Member Spotlight: Bio Clean, Inc. on sanitizing spaces, serving communities

Crime scene investigation is one of those things we see on our TV screens — often sensationalized, and founded in a “Whodunit?” storyline — but in real life, after evidence has been gathered, someone needs to clean up the aftermath. That’s where Bio Clean Inc. comes in. 

Well … sometimes. 

If not a crime scene, they may also be called to help clean up in cases of unattended or self-inflicted deaths, hoarding situations, evictions, drug use, or any otherwise biohazardous (and often unpleasant or traumatic) environments. 

“It’s more than just cleaning — it’s therapy,” said Bio Clean owner, Rhea Toles. “We can clean out a whole house in a day, but what puts us back [timing-wise] is really dealing with a client. People think, ‘Oh, you're just a cleaning company,’ but we are actually suicide training certified, we're first aid certified … It’s a lot more than that.” 

Toles and her husband took over the Bio Clean operation back in 2022, and since then have been working to both uphold the company’s existing reputation, and expand the business geographically and in terms of services provided. 

“[When the company was founded] the idea of mental health was absolutely not a thing,” said Toles. “The founder, she was a first responder, and was wondering, ‘Who's doing this when we leave?’

“[She realized] they would have to clean it up themselves, but it's super dangerous to clean blood, drugs, everything by yourself, and so that's how this all came about.”

Priding themselves on their timeliness, compassion, and up-to-date best practices, the Bio Clean team understands that emergencies aren’t planned, and everyone responds differently to different situations. They aren’t there to judge: They are there to clean, but also to help instill a sense of safety and comfort, too.

“We're so passionate about helping people,” said Toles. “Every day is different, [and] we're constantly changing our own process, especially with the drug epidemic.” 

Between taking calls 24/7, keeping up with changing standards, and educating themselves on how to better serve the communities they are in, the Toles family is also looking to spread their education resources beyond WA with an upcoming podcast, and continues to host informational sessions for those wanting to learn more. 

“Back in the day, there was nothing like this,” she said. “So that's why we do free education and presentations to anyone that wants us — real estate agents, companies, anyone.”

“There is a stigma that you're not supposed to talk about it — mental health, suicide, drugs, hoarding — so, we're trying to break that barrier.”

Did you know? 

• The movie, “Sunshine Cleaning,” is oh-so-loosely based on the life of Bio Clean’s founder, Theresa Borst.
• Many drugs, namely meth, can get into the air ducts as well as any porous material (yes, that includes wood and vinyl) so Bio Clean is often called into rental homes and apartments to test for contamination due to liability issues. 
• Bio Clean (and many other similar businesses) have a probationary period for new employees, as regardless of how experienced you may be, some jobs are just too mentally taxing or otherwise difficult.
• Right now, most of Bio Clean’s calls are related to drugs, with deaths as their second most common clean-up. Toles says they also are currently helping with a lot of police car clean ups, as well as prison or jail cells, in addition to picking up needles from local methadone clinics. 
• Toles and her crew are often wearing different hats: Chemist, therapist, harm reductionist … you name it.