Medford, Oregon and the Rogue Valley
Biohazard and crime scene cleanup in Medford, Oregon
After a death, a violent crime or a serious accident, someone has to clean the home, and it should not be the family. Call to reach an independent biohazard cleanup company that works in Medford and across Jackson County.
Phones are picked up day and night, all week
- Somebody picks up at 3 a.m. too
- Local firms, independent of this website
- Nothing is booked until you say so
If it happened in the last day
Four things to do first
Call 911 if you have not already
A death, a serious injury or a person who may still be in danger is an emergency. Nothing on this page comes before that call.
Leave the room exactly as it is
Oregon law says a body and the person's belongings are not to be moved until a medical examiner, a death investigator or the district attorney allows it (ORS 146.103). Officers will tell you where you may go.
Ask when the home is released
Cleaning cannot begin while police or the medical examiner still need the scene. Before officers leave, ask whether the home is released and write down the case number.
Shut the door and step away
Do not scrub, bleach or pull up carpet. Blood can carry hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV (OSHA), and what you can see is often less than what soaked in. Keep children and pets out until a company has looked at it.
What happened
Choose the situation closest to yours
Each page explains what comes first, what a cleanup company does and who usually pays.
- Crime scene cleanupViolence happened indoors, detectives have finished, and the rooms were handed back as they were.Crime scene page
- Unattended deathNobody knew for days, perhaps weeks. Odor and soaked flooring are the heart of this job.Unattended death page
- Suicide cleanupDiscreet work that spares relatives from ever stepping back into that room.Suicide cleanup page
- Blood and bodily fluidsFalls, kitchen injuries and medical emergencies, once the amount is past what towels and gloves can manage.Blood cleanup page
- Hoarding with biohazardsBelongings piled to the ceiling are one thing. Add droppings, rot or stray syringes and it becomes a health matter.Hoarding page
- Illness and disinfectionRooms wiped down, then disinfected by the label, after something contagious passed through.Disinfection page
- Cars and trucksSeats, carpet and trim in a car, pickup or motorhome that came back from a wreck or worse.Vehicle page
The work itself
What a biohazard cleanup company does
Biohazard cleanup, sometimes written bio hazard cleanup, is not housekeeping. The company's workers wear protective suits, gloves and respirators. They take out what cannot be made safe, such as soaked carpet, padding and mattresses, and pack it for disposal as regulated waste.
Then they clean and disinfect the floor, walls and anything else that was reached, and deal with odor once its source is gone. A good company tells you plainly what it removed and what it left, so a flooring installer or painter knows where to start.
We do not do this work ourselves. Biohazard Cleanup Medford is a referral service: your call goes to an independent company, and that company gives you its own price.
Jackson County
Who to call, and for what
- Police questions once the emergency is overMedford Police, non-emergency dispatch
- 541-776-7206, listed on the City of Medford contact page. Use it to ask about a case number or whether a home has been released.
- Questions about a death investigationJackson County Medical Examiner
- 5179 Crater Lake Highway, Central Point, (541) 770-8940, as listed by the Oregon Health Authority.
- Help with costs after a violent crimeOregon Crime Victims' Compensation Program
- Run by the Oregon Department of Justice. Its program page lists crime scene clean-up in a private residence among the things it can help with. Phone 503-378-5348.
- If you are thinking about suicide, or fear for someone988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
- Call or text 988 at any hour, or use the chat at 988lifeline.org.
Money
Who pays for the cleanup
The person who hires the company pays it, and that is usually the homeowner, the landlord or the family. Several things can lighten the bill.
A homeowner's or renter's policy may respond, depending on its wording. When a violent crime caused the damage, Oregon's compensation program for crime victims can help with crime scene clean-up, but only after other resources such as homeowner insurance have been used.
Our guide to who pays for biohazard cleanup walks through insurance, the state program, rentals and estates, and what makes one job cost more than another.
How the call works
Three short steps
You call
Say what happened and where. Plain words are enough; nobody expects you to know the trade's terms.
A local company talks with you
An independent cleanup company that works in your part of Jackson County asks a few questions and explains what it would do.
You decide
Ask for the price in writing. If it does not sit right, you can say no. More about how this service works.
Around Medford
Nearby towns
Medford is not the only place served. Each town page names the police department and the offices involved there.
Short answers
Questions people ask first
Do the police or the medical examiner clean the home?
No. Their work is the investigation and the care of the person who died. Once they release the home, cleaning is left to the owner or the family, who can hire a company to do it.
Is crime scene cleanup different from biohazard cleanup?
They are two names for the same kind of work. Crime scene cleanup is biohazard cleanup after an assault, a shooting or a homicide. The same companies also clean after unattended deaths, suicides and accidents.
Can I call in the middle of the night?
Yes. Somebody picks up at 3 a.m. as readily as at 3 p.m., weekends included. Cleaning itself still has to wait until officers have released the home.
Will a van with a company name park outside?
Practice differs from company to company. If privacy matters to you, say so on the call and ask what their vehicles look like before you agree to anything.
How much does it cost?
It depends on how large the affected area is, what it soaked into, how much has to be removed and how long ago it happened. The company should look at the room and give you a written price before it starts.
No rush, no pressure
A Rogue Valley cleanup business is a phone call away
Begin with the street and a sentence about the trouble. From there the business asks its own questions, lays out the work it has in mind and names a figure. Going ahead, or not, is left entirely with you.
Pick up the phone when it suits you
You will be speaking with a Rogue Valley cleanup business that has no ties to this website beyond the referral. There is no script to follow. Tell it your way.
Call (541) 210-5322Phones are picked up day and night, all week
The network carrying your call may record it. See how referrals are paid for and what is kept private.