Suicide cleanup in Riverside and the Inland Empire

Riverside Bio Clean arranges suicide cleanup for homes, apartments, garages and vehicles across Riverside County and San Bernardino County. The cleanup company removes blood and body fluids, takes away anything that cannot be safely cleaned, disinfects the area and deals with any odor. Families, roommates and landlords call once the sheriff-coroner or police have finished at the property.

What suicide cleanup covers

Bedrooms, bathrooms and living areas

Blood and fluids removed from floors, walls, furniture and fixtures, with anything that cannot be made safe taken away.

Garages and outbuildings

Concrete and bare wood absorb more than they seem to. Crews clean and treat porous surfaces rather than just the visible stain.

Vehicles

Seats, carpet and trim cleaned or removed. Ask whether cleaning would cost more than the vehicle is worth.

Belongings and keepsakes

Photographs, letters, jewelry and papers in the area can be set aside and returned, cleaned where possible. Ask for this at the start.

Odor

If some time passed before discovery, odor treatment follows once the source material is gone.

Shared walls and floors

In apartments and condos, ask the company to check whether anything reached a neighboring unit, and to deal with the manager if you prefer.

What you can ask the cleanup company for

A good company expects questions and does not rush you. It is reasonable to ask any of these before you agree to anything:

• That the crew arrives in an unmarked vehicle and plain clothing, if neighbors are a worry.
• That photographs, letters, jewelry and other personal items are set aside and returned rather than discarded.
• That you do not need to be at the property while they work, and how they will get in.
• A clear written estimate, and whether they can bill your insurer directly.
• A walk-through, or photos, when they finish, so you know the room is safe before anyone goes back in.

What the cleanup involves

The work is the same careful process used at any trauma scene. The crew wears protective equipment, removes visible contamination, then checks where fluids may have traveled out of sight, such as under flooring or behind trim. Porous items that absorbed fluids are removed and disposed of as regulated trauma scene waste. Hard surfaces are cleaned and then disinfected. The aim is a room that can be used again without anyone being reminded of what happened there.

If the death was not discovered for some time, the job may also involve the steps described on the unattended death cleanup page.

Who pays

Homeowners and renters policies differ in how they treat a death by suicide, so call your insurer or agent and ask directly before the work starts. The California Victim Compensation Board pays for cleanup after a crime in a home or vehicle. We could not find anything from the Board that says whether a suicide qualifies, so ask the Board at 800-777-9229. Price ranges are in the cleanup cost guide, and the wider picture is in who pays in California.

Support for people left behind

Losing someone to suicide brings a grief that is different from other losses, and many people find it helps to talk with others who understand. These are free, and each is run by the organization named.

Riverside County Suicide Prevention Coalition

Lists peer-led suicide loss support groups (online and in Menifee), the county LOSS Team through the Trauma Intervention Program, and Friends for Survival. rivcospc.org/reach-out

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Southern California Tri-Counties

Serves Riverside, San Bernardino and Orange counties, and offers Healing Conversations, one-to-one support for survivors of suicide loss. afsp.org

San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health

The county announced a Community Crisis Response Team in English and Spanish: call (800) 398-0018 or text (909) 420-0560, 7 am to 10 pm.

988 Lifeline: for loss survivors

Guidance for the weeks after a suicide loss, and a place to talk at any hour. 988lifeline.org