A small spill on a hard surface. You can handle this with gloves and bleach
Hepatitis B can stay infectious on a surface for at least seven days, so clean it properly today rather than wiping and forgetting it.
What is probably happening
- A small amount of blood on tile, vinyl, sealed wood or a countertop is a household cleanup, not a contractor job.
- The CDC method is simple: wear gloves, soak up the visible blood with paper towels, then disinfect with diluted household bleach.
- The risk is skin contact with a cut or your eyes, and reusing a cloth. Disposable towels and gloves avoid both.
Do this in the next five minutes
- Put on disposable gloves. Nitrile or other non-latex gloves are what health guidance calls for.
- Soak up the blood with paper towels and put them straight into a plastic bag.
- Mix 1 part household bleach to 10 parts water in a fresh batch. Wet the area and let it stand 5 to 10 minutes.
- Wipe up, bag the towels and gloves, tie the bag, and put it in the outside trash.
- Wash your hands and forearms with soap and water for a full minute.
- If any blood got into a cut or your eyes, flush for 15 minutes and call your doctor the same day.
Do not
- Do not use a sponge or mop you will reuse. Blood-borne viruses survive on damp fabric.
- Do not mix bleach with anything else, including ammonia cleaners. The fumes are toxic.
- Do not clean it this way if the blood has soaked into carpet, a mattress or a floor seam. Go back and pick the larger option.
Who to call
No contractor for a small hard-surface spill
A trauma cleanup company is for volume that soaked in or spread; a plate-sized spill on a sealed floor is within the CDC's household method.
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What it should cost
$25 to $75 per hour if you do hire it out
Fixr hourly rate for biosafety level 2 work; a small hard-surface spill normally needs no contractor
Source: Fixr, biohazard cleanup cost, 2025. View source
National published range, not a quote for your job. The full cost table for this trade is on the biohazard page.
Ask this contractor, on the phone, before anyone comes out
Tap each one as you ask it.
- Is there a minimum charge or a call-out fee for a small job?
- How is the used material disposed of, and does that add to the price?
- Will you confirm the area is on a sealed hard surface and not something that soaked in?
End the call if
- A firm that quotes a full scene price for a plate-sized spill on tile.
- Cash only, or no written price before arrival.