Homicide Cleanup
Homicide cleanup of blood, tissue and contaminated materials after investigators leave.
See homicide cleanupGet blood, body fluids, fingerprint powder and odor removed from a home, apartment, rental or business in North Birmingham 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.
Police and detectives gather evidence, while the medical examiner or coroner removes the deceased. Their work does not include cleaning. When the investigation ends, they release the scene, leaving cleanup to the landlord, the family or whoever owns the property.
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.

Documentation for landlords and insurance companies includes pictures, the project scope and waste records to help you move forward.
You receive an explanation of each step and price factor before work, allowing an informed decision for your family.
Calls are answered day and night, and crews arrive in unmarked vehicles so neighbors do not know what happened.
Crews separate your keepsakes, documents and photos, and ask you before discarding any of them.
Any violent event that leaves body fluids or blood behind calls for crime scene cleaning services. Common examples include:
A private service means your family does not need to confront the scene.
Tissue and blood may affect furniture, walls and flooring across multiple rooms.
A standoff may leave tear gas or pepper spray deposits across ductwork, textiles and wall surfaces.
Blood on shattered glass, broken doors and fingerprint powder may remain across the home.
Before cleanup technicians get there, your early actions can affect health, the insurance claim and what the work ultimately costs:
Call (888) 440-9227Most residential crime scene cleanup costs between $1,500 and $7,500. Published cost guides show this range. Companies generally set a price for the whole job rather than charging by the hour. Surface blood limited to a small area may cost less. When several rooms or the subfloor are affected, costs may exceed $10,000. An on-site assessment determines the final price.
The figures shown are national ranges from published cost guides and are not based on an on-site visit. An on-site assessment determines your property's price, which is explained to you before the cleanup 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.
Victims of violent crime can ask the Alabama Crime Victims Compensation Commission, which lists crime scene cleanup among its expense categories, whether cleanup costs can be included in a compensation claim. Insurance is usually checked first.
For common spaces or rented units, crime scene cleanup is generally arranged and paid for by the owner.
Find out whether your policy covers biohazard cleanup, whether a cleanup company is your choice, and which records or images the adjuster requires.
Coverage after a violent crime depends on the terms of your homeowners or renters policy. Tell your insurer about the event soon and save the claim number.
Every crime scene is different, but the crime scene cleanup process, often called the remediation process, follows the same safe order through the entire process, from the first walk-through to the final inspection.
Technicians inspect and photograph the scene alongside you or your representative, then get agreement on the scope before beginning.
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.
Technicians inspect HVAC vents and target the odor source using ozone, hydroxyl generators or air scrubbers.
Tracking documents accompany closed containers to a medical waste facility that is permitted to receive them.
Surfaces can be checked with ATP testing, and you get photos and records for your insurance claim.
Removed flooring and drywall can then be replaced by your contractor or your insurer's vendor.
Call any hour. You speak with a crime scene cleanup specialist who outlines the process and schedules a start time with you.
Blood and bodily fluids can carry serious health risks, and the contamination you can see is rarely all of it.
Blood can enter grout, flow beneath baseboards and pass through carpet to padding and subfloor. Odor and bacteria may return when hidden material remains after a surface wipe.
Blood can contain HIV, hepatitis C and hepatitis B. Despite dry-looking blood, hepatitis B may survive on surfaces for at least seven days, according to the CDC.
Soaked materials are regulated medical waste. Disposal in home trash or dumpsters is not allowed, so an approved treatment facility must receive them.
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. Professional cleanup is needed when you cannot identify the spill edges or when contamination reaches wood, drywall, carpeting or fabric.
Most crime scene cleanups are completed on site in one to three days. One day may be enough for a recent, small scene. Heavy cleanup that includes structural removal may require 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 |
| Major scene with multiple rooms or removed subfloor | 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.
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.
Under federal rule 29 CFR 1910.1030 for blood exposure, workers need training, safe handling and protective equipment.
Disinfectants used on blood should be registered by the EPA and left on the surface for the full contact time on the label.
Alabama treats soaked materials from a biohazard scene as medical waste when they are saturated to the point of dripping blood. The Alabama Department of Environmental Management's rules control packing, transport and treatment, so it cannot go in household trash.
Alabama uses a county coroner system, with no statewide medical examiner, and the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences performs autopsies and supports death investigations for coroners. Cleanup starts after police or the coroner release the scene.
The full crime scene cleanup guide covers what is cleaned or removed, odor and air quality work, and the rules that apply in Jefferson County and Alabama.
Read the full crime scene cleanup guide
Local population patterns, housing and site access may affect how containment and cleanup are planned.
University of Alabama Hospital is about 3.5 miles from North Birmingham, which is useful to know when an exposure or injury needs medical attention.
Connections to Fourth Avenue Historic District, Morris Avenue-First Avenue North Historic District, and smithfield-historic-district make a precise address important for coordinating cleanup access without unnecessary neighborhood attention.
A cleanup plan for this neighborhood should account for adjacent homes or units when setting odor control and containment boundaries.
Your phone conversation can include questions about service in nearby ZIP codes and communities.
Homicide cleanup of blood, tissue and contaminated materials after investigators leave.
See homicide cleanup
Private, careful suicide cleanup so families do not have to face the scene.
See suicide cleanup
Trauma scene cleanup addresses the aftermath of accidents, injuries and violent incidents.
See trauma scene cleanup
Walls, carpets, furnishings and hard floors receive blood cleanup, with safe disposal afterward.
See blood cleanup
Cleanup when a death went unnoticed for days, with decomposition and odor control.
See unattended death cleanup
At the source, death odor removal uses air scrubbers plus hydroxyl and ozone treatment.
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 cleanupPublished 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.
Law enforcement and the medical examiner or coroner remove evidence and the deceased without cleaning the property. The family, landlord or property owner generally arranges crime scene cleanup through professional crime scene cleaners.
Someone needs to give access and agree the scope at the start. After that, many families choose not to stay while the work is done.
Cleaning crime scenes uses a cleaning process that contains the space, removes saturated material, cleans and disinfects surfaces, treats odor and disposes of medical waste.
Most scenes take one to three days on site. Light cleanup can finish in a day, but heavy contamination with subfloor removal can extend to five days.
Chemical remnants and fingerprint dust are addressed through forensic cleaning. The powder is removed dry before a surface-appropriate cleaner is used to prevent staining.
Discreet, respectful crime scene cleanup, 24 hours a day, with crews in unmarked vehicles.