Does cleaning a house really well remove meth from home?

I just moved into a trailer that my boyfriends cousin lived in before us. they got busted for meth about a month ago. We had no idea that they were doing that stuff. Read more

TN Holt family update: Hope fades as meth lab bills pile up

Several months have passed, since I was first contacted by Rhonda Holt from Winchester, TN, and my most recent conversation with her was distressing. Read more

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Kansas meth lab clean up program cut comes at high cost

A meth lab clean up program that has operated in Kansas since 1999, that was cut from the state’s budget last month, has the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) concerned.  For the last decade, whenever a meth lab has been discovered in Kansas,  removal of the hazardous and volatile chemicals found at the scene, were quickly removed. The assistant director of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) says since the state’s clean up program was cut, that has all changed. Read more

TX Landlord opts for bulldozer over meth lab clean up

(August 12, 2009) Kory Sargeant, a landlord from Amarillo Texas says he will bulldoze the property he owns at 1904 Greg Street, where police arrested four people for manufacturing meth and child endangerment, on Monday. The meth lab was discovered, after Child Protective Services requested that police investigate the home, where they suspected that children were living in a home involved in drug activity.

When police arrived, they found the home had no running water and the residents were using Read more

Nebraska still lacks meth lab clean up standards and disclosures

Despite a 2006 law, that directed Nebraska health officials to develop meth lab clean up standards by July 2007, the state still does not have clean up standards in place, nor does it require home sellers to disclose their home’s history. Former state senator Ray Aguilar of Grand Island expressed his concern that the standards had still not be created by the state, noting that without regulations in place, the law he helped pass, fails to do what it was designed to do – protect the health of the public.

Nebraska’s reasons for delaying the creation of clean up standards and disclosure requirements have to do with questions about the legality of requiring home owners to disclose the history of their home to a potential home buyer.  Nebraska Realtors agree with Read more

Single mom Andrea Wagner buys contaminated meth lab home

Stow, Ohio: Andrea Wagner bought a meth lab home on Meadowbrook Boulevard for $147,000,in January 2006, not knowing that she was buying a home contaminated with meth lab chemicals. The seller, who bought the home at a Sheriff’s auction never told her Read more

Kansas meth lab clean up program ends

Meth lab clean up funds in Kansas have ended, according to a report by the Associated Press.  With $270,000 of its $313,000 budget cut, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment has decided to end the clean up program. Funding that remains in the  Clandestine Drug Lab Response program will now be spent on closing the operation.

According to the report, the program responded to 170  clean up requests from law enforcement, last year.  Private contractors, who Read more

Meth lab pictures for renters, realtors, home owners, home buyers

Pictures of meth labs can help renters and home owners can help them identify a meth lab home, just by observing the inside and outside of the home. Pictures are not the only way to identify a meth lab however, as there is no standard situation when it comes to meth labs. But, these pictures may help you to become familiar with some of what you might see inside and outside of a property that is being used or has been used to manufacture methamphetamine.

This is by no means a complete list and is only presented here as another tool to help you identify a “possible” meth lab scene. If you do not see any similarities between these pictures and your home, you should not assume that your home was never a meth lab. If neighbors tell you that they suspect that the previous occupants of your home had drug problems, listen to what they’re telling you! Also, call the police and the health department and ask them if they have any records about your home.

Keep in mind that meth lab clean up contractors say that very few homes that have been used to make meth have ever been busted and/or placed on a quarantined list.

Neighbors may, in fact know more about a house and its occupants, than the police or the health department.  Talk to neighbors who have lived in the neighborhood for a long time – the longer the better.

Lastly, know that the only way to positively identify meth contamination in your house is to have the home tested  for the chemicals used to make meth.

Chemical stains on flooring

Chemical staining on walls and floors often result when chemicals spill during the meth cook.  Floors and carpets are often stained or damaged by meth chemicals that can include liquids such as hydrochloric acid. A former meth lab may also have brand new flooring and carpets, which can signal that the previous flooring was damaged because of meth lab chemical spills.

