Caring for old brick and plaster in the borough's historic core
West Chester's downtown grew up around the Chester County Courthouse at High and Market streets, and the blocks around it are full of 19th century brick rowhouses, stone twins and storefronts with apartments above. Much of the borough sits inside a historic district. Those buildings were made with plaster on lath, wide-plank floors and deep wooden trim, and they don't respond to cleanup the same way a newer house does.
Our approach is to save original material whenever it's safe. Painted plaster and sealed trim can usually be cleaned and disinfected in place. Unfinished wood, old floorboards and anything soft is a different matter, because fluids travel along grain and seams. We remove the smallest section that will fully clear the contamination and keep the cut lines neat so a carpenter can patch them. If you own a historic property, we'll talk through what we plan to take out before we take it.
Cleanup calls we answer most in West Chester
Student rentals near West Chester University
West Chester University sits just south of downtown, and many nearby homes are divided into student apartments. Those rentals bring their own calls. A landlord might find a unit left with rotting food, pet waste and piles of trash after a lease ends. Sometimes an overdose or a sudden death happens in a shared house. Parents in another state may be the first to call us, trying to understand what has to happen next and who is responsible.
We handle those situations calmly and keep the landlord, family and roommates informed as far as the owner wants. Overdose scenes get careful treatment because residue from fentanyl or other drugs may be present on surfaces, so our technicians wear respirators and nitrile gloves and use a wet wipe method that avoids raising dust. Filthy units are cleared, disinfected and deodorized, then ATP tested in kitchens and bathrooms. Every job ends with photos and a written scope.
Who releases a West Chester scene, and how we get there
Depending on the location, West Chester Borough Police, the university's police department or a township department may be the agency that releases a home. After a death, the Chester County Coroner's Office is involved. Our work begins once that release is given. We answer calls 24/7, and you'll speak with someone who can explain the plan, what to expect on arrival and what you can safely do in the meantime.
From our Philadelphia office in Society Hill, crews usually come out West Chester Pike or take the Schuylkill Expressway to Route 202, depending on traffic and time of day. We bring HEPA air scrubbers, poly sheeting and rigid waste boxes so the work stays contained inside narrow rowhouses. Regulated waste is packaged and sent to a permitted facility under Pennsylvania DEP rules. Nothing goes to the curb with regular borough trash, and nothing sits in an alley overnight.
