Suicide Cleanup field guides
Long-form planning resources built around one property decision each.
Every guide is written around a distinct decision, cites primary sources, states its limits plainly, and ends with a practical handoff. They are not keyword permutations of one another.
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How to use these guides
These guides are for families, friends, landlords, and estate representatives who are now in charge of a home after a suicide loss. They explain the practical path from scene release to the final check. They do not describe how anyone died. They do not ask you to look at anything you would rather not see. Each guide focuses on a choice you may face. That might be who can approve work, how belongings are protected, what a written scope should include, or how to talk with an insurer. The wording is plain and the pace is gentle, because most readers are carrying grief and exhaustion along with these tasks. If you are struggling yourself, you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
Most guides pair a short explanation with a checklist you can print or share with a trusted helper. The checklists follow the order in which things usually happen. They begin with confirming the release. They end with getting photos, product records, and waste paperwork. You can hand a guide to a friend or relative and let that person make calls for you. Many families find that easier. Some steps depend on your state or county. Examples include how removed materials are sorted or who must approve work in a rental. For those steps, the guide points you to the office that can confirm the answer. Take the guides one at a time, and set them aside whenever you need to.
Sourced figures behind the guides
- $357.5 million
IBISWorld counted nearly 600 U.S. crime-scene cleanup firms with revenues of $357.5 million and profits over $99 million in 2015.
Read with care: Decade-old figure reported secondhand; IBISWorld no longer publishes this niche report publicly.
Source: IBISWorld (reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer) (2015)United States, crime scene cleanup industry, 2015
- 3 steps
CDC defines sanitizing as reducing germs on surfaces to levels considered safe and disinfecting as killing remaining germs, with cleaning always performed first.
Read with care: CDC's consumer fact sheet does not state the 99.9% or 99.999% log-reduction figures often quoted; those come from EPA product testing standards.
Source: CDC (2023)United States, household surfaces, CDC consumer fact sheet
- $27.2 billion
IBISWorld sizes the broader U.S. remediation and environmental cleanup services industry at $27.2 billion in 2026, growing 1.5% that year.
Read with care: Includes soil, groundwater and hazardous-material remediation; biohazard cleanup is a small slice.
Source: IBISWorld (2026)United States, NAICS remediation services industry, 2026 estimate
These figures are public research and agency data, not this network's own job records. Keep each number with its population, year and limits; none of them predicts cost, timing or outcome at a specific property.
Questions about these field guides
Which guide should I read first if I feel overwhelmed?
Start with the guide on confirming scene release and choosing one family contact. It covers the first calls and helps you decide who will speak with providers and insurers. Everything else can wait until that person is in place. If reading feels like too much right now, ask a trusted friend to read it and summarize the next step for you.
Do the guides describe what the room will look like?
No. The guides are intentionally free of graphic description and do not discuss how anyone died. They explain processes, decisions, and paperwork in general terms. A good provider can also give you status updates without detail, and you are always free to ask them to keep their descriptions brief and gentle.
Can a landlord or property manager use these guides?
Yes. Several guides cover rentals. They explain who approves work, how to talk with a grieving family about belongings, and when a unit can be used again. Landlords may find the parts on written consent and record keeping most helpful. Those steps protect both the owner and the family during a painful time of change.
Will the guides help me prepare for a call with an insurance adjuster?
They include a checklist of papers that adjusters often ask for. These include the written scope, photos, product records, and waste paperwork. The guides also suggest ways to keep the talk factual without sharing more personal detail than you need to. Coverage depends fully on the policy wording. So the guides help you ask clear questions rather than predict an outcome.
Is there a guide for handling belongings and keepsakes?
Yes. That guide explains how a provider can list personal items and set aside anything the family may want. It explains how the provider should ask for written consent before throwing anything out. It also covers which items can often be cleaned and which may not be saved. You can decide about belongings slowly, and a respectful provider will not rush those choices.
Can I print the guides or save them for later?
Yes. Many families find it helpful to print a guide and keep it by the phone, or save it to read when they feel ready. A printed copy is also easy to share with a helper who is making calls on your behalf. You can mark the steps you have completed and write notes in the margins as questions come up.
How do the guides connect with the tools and articles on this site?
Each guide walks through a specific task step by step and points you to a related tool or article when more detail would help. For example, a guide about choosing a provider may link to the vetting checklist. You can follow a guide from start to finish, or jump to the linked resources as needed. Everything is designed to work together.
More on suicide cleanup
Suicide Cleanup services
Learn what cleanup after a suicide loss involves. See how scene release, approval, disinfecting, belongings, and records all work to protect your family.
Costs explained
What drives the price, published cost ranges, and how to read a written quote line by line.
Insurance and payment
Which policies may respond, how to document a claim, and what to do if coverage is denied.
Planning tools
Six short, private tools help you plan the first day, check risk, vet a provider, estimate cost, sort out a claim, and understand waste.
Community polls
See how other families handled privacy, insurance, staying home, and picking a provider after a suicide loss. Add your own view without giving your name.
Knowledge quiz
Check what you know about hazards, who can approve work, sealing off the room, disinfecting, waste, and records. This gentle quiz is for families and helpers.
Articles and resources
Read longer articles on helping people who lost someone to suicide, working with landlords and executors, and what caring, trauma-aware cleanup should look like.