Crime scene cleanup employees who make much less than I do for doing the same work earn their employers thousands of dollars more than I charge.
My prices are fixed for individuals as well as insurance companies. This means that I will quote a price over the telephone. This means that the quoted price is my price for the total job.
What I will do:
Remove biowaste from furnishings, carpet, surfaces; remove most of the soiled room's carpet and padding; dispose of property; dispose of biowaste and solid waste, and seal entire soiled room when necessary.
My prices are based upon the following:
I have eight years death scene cleanup experience: homicide, suicide,unattended death, total decomposition, military .
I have cleaned hundreds of death scenes alone.
I do not have employees. So I have no employee pension plans, no employee medical insurance, no workman's compensation, and no payroll. My costs are for restoring death scenes, which includes my insurance, vehicles, and equipment. I do not charge over-time or holiday or weekend pay.
I do not need to charge large fees to cover my costs during down times. And the only crime scene cleanup companies without "down time" are crony companies , anyway. Really, how could it be otherwise?
My training and education includes the following:
Crime Scene Cleanup ( IICRC )Carpet Cleaning ( IICRC )
Decontamination - Nuclear, Biological, Checmical (US Army)
Floor Inspection ( IICRC )
Home Inspection - ( AHIT )
Mold Inspection and Remediation ( NAMP )
Upholstery Cleaning ( IICRC )
Water Damage and Restoration ( IICRC )
AA, BA, MS,
How long does it take to clean a crime scene?
The only way to tell how long it will take to clean a crime scene is to take it apart and clean it.
Ninety-nine percent of single-victim crime scenes can be taken apart and cleaned in one day to two days at the most.
Therefore, I can make a fair and reasonable profit when charging less than others.
This is what I know:
All callers are distressed.
Most callers see only the proverbial "tip-of-the-iceberg."
All death scenes are different.
Ninety-nine percent of death scenes share similarities.
Answers to who, what, when, where, and how help to understand the crime scene's potential demolition and cleaning issues. The below death scenes have known damage and potential damage.
A shotgun blast to the head at close range. I know beforehand that the damage is 360 degrees, top-to-bottom (floor and ceiling), and possibly extends beyond the crime scene room. Migration is less of an issue then #2 below. I will seal the entire room.
Unaccompanied death with three week decomposition on a ceramic bathroom floor. I will seal the walls and ceiling.
A running, flailing, violent bleed-out (homicide) that occurred on two floors, in five rooms, on carpet, on ceramic, on a bed, and on furniture. Migration and wicking are possibilities because of the ceramic floor. Furniture and mattress demolition are certainties.
A recent large male's bleedout beginning on the toilet and ending on a king-size mattress, Hepititis C.
Total decompositon on a toilet within a poorly maintenanced building, wood floor, third floor apartment. This type of job cannot be done for less than $3,000. I will offer a fair and reasonable prices. I will seal the walls andceiling. This cleanup has cost over $7,500 in Michigan. Anyone who has seen this death scene will not argue with the price, most likely.
(Clutter adds work to the above.)
Number 1 above will take two long days. Number 2 will create the least biowaste, unless there is poor grouting. Number 3 will create the most biowaste. Number 4 creates the greatest hazard and may take one long day. Numbers 2 and 4 may require chasing fluids below the toilet. Number 5 is a horrific wild card.
There may be unforeseen issues possible for the above examples, like migrating fluids, and floors and walls to remove. (see migration). 'Unforseens' become apparent only when the scene is is taken apart.
My prices anticipate unforeseens.
I have been wrong on my "not to exceed prices," but not often. In any case, I live by my telephone quotes based on information like the above. You email me with the offered quote, and I email my acceptance.