Homicide Cleanup
After investigators leave, homicide cleanup removes contaminated materials along with tissue and blood.
See homicide cleanupGet blood, body fluids, fingerprint powder and odor removed from a home, apartment, rental or business in Portsmouth once police release the property. Most crime scene cleanups take one to three days.
Crime scene cleanup, also called forensic cleaning or trauma scene cleanup, is the removal of blood, body fluids, tissue and contaminated materials after a violent crime, then disinfection and odor removal so the property is safe to use again.
It starts where the investigation ends. Police, detectives and the medical examiner collect evidence and remove the deceased, but they do not clean. The scene is released to the property owner, the family or the landlord, and the cleanup becomes their responsibility.
Crime scene cleaners, also called forensic cleaners or a forensic clean up crew, treat every drop of blood as infectious. They trace how far it traveled, remove what cannot be disinfected, clean and treat every surface, and haul the hazardous materials away under medical waste rules. It is a form of biohazard remediation, and the cleanup process covers these steps from start to finish.

Before work begins, you learn the process and cost factors so your family can choose what is right.
Crews separate your keepsakes, documents and photos, and ask you before discarding any of them.
Daytime and nighttime calls are answered, and crews come in unmarked vehicles so the event remains discreet around neighbors.
Documentation for landlords and insurance companies includes pictures, the project scope and waste records to help you move forward.
A violent event may create a need for crime scene cleaning services when body fluids or blood remain. These situations commonly include:
Work areas remain isolated while commercial crime scene cleanup takes place in stores, warehouses and offices.
Blood and tissue spread across floors, walls and furniture, often into more than one room.
A private service means your family does not need to confront the scene.
Fingerprint powder can cover the property alongside damaged doors and glass affected by blood.
The first hours matter for your health, your insurance claim and the final cost. Before the cleanup technicians arrive:
Call (888) 351-0904Published 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. An on-site assessment determines your property's price, which is explained to you before the cleanup starts.
Ask about cost: (888) 351-0904Your policy controls whether crime scene cleanup has coverage. A homeowners or renters policy might classify the event as accidental and sudden, with a possible deductible.
Victims of crime can ask the New Hampshire Attorney General's Victims' Compensation Program whether cleanup costs can be included in a compensation claim. Insurance is usually checked first.
Coverage after a violent crime depends on the terms of your homeowners or renters policy. Report the event quickly and keep the claim number.
Property owners typically pay for and organize crime scene cleanup in shared areas and rental homes.
Find out whether your policy covers biohazard cleanup, whether a cleanup company is your choice, and which records or images the adjuster requires.
Differences between crime scenes do not change the safe order of the work. Often described as the remediation process, crime scene cleanup proceeds step by step, beginning with the first walk-through and ending at final inspection.
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.
Any saturated carpet, drywall, furniture, padding or mattress is cut out and secured in sealed medical waste bags.
Technicians clean every surface before using hospital-grade disinfectant registered by the EPA for its required contact time.
HVAC vents are examined, and air scrubbers, ozone or hydroxyl generators are used to treat the source of smells.
Tracking documents accompany closed containers to a medical waste facility that is permitted to receive them.
Technicians can check surfaces with ATP testing, and you receive claim records and photographs.
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.
Serious health risks can come from blood and bodily fluids, including contamination beyond what you are able to see.
Grout may hold blood that also seeps below trim and penetrates carpeting, pad and subfloor. Odor and bacteria may return when hidden material remains after a surface wipe.
Materials that are saturated become regulated medical waste. They must be taken to an authorized treatment site instead of a dumpster or household garbage.
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.
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. Anything that reached fabric, carpet, wood or drywall, or any amount you cannot see the edges of, needs professional cleanup.
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 |
| Typical scene, 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.
Once contaminated materials have been removed, HEPA air scrubbers can capture particles. The cleanup team may run hydroxyl generators safely with people present, or use ozone in empty rooms when odor persists. Thermal fogging can enter wall cavities and fabrics, while checks of HVAC ductwork help keep the smell from moving into 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.
In New Hampshire, soaked materials that count as infectious waste fall under the Department of Environmental Services solid waste rules. They must go through an authorized vendor, not the normal trash stream, so they cannot go in household trash.
New Hampshire uses a statewide system. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, a state office in the Department of Justice, investigates sudden, unexpected or unnatural deaths. Cleanup starts after police or the medical examiner 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 New Hampshire and Rockingham County.
Read the full crime scene cleanup guide
Containment, entry and cleanup plans can be influenced by local housing, population and access details.
A renter share of 48.1% means clear photos and item records can help different parties follow what cleanup required.
A median construction year of 1959 means older wall and floor assemblies may require careful inspection beneath the visible surface.
The local count of seniors living alone is 1,493, so a cleanup plan may need input from someone managing the home remotely.
Because 49.0% of housing is single-family, some calls involve one household while others require coordination around shared building areas.
Your phone conversation can include questions about service in nearby ZIP codes and communities.
After investigators leave, homicide cleanup removes contaminated materials along with tissue and blood.
See homicide cleanup
Families are spared from facing the scene through discreet and considerate suicide cleanup.
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
Decomposition cleanup and odor control are needed after a death goes unnoticed for several days.
See unattended death cleanup
Death odor removal targets the source through ozone treatment, hydroxyl and air scrubbers.
See death odor removal
Respectful sorting, item removal and deep cleaning are included in hoarding cleanup.
See hoarding cleanup
Sewage cleanup removes Category 3 black water from raw sewage, then disinfects and dries the area.
See raw sewage cleanupNo. Once evidence collection is complete, law enforcement releases the property. Cleanup is the responsibility of the property owner or the person in charge of the property.
Viruses including hepatitis B may remain viable for days in dry blood left on a surface. Use the same precautions for dry and fresh blood.
Removing fingerprint powder and chemical residue belongs in the forensic cleaning process. Dry removal is followed by a suitable cleaner for each surface to prevent powder stains.
Initial access and agreement on the scope require someone to be present. Many relatives decide to be elsewhere during the work after the initial arrangements.
Published guides say most home crime scene cleaning costs range from $1,500 through $7,500. Small surface cleanups can cost less, and large or multi-room scenes can pass $10,000.
Detectives, police and medical examiner staff collect case evidence and remove the deceased, then leave cleaning to others. The property owner, the family or the landlord arranges crime scene cleanup, usually with professional crime scene cleaners.
You can request respectful, discreet crime scene cleanup 24 hours a day, and crews use unmarked vehicles.