First steps after an unattended death in Pittsburgh
Local figures, typical costs and the first steps around Pittsburgh, for the person arranging the cleanup.
Across Allegheny County, 35% of homes are rented; in Pittsburgh the share is 53%.
- Calls answered 24/7
- Scope and price in writing on request
- Plain answers on cost and who pays
- State rules checked at the source
What happens when you call
Call (855) 675-5912
Calls are answered at any hour, including weekends and holidays. Say what happened and where.
Wait for any release
If police or the medical examiner were involved, cleanup starts once they release the home; until then, keep the door closed and leave the area as it is.
Get the scope and price
After a walkthrough of the affected area, you can ask for the scope and price in writing before any work starts.
Biohazard cleanup across the Pittsburgh area follows the same steps, with calls answered 24/7.
69% of homes in Pittsburgh were built before 1960, against 55% across Allegheny County. Older plaster, wood floors and ductwork can change what has to be removed.
What Pittsburgh callers need to know
Call 911 first when someone is found dead at home, or call the hospice team if the death was expected and the person was in hospice care. Then leave the room closed, wait for police or the medical examiner to release the home, and only after that arrange unattended death cleanup.
Police or the medical examiner decide when the home is released, and the person who arranges cleanup is often not in the room. According to Census estimates, 44% of Pittsburgh households are one person, compared with 37% in the county and 31% in the state. Census estimates also show that 40% of Pittsburgh residents 65 or older live alone, against 34% in the county and 28% in the state. A person who lives alone can go days without a visit, so a death may go unnoticed until a neighbor, a landlord or a relative checks in.
Many relatives live elsewhere and arrange everything by phone. The same estimates show that 53% of Pittsburgh homes are rented, so a landlord or property manager may be the one who discovers the death and then contacts the family. An executor may also be handling the home from a distance.
Keep the door closed and do not enter or move anything until the home is released. Cleanup of an unattended death includes removing soaked materials and treating odors, so an experienced crew should do it, not the family.
Anyone grieving or struggling with thoughts of suicide can call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. For help with the home itself, unattended death cleanup in the Pittsburgh area can be arranged by phone, and trauma and accident cleanup covers related situations.
The order of calls after a death at home
| Step | Who | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 911, or the hospice team for an expected death | Police or paramedics come for an unexpected death; a hospice nurse pronounces an expected one |
| 2 | Police and the medical examiner or coroner | They confirm the death and decide whether to investigate |
| 3 | The medical examiner's office or a funeral home | The person is moved into their care |
| 4 | The home is released | Keep the room closed and leave the cleaning alone until then |
| 5 | The landlord and the insurer | Tell them before work starts, and keep photos and receipts |
| 6 | A biohazard cleanup company | Ask for the scope and price in writing before any work starts |
What stands out around Pittsburgh
- In Pittsburgh, 27% of homes are in buildings with five or more units, against 19% across Allegheny County.
- In Pittsburgh, 44% of households are a single person living alone, set against 31% across Pennsylvania.
- 40% of residents 65 and older in Pittsburgh live alone, compared with 34% across Allegheny County.
How it works
After a death at home, the first call is to 911 if no one has made it. Police or the medical examiner decide what happens next, and the person is moved into the care of the medical examiner's office or a funeral home. None of them clean the room.
Death cleanup starts after the home is released. Keep the door to the room closed, do not try to clean, and keep anything an insurer or the estate may need to see. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
Rules in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania requires companies that haul regulated medical waste to hold a Department of Environmental Protection transporter license, and home improvement contractors to register with the Attorney General's Home Improvement Contractor registry. Look up any registration at the Pennsylvania DEP Bureau of Waste Management.
How Allegheny County changes the picture
According to Census estimates, 44% of Pittsburgh households are one person, compared with 37% in the county and 31% in the state. When someone lives alone and dies at home, there may be no one in the house to notice for days. That is why the first call is usually to 911 or the police, who confirm the death and, when needed, involve the medical examiner before anything else happens.
Census estimates also put the share of Pittsburgh residents 65 or older who live alone at 40%, against 34% in the county and 28% in the state. If you are a relative who lives elsewhere, you may be the one who has to arrange what comes after, and it is reasonable to ask the officers what to expect and when the home can be entered again.
The housing matters too. According to Census estimates, 53% of Pittsburgh homes are rented and 69% were built before 1960. In a rental, tell the landlord or property manager early, since they will need to know about the unit and may have rules about who can enter. Older buildings can also hold odor and moisture in porous materials like carpet and subfloor.
