Before the cleanup
When can cleanup start?
Once the police and, if someone died, the medical examiner have released the home or vehicle. Ask the officer on scene if you are not sure.
Does the medical examiner clean the scene?
No. The examiner's office looks after your relative and their belongings. The home is left to the family or owner.
Which medical examiner is it in Fridley or Columbia Heights?
The Midwest Medical Examiner's Office in Ramsey, which serves Anoka County. Minneapolis and the Hennepin suburbs use the Hennepin County Medical Examiner.
Should I open windows?
Closing the room off is usually more useful than airing it. Avoid fans that push air from the room into the rest of the home.
The work itself
What happens to belongings?
Ask the company to set aside anything that can be cleaned and anything you name. Items soaked through, like mattresses, usually cannot be saved.
Will the neighbors know?
Ask the company whether they use plain vehicles and whether they can work at quieter times.
Is bio hazard cleanup only for crime scenes?
No. It covers any blood, bodily fluids or waste that need protective gear, including accidents, deaths from natural causes and hoarding.
Do they repair floors and walls?
Some do, some refer it on. Ask on the first call.
Money
How much will it cost?
The size of the area, how deep fluids went, how much has to be removed and how long the place was closed all affect the price. Get it in writing.
Will insurance pay?
Sometimes. Ask your insurer before work starts. Only your insurer can say what your policy pays for.
Can the state help?
After a violent crime, the Minnesota Crime Victims Reimbursement Board can repay crime scene clean-up. See who pays for the conditions.
Do I pay this website?
No. See how a call works.
When you are ready, call
You will speak with an independent cleanup company that works in and around Minneapolis. Describe what happened in your own words and ask what they would do. You decide whether to go ahead.
Talk to a cleanup company
Call (612) 493-4397Answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Calls may be recorded. More in the referral disclosure and privacy policy.