Cars, pickups, vans and work trucks
Blood and biohazard cleanup in a vehicle
It might follow a crash, a fight, a driver taken ill, or someone found in a car that had not moved for days. Foam, fabric and air ducts packed into a sealed cabin give fluids far more places to hide than any bedroom does.
Phone answered 24/7, day and night
Why a car wash will not do
Where fluids go inside a vehicle
The cloth or leather on a seat is only a skin. Under it sits open foam that drinks liquid like a sponge, and below that are seat rails, wiring and carpet laid over sound-deadening felt. Fluid follows gravity down into the floor pan and can sit there unseen.
Detailing deals with the visible surface. Biohazard staff unbolt the seat, pulls back the carpet where it needs to and removes foam or felt that cannot be saved. Ventilation ducts get attention too when the vehicle sat closed for a long time.
Sometimes the honest answer is that cleaning costs more than the vehicle is worth. Ask for that opinion before work starts.
Sort these out first
Before anyone touches it
Is it released?
If the vehicle was part of a crime or a fatal collision, the investigating agency may be holding it as evidence. Ask the officer on the report when it can be cleaned.
Where is it?
Your driveway, an impound yard and a repair shop are three different jobs. Whoever controls the lot has to agree before outside staff can work there.
Call the auto insurer
A vehicle is insured under its auto policy, and whether that responds depends on the coverage you bought. Ask before cleaning whether an adjuster wants to see it.
After a crime
CalVCB's cleanup benefit names vehicles as well as residences, with the same rule about using a state-registered company (CalVCB).
Vehicle questions
Can I drive it to the company?
Avoid it. Sitting in the vehicle spreads material to your clothes and to the controls. Many companies work where the vehicle is parked.
Is a work vehicle different?
Only in who decides. The employer or fleet owner hires the company, and an employer should not ask a driver to clean it without bloodborne pathogen training and protective gear.
Ready when the home is
Hold off until the police and the Medical Examiner's investigator are done with the property. After that, a single call puts a cleanup firm from the Oxnard area on the phone with you. Nothing gets booked unless you say so.
Talk it over with a cleanup company
Begin wherever you like. The story does not have to come out in order, and you may hang up whenever you want.
Call (805) 946-0050Phone answered 24/7, day and night
Your call may be recorded. Read how we are paid and what we keep.