Lancaster, California and the Antelope Valley
Biohazard and crime scene cleanup in Lancaster, California
After a death, a suicide, a violent crime or a bad injury at home, the cleaning should not fall to the family. Call this number to reach an independent bio hazard cleanup company that works in Lancaster, Palmdale and the communities around them. Whether to hire them is up to you.
Phone answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- Homes, apartments, businesses and vehicles
- An independent local company does the work
- Nothing starts until you agree
Situations
What happened?
Each page says what the work involves and what to ask before anyone starts.
- Crime scene and trauma cleanupAfter a homicide, an assault or a serious injury in a home or business.Read more
- Unattended death cleanupWhen someone died alone and was found days or weeks later.Read more
- Suicide cleanupQuiet, careful work so the family does not have to see the room again.Read more
- Blood and bodily fluid cleanupA fall, a medical emergency or an injury that left blood behind.Read more
- Hoarding cleanupWhen clutter hides waste, droppings, spoiled food or sharps.Read more
- Infection and disinfection cleanupCleaning up after illness where body fluids were left in a room.Read more
- Car and truck cleanupBlood or body fluids in a car, truck or RV.Read more
What the cleanup company actually does
Blood and body fluids travel further than they look. They run under vinyl and laminate, into carpet pad, behind baseboards and into mattress seams. A cleanup company traces where they went, removes what can't be saved, disinfects what can, and carries the waste out in sealed containers.
In California, anyone who removes this waste as a business has to register with the California Department of Public Health as a trauma scene waste management practitioner (CDPH registration page). Ask about it on the first call. It matters for victim compensation too.
Workers wear disposable suits, gloves and respirators, and usually close off the room with plastic while they work.
The call
How it goes when you call
You call
Say what happened, where it is, and whether the sheriff or the medical examiner has released the place.
You talk with a company
An independent cleanup company that covers your part of the Antelope Valley takes it from there.
They look first
Most companies want to see the room, or photos, before they give a plan and a price.
You decide
Ask for the plan in writing and agree to it before work starts. You can say no at any point.
Local offices
Who handles what in the Antelope Valley
Sheriff's stations
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lancaster Station covers Lancaster, Quartz Hill, Antelope Acres and Lake Los Angeles: (661) 948-8466.
The Palmdale Station covers Palmdale, Acton, Leona Valley, Littlerock and nearby areas: (661) 272-2400. Either can tell you whether a home has been released.
Medical examiner
Deaths that need investigating in Los Angeles County go to the Department of Medical Examiner in Los Angeles, (323) 343-0714. The family picks the funeral home; the office does not (guidance for families).
Rosamond is in Kern County
Rosamond, north of Lancaster, sits in Kern County. There the Sheriff is also the coroner, and non-emergency calls go to (661) 861-3110.
State help after a crime
California's Victim Compensation Board (CalVCB) can repay crime scene cleanup in a home or a vehicle. Who pays explains the conditions.
Guides
Plain answers for the days after
- After a death at homeWhat happens in Los Angeles County, step by step, and what the family decides.
- Who pays for the cleanupHomeowner and renter insurance, landlords, estates and California's victim compensation program.
- What affects the costWhy two jobs that sound alike can be priced very differently.
- Checking a cleanup companyThe state registration to ask about, and other questions for the first call.
- For landlords and property managersSeals on the door, the tenant's belongings, and when a death must be disclosed.
- How the referral worksWho you talk to, what they ask, and what you agree to.
Common first questions
Is this Lancaster, California or Lancaster, Pennsylvania?
Lancaster, California, in the Antelope Valley in northern Los Angeles County. The companies you reach work in Lancaster, Palmdale and nearby communities, including Rosamond on the Kern County side.
Can I clean it up myself?
California's rules on trauma scene waste apply to people who do this work as a business, so a family member is not breaking the law by cleaning. The risk is what you can't see: fluids in carpet pad, subfloor and wall cavities, and contact with blood. If you are not sure, ask a cleanup company to look first.
Will the medical examiner or the sheriff clean up?
No. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner says it does not provide cleaning, and it advises families and landlords to use a state-registered trauma scene practitioner (medical examiner, for property owners).
Do I have to hire the company I talk to?
No. You can ask questions, ask for a written scope of work, and decide later or not at all.
Lancaster and nearby
Also in these communities. See the service area.
Ready when you are
There is no need to call before the home or car has been released. When it has, one call puts you in touch with an independent cleanup company that works in the Antelope Valley.
Phone answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Calls may be recorded. Referral disclosure and privacy policy.