No one wants to see Michael Tillman and his crew at their doorstep. But he’s usually needed to help grieving families with a cleanup task they’d rather not think about.

Tillman’s Dallas-based company, Biohazard Solutions, specializes in cleaning up murder or suicide scenes after the police have left and the bodies have been removed. Tillman and others say business is booming, despite decreasing murder rates and a generally stable suicide rate, with dozens of companies forming over the past decade.

“It’s a lot messier than people think it’s going to be,” he said.

Cleaning companies like Tillman’s were almost unheard of just 15 years ago. When someone was murdered or committed suicide at home, it typically fell to family members or friends to scrub the walls clean or destroy ruined furniture.

Professionals started cropping up when families decided it was too painful to do it on their own, or began to fear catching diseases like AIDS and hepatitis.

Mark Kropidlowski said he started his business, Bio-Tec Emergency Services, in Minnesota in 1991 after cleaning up a murder scene involving members of his family. The task took 40 hours.

“We just went out and took care of it, because there was no one to take care of it,” Kropidlowski said. “I couldn’t imagine being a mother and your son committed suicide and taking care of it.”

Now there are hundreds of companies around the country that offer the service. Cleanup costs vary, but Tillman said he could charge up to $2,000 for a suicide cleanup that takes three to six hours.

“That would be a typical gunshot in the bedroom, where you have a mattress that needs to be disposed of, and walls that need to be cleaned,” Tillman said.

Timothy Carroll, left, and Thomas Rohling, co-owners of Tragic Solutions, are shown in protective biohazard coveralls at their office in Newark, N.J. Tragic Solutions is one of a growing number of companies that specialize in cleaning up human residue after a death or shooting.

The cost includes incineration fees and personal protection gear, and is generally covered by homeowner’s insurance, he said.

Timothy Carroll, who started Tragic Solutions in Newark, N.J., after retiring from the local sheriff’s department, also attributes the growth of the industry to fear of disease.

He said his crews wore protective outfits made out of the same puncture-resistant material used in building construction, along with gloves, boots, masks and occasionally, breathing equipment.

“Twenty years ago, AIDS was in its infancy, so it was never thought of,” he said. “You could pretty much go in with bleach and a sponge and clean it up. But with the diseases out there today, you want a professional who knows what they’re doing.”

Chris Wilson said he has seen a recent increase in job applicants due to the popularity of homicide investigation TV shows like “CSI: Miami.”

His Plainfield, Ill.-based company, Aftermath Inc., gets about 40 to 60 e-mails a week from people looking for a job. “They are crime scene junkies. They want to see what a crime scene looks like. We have to weed them out,” he said.