime caused the loss.
Ask the insurance company to specify the needed photos, lists of items, waste records and invoices. For scene photographs, no family member has to go inside the affected area.
Ask if the policy covers personal property, damaged building materials, biohazard cleanup and death cleanup. Record the claim number and adjuster contact.
The family, tenant and owner of the property should examine applicable policies and the lease. Whoever controls the property generally gives access and approves the work.
Assessment and containment come first in the suicide cleanup process. Material removal comes next, followed by disinfection, odor treatment and documentation. Each part is adapted to the affected spaces and specific materials found there.
Before starting, cleanup technicians verify the scene's release, examine affected and surrounding areas, note surface materials and record the scope.
The work area is separated from clean rooms, and technicians use protective clothing, gloves and other equipment suited to bloodborne pathogen exposure.
When contamination penetrates porous materials such as upholstery, drywall, carpet or pad and they cannot be fully disinfected, those materials are removed.
After surface cleaning, crews apply a disinfectant with EPA registration and keep it wet throughout the contact time specified on its label.
Belongings are sorted into those suitable for cleaning, those requiring removal and personally meaningful items that call for your decision.
Removal of each odor source comes first. Air filtration or additional odor treatment can follow, depending on conditions in the building, room and remaining materials.
Removed biohazard materials are placed in suitable containers and taken through the required hazardous waste or medical waste disposal process.
The cleaned area is reviewed, records are organized for the insurance claim and any removed flooring, wall material or fixtures can be scheduled for replacement.
Call any hour. You speak with a suicide cleanup specialist who outlines the process and schedules a start time with you.
Blood and bodily fluids can expose you to bloodborne pathogens, and contamination can extend beneath or behind the surfaces you can see.
Fluids can reach carpet pad, floor seams, baseboards, subfloor and wall cavities. A surface wipe may not remove contamination hidden below.
Blood may carry HIV, hepatitis C and hepatitis B. According to the CDC, hepatitis B remains viable on surfaces for at least seven days, which means dried material requires careful treatment.
At a difficult time, seeing the scene may cause added emotional distress. Professional cleanup allows you to remain away while someone calmly explains each practical choice.
Can you clean it yourself? A few fresh drops on a hard, non-porous surface may be cleaned with disposable gloves and an EPA-registered disinfectant used for its full label contact time. Professional biohazard cleanup is safer when fluid has entered fabric, carpet, drywall or unfinished wood, or when the affected area's full boundary is not visible.
Cleanup time depends on how large the affected area is, which materials are involved and whether hidden layers were reached. Work limited to hard surfaces usually takes less time than a scene where flooring, drywall or numerous personal belongings must be removed.
| Scene | Typical time on site |
|---|---|
| Limited hard-surface cleanup | A shorter process for contamination confined to sealed surfaces within reach |
| One room with porous materials | Longer if affected carpet, pad, wall material or furniture has to come out |
| Several areas or hidden contamination | The most time when inspection, structural removal and odor treatment involve multiple spaces |
Effective odor removal starts with locating and removing what is causing it. Adding fragrance does not disinfect the area or clean bodily fluids and contaminated porous surfaces.
Once affected materials have either been cleaned or taken out, HEPA air scrubbers may help remove airborne particles. Additional treatments can be chosen for surfaces that remain and for the empty space. If air movement may have spread odor past the first room, vents and adjacent areas are also inspected.
The OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1030, establishes requirements for worker training, protective equipment and procedures wherever blood exposure may happen.
Blood disinfection calls for an EPA-registered product used as intended and left on the surface for the full labeled contact period.
Colorado treats waste that can cause infectious disease, including human blood and body fluids, as infectious waste. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's medical waste rules apply to its handling, so it should not go in household trash. The cleanup scope should account for the packaging, transport and treatment required for contaminated materials.
Colorado has no statewide medical examiner. Death investigation is county-based, led mostly by elected county coroners, with a few counties using a medical examiner or coroner. Cleanup starts after police or the coroner release the scene. Wait for the investigating authority to verify release of the scene before any cleaning starts.
The full suicide cleanup guide covers what is cleaned or removed, odor and air quality work, and the rules that apply in Colorado and Denver County.
Read the full suicide cleanup guide
Local housing, population and access details can shape containment, access and cleanup planning.
Knowing that HCA Healthone Presbyterian St. Luke's is about 1.5 miles away helps households plan where to seek care before arranging scene cleanup.
Neighboring communities include Central Business District, Theatre District, and Clement. If the property is near a boundary, mention the closest cross streets.
In Upper Downtown, identifying the correct building entrance can reduce unnecessary movement through shared spaces during a sensitive cleanup.
You can ask about cleanup in nearby communities and ZIP codes during the call.
Crime scene cleaning begins after police release and covers blood, odor and the affected property.
See crime scene cleanup
Following accidents, violence or injuries, trauma scene cleanup addresses the affected area.
See trauma scene cleanup
Blood cleanup clears blood from furniture, walls, hard floors and carpet, followed by safe disposal.
See blood cleanup
Fluids, odor and impacted belongings are addressed when a home is cleaned after a death.
See death cleanup
Cleanup after a death that was found quickly, with care for the family home.
See attended death cleanup
At the source, death odor removal uses air scrubbers plus hydroxyl and ozone treatment.
See death odor removal
Contamination is cleared through biological remediation, returning the space to safe use.
See biohazard remediation
Medical waste removal includes disposal through facilities approved for treatment.
See medical waste removalThe medical examiner or coroner and law enforcement complete the investigation, but property cleaning is not part of their work. Once the scene is released, a property manager, landlord, owner or family member can arrange for a suicide cleanup company. Trained technicians clean and disinfect the affected area, remove materials that cannot be treated and prepare contaminated waste for proper disposal.
Avoid entering any scene with broad contamination involving bodily fluids, blood or absorbent materials. Bloodborne pathogens and hidden contamination create serious health risks, and ordinary cleaning tools can spread material. Larger affected spaces and those with unclear edges call for professional biohazard cleanup, while a few drops limited to a hard, sealed surface are different.
A homeowners policy may cover biohazard or death cleanup, but every policy and loss is different. Contact your insurance company, explain what happened and ask about deductibles, required documentation, personal property and affected building materials. Keep the claim number and adjuster contact with the cleanup documents.
The assessment considers each item's material and contamination. Items with intact hard surfaces can sometimes be cleaned, whereas deep contamination in fabric or porous property can make removal necessary. Photos, papers, keepsakes and other meaningful property should be separated for your consideration whenever it can be done safely, so you can take part in important decisions.
Technicians begin by evaluating and isolating the affected area. Porous material containing absorbed bodily fluids is removed, hard surfaces are cleaned and an EPA-registered disinfectant stays applied for its labeled contact time. Technicians carefully sort personal property, address odor at the source and package contaminated material for disposal under the relevant requirements.
Yes, although removal of the source must come first. Cleaning and disinfection, removal of untreatable materials and inspection of nearby spaces work together to address the odor source. An odor treatment or air filtration may be used afterward. Fragrance alone does not make contamination safe and merely covers the odor.
You can request respectful, discreet suicide cleanup 24 hours a day, and crews use unmarked vehicles.