After a suicide

Suicide cleanup in High Point

We are sorry you are reading this. There is one thing on this page we want you to take away: you do not have to go back into that room, and neither does anyone else who loved them.

Call (743) 256-4780

Phone picked up day and night, every day of the week

What happens before any cleaning

In North Carolina a death by suicide is reported to the medical examiner, and the police come to the home. They may be there for some hours. They will take your relative into the medical examiner's care, and they may take a note, a phone or other items with them. Ask the officer what was taken and when the home is yours again.

When they go, the room is left as it is. This is the part families are rarely warned about, and the reason cleanup companies exist.

Let someone else do this part

A friend, a neighbor, a pastor or a relative who is a step further back can make the phone call and meet the company at the house. All the company needs is the address, permission from the owner or tenant, and a way in.

The workers are used to being asked for quiet. You can ask them to arrive without fuss, to keep the door closed while they work, and to tell you nothing beyond what you want to know. You can ask them to put aside anything personal they find, such as a watch, a letter or a photograph, and hand it to one named person.

When they finish, the room is clean and safe to enter. If flooring or a section of wall had to come out, they will say so, and that repair can wait until you are ready to think about it.

On paying

Nobody should be making financial decisions this week, so keep it simple. Ask the company for a written price before work starts and an itemized bill afterward. Many home and renter's insurance policies respond to a death in the home; one call to the insurer, by you or someone helping you, will settle whether yours does. The who pays guide has the detail for later.

Things people hesitate to ask

Will the neighbors know what happened?

Not from the cleanup. Tell the company that privacy matters and ask how they arrive and what their vehicles look like.

It happened in the garage or the yard, not the house. Is that still their work?

Yes. Concrete, soil, a shed or a porch can all be treated. Describe the surface when you call.

How soon should the cleaning be done?

Soon after the home is released is kinder to the house and to the people living in it, but a day or two to gather yourself changes very little. Keep the door shut until then.

High Point and the Triad towns nearby

Nobody in the family should have to clean that room

Give them the address and one sentence about what took place. They will want to know if the officers and the medical examiner are done there, and then they will describe their approach.

When you are ready, call.

Whoever picks up is with a separately owned local firm that does biohazard and trauma cleaning around High Point. Listen to their plan and their price. Whether you hire them is up to you.