Leviticus 14:36 - Ellicott's Commentary On The Whole Bible

That they empty the house. — If the examination was made before the removal of the objects in it, and the priest pronounced the house leprous, all the furniture, &c, found therein would be defiled. Hence the benign law that everything should be removed previous to the priest’s inspection, to save the household stuff. This assuredly shows that the law did not regard leprosy as infectious.