Who Wants To Buy A House That Has Been Used As A Meth Lab?
Tens of thousands of properties is Australia are contaminated with chemicals used in the use or manufacture of methamphetamine or methylamphetamine commonly known as ‘ICE’ or ‘Meth’. These chemicals can be absorbed by the skin in the ordinary course of simply living in a contaminated house and touching the surfaces containing the residue.
Protect your property with a pre-purchase Methamphetamine Inspection.
Unlike other home defects, the chemicals traces leach into the walls, flooring, carpet, benches, cupboards, drawers and throughout the house. It is invisible to the eye and odourless. However, simply by touching the surfaces is enough to absorb the chemicals into the skin.
Want to know more?
You Can Unwittingly Become An ICE Addict
You can unwittingly become an ICE addict by being exposed to it from the residue left in a house once used as a meth lab, and most Australians don’t know how widespread the problem is.
"Children living in a contaminated home can have methamphetamine in their system that’s equivalent to an adult ICE user".
- Dr Jackie Wright, Environmental Risk Scientist
Meth Can Absorb In The Skin
Sheets stored in a contaminated cupboard will soak up the traces, so that when put on a bed caused occupants to sleep in the meth and absorb into skin during the night, every night the sheets remain on the bed.
Changing the sheets for fresh sheets stored in the same cupboard continues the cycle. No one would want to subject themselves nor their children to this toxic drug.
Health effects of methamphetamine contamination
Sleep disturbance
Severe respiratory problems
Eye Irritations
Skin Rashes
Loss of Appetite
"Some of the houses look completely clean. You would not be able to tell by walking into the property that it had been used as a meth lab".
- Josh Marsden, Biohazard Trauma & Crime Scene Cleaning
1.4 Million People in Australia have tried Methamphetamine contaminating houses simply by using it.
No Laws For Disclosing Meth Contaminated Houses
Currently there are no laws requiring disclosure that a property has been used as a meth lab or by drug users (unlike the requirement of disclosure if there has been a death or murder in a property).
When buying a house, you should be testing whether is safe to move in and live in the property, either for you and your family of for tenants.
Insurance Does Not Cover Meth Contamination
In NSW more than 10 houses are demolished each year due the meth contamination. Across the rest of Australia, the number is much higher.
"More clandestine drug labs are uncovered in Queensland than any other state. The clean-up is costing Queenslanders up to $200,000 annually".
- The Feed
The cost to clean and sanitise a meth contaminated property is anywhere between $25,000 - $150,000.
Base Composite Methylamphetamine Screening
This is the most affordable process of checking a house for meth contamination. A number of swab samples are taken from around the house. It the cumulative result of samples is greater than 0.5μg/100cm² then the property is contaminated and in depth sampling is required by a professional laboratory.
Auspect is trained and qualified to carry out sampling using the NIOSH Method 9111 (methamphetamine on wipes by liquid chromatography – mass spectrometry) which is tested on site using our instant Methamphetamine testing kit. This will give an instant result on site to determine whether Methamphetamine has been used in the property.
The price for Methamphetamine testing is $495 with the standard kit. If additional swabs are required, an additional kit will need to be supplied at $150.
Don't Risk Buying A Meth House
Before buying a property get a Methamphetamine Inspection. We are licensed Meth Inspectors and will give you peace of mind by ensuring your property is not contaminated.
Meth Detect Instant Kits FAQ Script For B&P Upsell
This document outlines questions and responses to questions you are likely to be asked when asking customers whether they would like to add a Meth Test to their Building and Pest Inspection.
Questions & Answers
What is an Instant Meth Test?
It is where we take samples of the inside rooms to see if there is Methamphetamine Residue. The samples are collected in a sampling solution and dripped onto a testing cassette. This gives an instant result of whether Meth is present or not.
Why would I want to test for Meth?
Because Meth Contamination is a huge problem in Australia and is very harmful to health and expensive to get rid of. You would not want to buy a Meth Contamination problem; it is as important as a Termite Test when inspecting a property
What are the harmful health effects of Methamphetamine Residue?
Living in a Meth contaminated home can cause Nausea, Dizziness, Fatigue, Headaches and Migraines, Anxiety, Depression and Mood Swings, Sleep Disorders and behavioural changes especially in small children. The long term effects are still not known but are suspected to contribute to a great many major health conditions.
Is Meth Contamination very common?
Yes, way more common than you think. It is suspected that 2% of the population in Australia actively smoke methamphetamine in their homes. That 2% is the equivalent to conservatively 100,000 properties per year and that’s been happening for 15 years.
How expensive is it to decontaminate a Meth Contaminated property?
It depends on the level of contamination and how many rooms are affected. Detailed Testing will reveal the number of rooms affected and it can cost from a few thousand for a few rooms up to 10-15 thousand for a whole house decontamination.
Will my Insurance cover this decontamination?
Sometimes, it depends on the insurance company and the level of contamination. If there is evidence that a drug lab was present, or the readings are sky high which points to it, that will often be covered under the malicious damage section of landlord insurance. For normal low level contamination, it is up to the discretion of the insurance company but this is being covered more and more often as it becomes a common thing but it is still a grey area.
What happens if the initial Meth Test is positive?
Then the property will need to be inspected by our recommended inspection company Meth Detect to take Swab Samples that are sent to the lab for individual testing to give a reading for each room so that we know which rooms need to be decontaminated. Then the decontamination takes place, after which the affected rooms are retested to validate them as now being under the safe level of 0.5 micrograms per 100cm2.