Homicide Cleanup
After investigators depart, homicide cleanup removes blood, tissue and contaminated materials.
See homicide cleanupGet blood, body fluids, fingerprint powder and odor removed from a home, apartment, rental or business in Edgewood 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.
The investigation comes before any cleaning. Detectives, police and the medical examiner or coroner remove the deceased and collect evidence, but cleanup is not part of their role. After release, responsibility for the scene passes to the family, landlord or property owner.
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.

Photos, scope and waste records are ready for insurance companies and landlords, so you can move forward.
The cleaning plan and pricing factors are explained in advance, helping you decide what suits your household.
You can call during the day or overnight, and unmarked vehicles help keep the situation private from neighbors.
Crews put aside photos, papers and meaningful belongings for you to examine before any disposal.
Any violent event that leaves body fluids or blood behind calls for crime scene cleaning services. Common examples include:
Fingerprint powder can cover the property alongside damaged doors and glass affected by blood.
Tear gas or pepper spray residue on walls, fabrics and HVAC ductwork after a standoff.
More than one room is often affected, including floors, furnishings and walls with blood or tissue.
A fall can leave blood on walls and ceilings, with saturation reaching carpet and subfloor.
Before cleanup technicians get there, your early actions can affect health, the insurance claim and what the work ultimately costs:
Call (888) 440-9227Published guides show that most residential crime scene cleanups cost from $1,500 to $7,500. Pricing is usually based on the job instead of an hourly rate. A small surface-blood area can fall below that range, but blood in multiple rooms or reaching the subfloor can bring the total above $10,000. The on-site assessment sets your final price.
These national ranges are taken from published cost guides, rather than a property visit. The price for your property is set after the on-site assessment, and you hear it before work starts.
Ask about cost: (888) 440-9227Coverage depends on your policy. Homeowners and renters insurance may cover crime scene cleanup as a sudden and accidental loss, and a deductible may apply.
After a violent crime, coverage is based on the terms in your renters or homeowners policy. Report the event quickly and keep the claim number.
In rental units and common areas, the owner usually arranges and pays for crime scene cleanup.
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.
Ask whether biohazard cleanup is covered, whether you can choose the cleanup company and what photos or records the adjuster needs.
A safe, consistent order guides the remediation process, even though every crime scene differs. From the opening walk-through until final inspection, the crime scene cleanup process follows that sequence.
Technicians walk the scene with you or your representative, photograph it and agree the scope before work starts.
Plastic barriers and negative air isolate the affected area while technicians use complete personal protective equipment.
Soaked carpet, pad, drywall, mattresses and furniture are cut out, bagged and sealed as medical waste.
All surfaces receive cleaning followed by an EPA-registered hospital-grade disinfectant applied for the full contact time.
HVAC vents are examined, and air scrubbers, ozone or hydroxyl generators are used to treat the source of smells.
Sealed containers go to a permitted medical waste facility with the paperwork that tracks them.
ATP testing can be used to check surfaces, while photographs and records support your insurance claim.
Removed flooring and drywall can then be replaced by your contractor or your insurer's vendor.
Call any hour. A specialist in crime scene cleanup takes your call, explains each step and agrees on a start time with you.
Blood and bodily fluids may pose serious health risks. Visible contamination is usually only part of what is present.
HIV and the hepatitis B and C viruses may be carried in blood. The CDC reports that hepatitis B can survive on surfaces for at least seven days, even when the blood looks dry.
Blood runs under baseboards, soaks through carpet into the pad and subfloor, and settles into grout. A surface-only cleaning leaves concealed residue that can bring back bacteria and odor.
You may find it deeply difficult to clean where someone close to you was harmed. For that reason alone, many households turn to professional crime scene cleaners.
Can you clean it yourself? For a few drops of blood that are fresh and limited to a non-porous hard surface, use gloves plus an EPA-registered disinfectant. If blood touches fabric, wood, carpet or drywall, or spreads beyond visible edges, you need professional cleanup.
Blood-soaked material has to be removed, while material that allows complete disinfection can be cleaned.

Most crime scene cleanups take one to three days on site. A small, recent scene can be finished in a day, while heavy scenes with structural removal take 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 |
Removing the source is the first step in odor removal. Fragrance sprayed onto blood or tissue merely covers the odor for a few days.
After the contaminated materials are gone, the cleanup team can use HEPA air scrubbers to capture particles, hydroxyl generators that are safe to run while people are present, and ozone treatment in empty rooms for stubborn odor. Thermal fogging reaches odor in fabrics and wall cavities, and HVAC ductwork is checked so smell does not travel to 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 DeKalb County.
Read the full crime scene cleanup guide
Local population patterns, housing and site access may affect how containment and cleanup are planned.
If direct exposure occurs, the closest listed emergency option is Emory University Hospital Midtown, about 2.1 miles away, not the cleanup site.
Connections to Little Five Points, Candler Park, and Lake Claire make a precise address important for coordinating cleanup access without unnecessary neighborhood attention.
A neighborhood address can differ from its broader city label, making the full street and unit information important for discreet cleanup access.
You can ask about cleanup in nearby communities and ZIP codes during the call.
After investigators depart, homicide cleanup removes blood, tissue and contaminated materials.
See homicide cleanup
Careful, private suicide cleanup keeps family members from having to confront the scene.
See suicide cleanup
Following accidents, violence or injuries, trauma scene cleanup addresses the affected area.
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
Death odor removal at the source with air scrubbers, hydroxyl and ozone treatment.
See death odor removal
Hoarding cleanup combines respectful sorting, removal and deep cleaning.
See hoarding cleanup
Raw sewage cleanup of Category 3 black water, with disinfection and drying.
See raw sewage cleanupAffirmative. Removing fingerprint powder and chemical residue belongs in the forensic cleaning process. Dry removal comes first, then the right cleaner for each surface so the powder does not stain.
Published guides put most residential crime scene cleanups between $1,500 and $7,500. Limited surface cleaning can fall below the usual range, and major multi-room scenes can cost more than $10,000.
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.
Police, detectives and the medical examiner or coroner collect evidence and remove the deceased, but they do not clean. Crime scene cleanup is commonly arranged by a landlord, family or property owner and completed by professional crime scene cleaners.
It is called crime scene cleanup, forensic cleaning, forensic clean up, trauma cleanup or biohazard remediation. Workers performing the service are known as forensic cleaners or crime scene cleaners.
On-site work lasts one to three days for most scenes. A minor scene may need a day, while an extensive job involving subfloor removal may require up to five days.
Discreet, respectful crime scene cleanup, 24 hours a day, with crews in unmarked vehicles.