Biohazard and Crime Scene Cleanup in Columbia, TN

Being honest about the drive

We don't have an office in Columbia or anywhere in Maury County. Every job here starts with the trip from Nashville, roughly 45 miles south by I-65. That's a real distance, and you deserve a straight answer about how it affects you:

1. You call

   We answer at any hour, ask what happened and check that police and the medical examiner have released the property.

2. We give you a realistic time

   That time is based on where we are, other jobs already scheduled, and traffic on I-65. We don't promise times we can't meet.

3. We confirm by phone

   If anything changes on the way, we call you.

4. We try to finish in as few trips as possible

   For a job this far out, we plan the equipment and crew to cut down on return trips where the scope allows.

If the home is secure and closed, waiting a little longer for the assessment usually doesn't change the outcome. Keep the door shut and people and pets out.

Homes in and around Columbia

About 63.3 percent of occupied homes in Columbia are owner-occupied, and the Census puts the median value of those homes at about $308,700. Housing ranges from older homes near the downtown square to newer subdivisions on the edges of town and farm properties in the surrounding county.

Older homes may have crawl spaces, wood floors and plaster walls. Newer ones usually have carpet over pad and engineered subfloors. Farm properties may involve outbuildings or long driveways. Each one changes what we check during the assessment. Our guide to preparing a property for remediation explains what helps on the day.

If the home is a rental

Roughly 36.7 percent of Columbia homes are rented. Many owners are local individuals with one or a few properties, and some have never dealt with a death or crime in a unit before. We help by explaining the process plainly, keeping the tenant's belongings separate for the family, and providing the photos and written scope your insurer will want. See suicide cleanup in rental properties and rental and investment property cleanup.

Businesses around the square and Mule Day

Columbia calls itself the Mule Capital of the World, and Mule Day in early spring draws large crowds into town. Restaurants, shops and lodging around the square see heavy traffic on those weekends. If an injury or other incident happens at a business, we can isolate the area and, where possible, work around your open hours. Our commercial cleanup page has more.

Columbia State Community College's Columbia campus is on Hampshire Pike. Incidents on campus property are handled through the college. We're glad to work with any institution that contacts us directly.

When the family lives somewhere else

Many people who call us about a Columbia home live elsewhere, in Nashville, in another state, or overseas. A parent or sibling has died, and they need the house dealt with without making repeated three-hour round trips. We can handle most of it remotely:

• Access through a neighbor, a lockbox, the landlord or a realtor.
• Photos and a written scope sent by email for your approval.
• A list of personal items we set aside, such as documents, photos and valuables, with a plan for getting them to you.
• Updates by phone at the times that suit you.

If the house will be sold, the executor or estate attorney may want the invoice and photos for the estate's records. Our estate property cleanup page covers that situation.

Services Columbia families ask about

• Unattended death cleanupWhen a person died alone
• Advanced decompositionWhen the discovery came after a long time
• Homicide scene cleanupAfter the investigation is finished
• Assault scene cleanupCalm, private help at home

Help with costs

Some property insurance policies may cover part of the work, depending on the policy. We give you documentation to submit. If the incident was a crime in the victim's or an eligible relative's home, Tennessee Criminal Injuries Compensation may pay up to $3,000 for cleaning and removal of materials, as long as the crime was reported to police, usually within 15 days, and the claim is filed within two years. The program doesn't cover repairs.

Our final price comes from a written scope. The pricing page explains the factors involved.

Checking on older relatives

When an older relative lives alone in a quiet part of town, a death may not be found right away. Families sometimes blame themselves for that. Please don't. It happens in every community, often to people who were well loved and in regular contact. What matters now is having the home cleaned properly so you can deal with the rest. Our guide to unattended death cleanup explains what's involved without graphic detail.

Maury County and nearby

For the rest of the county, including Mount Pleasant and rural areas, see Maury County coverage. To the north, we have pages for Spring Hill and Thompson's Station, and to the west, Hickman County.

Questions people ask