Riverside and nearby towns
Unattended death cleanup in Riverside
When someone dies alone and is not found for days, the home needs more than ordinary cleaning. This page explains the order of things and what the work involves.
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The coroner comes first
California law asks the coroner to look into unattended deaths, and deaths where no doctor or hospice nurse had seen the person in the 20 days before (Government Code 27491).
In this county that is the Sheriff-Coroner's Coroner's Bureau. Its west office is at 800 S. Redlands Avenue in Perris, (951) 443-2300.
The coroner's staff take the person into their care. Your next call is to a funeral home of your choosing. After a death at home explains the steps.
Why it takes more than cleaning
Over time, fluids soak through bedding, upholstery and carpet into the floor beneath. They can reach the subfloor or the concrete slab, so a company may need to lift flooring to see how far it went.
The smell comes from those materials. Air fresheners and fans do not remove it, and running the heating or air conditioning can carry it to other rooms. Keep the door to the room closed until the company has seen it.
Once the source is removed, the company cleans and disinfects, and may treat the air and the surfaces for odor.
Before you call
- Keep people and pets out of the room.
- Do not open the windows wide and run fans; the smell will spread.
- If you rent, tell the landlord or manager. They will need to know about the flooring.
- If there are papers or valuables you need, ask the company to look for them first.
Questions to ask the company
- Is the company on the California Department of Public Health's list of registered trauma scene waste management practitioners? CDPH posts that list.
- What exactly will be removed, cleaned and disinfected, and what will be left for you to decide on?
- Will they give you a written scope and price before the work starts?
- Will they take photos and keep paperwork that an insurer or the state compensation board may ask for?
- Can they set aside papers, photos and other personal things they find?
Questions about unattended death cleanup
Is the home safe to go into?
Short visits to rooms away from the area are usually fine. Avoid the affected room until it has been cleaned, and ask the company if you are unsure.
Will insurance cover it?
Some homeowners and renters policies do, some do not. Call your insurer before work starts and ask what they need from you.
When you are ready, call
You do not need to know what kind of cleanup it is. Say what happened and where, and an independent company that works in the Riverside area will talk it through with you. Hiring them is your choice.
Talk to a cleanup company
Call (951) 518-9569Answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
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