Once the home is released, unattended death cleanup deals with the contamination left behind, and crime scene cleanup in Pennsylvania follows the same safety practices. A practical next step is to ask your insurance company or the landlord whether a policy covers part of the cost, then arrange the cleanup.
Census and CDC figures for Pittsburgh
In Pittsburgh, 34% of residents 65 and older live with a disability.
In Pittsburgh, 6% of residents are 75 or older.
- 53% Homes that are rentedAllegheny County: 35%
- 44% Households of one personAllegheny County: 37%
- 40% Residents 65 or older who live aloneAllegheny County: 34%
- 13% Households of one person 65 or olderAllegheny County: 15%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019-2023 5-year estimates; CDC PLACES 2024 release, model-based estimates from 2022 survey data.
Pittsburgh questions
What should I do when someone dies at home?
If the death was unexpected, call 911, do not touch the person or clean anything, and keep others out of the room. Police and the medical examiner or coroner confirm the death and arrange for the person to be moved. If the person was in hospice, the hospice nurse pronounces the death and a funeral home can take the person into its care. Cleanup comes after the home is released.
Who do you call when someone dies at home?
Call 911 for an unexpected death. Police, paramedics or the fire department come, and the medical examiner or coroner is brought in. For an expected death in hospice, call the hospice team first, then the funeral home. A biohazard cleanup company is called only after the home is released, and only if the death went unnoticed or left blood or fluids in the room.
What happens when someone dies at home in hospice?
A hospice caregiver pronounces the death, and a funeral home can take the person into its care. If the person was elderly and under a doctor's care, an autopsy is usually not needed, and the doctor is told so the death can be recorded. A biohazard cleanup is needed only if fluids reached the mattress, the furniture or the flooring, and it starts once the funeral home has taken the person into its care.
What is considered an unattended death?
An unattended death is a death where the person died alone and was not found right away, sometimes for days or weeks. Fluids and odor spread into the mattress, flooring and walls in that time, which is why the home needs unattended death cleanup, also called decomposition cleanup. The medical examiner or coroner confirms the death, and the cleanup starts once the home is released.
How do you get rid of the smell after a death?
Remove the source first. The mattress, carpet, padding and any soaked subfloor are taken out and the surfaces underneath cleaned and disinfected. Then hydroxyl or ozone machines and HEPA air scrubbers run, sometimes for several days, and the heating and air ducts are checked because the odor travels through them. Air fresheners and household cleaners only cover the smell for a while.
Six kinds of cleanup around Pittsburgh
Crime scene, death, suicide, blood, trauma and hoarding cleanup around Pittsburgh, each with its costs and who pays.
-
Unattended death cleanup
When a loved one passed away and was found days later, what was affected is removed and the smell is treated at its source; ask about unattended death cleanup, step by step.
Call for unattended death cleanup -
Hoarding cleanup
The cleanout starts with a walkthrough and a plan everyone agrees to. Ask about the hoarding cleanup process on the call.
Call for hoarding cleanup -
Suicide cleanup
Once the home is released, the room is cleaned and disinfected and personal items are set aside. Ask about suicide cleanup steps and costs on the call. In crisis? Call or text 988.
Call for suicide cleanup -
Blood and bodily fluid cleanup
After an injury, an illness or an accident, what soaked through is removed and every surface is disinfected; ask about blood cleanup, step by step.
Call for blood cleanup -
Trauma and accident cleanup
For employers, families and vehicle owners, shop floors and car interiors are cleaned as well as homes. Start with a call about how trauma cleanup works.
Call for trauma cleanup -
Crime scene cleanup
The work starts once police release the scene and ends with the waste hauled as regulated medical waste. Start with a call about crime scene cleanup steps and costs.
Call for crime scene cleanup
Other Pittsburgh guides
biohazard cleanup costs, Pittsburgh area
Typical prices for biohazard cleanup in the Pittsburgh area, with the cost drivers and who pays.
who pays for cleanup in Pittsburgh
Insurance, landlords, estates and state help after a crime: who pays for a cleanup in the Pittsburgh area.
crime victim help near Pittsburgh
Help with cleanup costs after a crime in Pennsylvania, and the rules that apply to cleanup companies and medical waste.
hoarding help in Pittsburgh
How hoarding cleanup works around Pittsburgh, the five levels, what it costs, and how to help a relative.
Cleanup in Pittsburgh starts with one call
Call (855) 675-5912, answered 24/7, for cleanup anywhere in Allegheny County.