Fixer-upper buyers beware! Also, keep in mind that meth lab homes may look brand new and not show any of the damages you see in the pictures listed here. Unscrupulous sellers who buy meth lab homes at rock bottom prices often cover stains with carpeting and new flooring and paint walls to minimize any questions or concerns about the home from prospective buyers or renters.

Burned grass or vegetation

Meth lab cooks may cook meth outdoors or burn empty pseudoephedrine packages or blister packaging for cold, allergy, and sinus medicines, to avoid raising the suspicion of anyone seeing the tell-tale meth signs in their trash. Cooking outdoors is remote locations in another way to avoid being detected by neighbors who may smell the chemicals they’re cooking. Cooking outdoors also keeps their homes from getting contaminated or exposing their children to the hazardous chemicals they’re cooking with.  If you see burn pits, stained soil or dead vegetation it may indicate areas where meth lab chemicals have been dumped.

Kitty Litter

Kitty Litter is often used by meth lab cooks to soak up spilled chemicals.  In the first picture, a meth lab cook uses this kitty litter container as part of their meth manufacturing process. Tubing is commonly found at meth labs, where it is often connected to a variety of containers.

Do you see kitty litter in unusual locations? It could indicate that someone used it to absorb a chemical spill.

Housekeeping

When someone is addicted to meth, meth is ALL THAT MATTERS.  The effect of meth on users makes it difficult for them to get organized and keep the kind of focus it would take to keep their house neat and tidy.

Renters who are using meth and/or making meth will try to avoid having their landlord come in to inspect their home, due to its condition and to prevent the landlord from seeing anything that might evoke questions.  Neighbors and other visitors are also avoided by meth lab cooks, for the same reasons.

Windows  are often  covered or blacked-out to keep prying eyes from seeing inside.

Strange Plumbing

Strange plumbing, vent systems, and/or  electrical connections in a house should make you question why someone would have a plumbing, wiring, or electrical system like that in their house, basement, attic, or garage. Could the plumbing be installed to make it easier to dump chemicals without being detected by anyone outside of the house?

Could venting systems be installed in basements to vent out meth lab fumes? Are electrical outlets or wiring found in weird places?

Glassware

Police often find different types of  glassware in meth labs, including glass bottles, jugs, and glass cooking containers.

Decontaminate a meth lab: What you have to do when the police leave

What happens after the police bust a home that’s been used as a meth lab? When there has been a meth lab bust at the home, an initial cleanup of the property will be conducted by a Hazmat crew that will be called in by the police. The Hazmat team will remove any containers and chemicals that they find on the property, afterwhich a sign should be posted on the property warning others that the property is unsafe. The removal of the containers, chemicals and other drug paraphernalia that are found at a meth lab are just the first step in the process of a meth lab clean up.

Step two is the decontamination process, which includes the removal of the chemicals that remain inside of the home. Responsibility for the decontamination of a former meth lab is given to the home owner, including the cost of hiring professionals who are skilled at removing any remaining toxic chemical residues in the home. Certified professionals must insure that a home or other property meets all standards set by the state where the home is located.

Some states require that “cleaned” properties meet strict state regulations about the chemical contaminants that remain in homes where meth has been manufactured, however not all states do. Self-cleaning a property is not recommended as the cleaning chemicals can react with the chemicals that remain in the home, which can have unpredictable and life threatening health and safety consequences.

Current laws say that removing the chemicals and containers found at a meth lab site, is all that state and local agencies are required to do after a meth lab has been discovered. After the police leave, it’s up to the property owner to pay for the expense of decontaminating their property.

Knoxville, TN: Homeowner faces cleanup charges after 6 men use home as meth lab

Six men were charged with the initiation of the process to manufacture methamphetamine in a West Knox County home on Wednesday, as Knox County deputies were serving an arrest warrant for one of the men. The suspects, who are assumed innocent until proven guilty, include Johnny Parker Lane, 43, Ron Walter Austin 32, Russell Lee Jarrard, 36, William Matthew Allison, 26, Aaron D. Lawhorn, 27, and Joe Akins, 29.

The arrest came as the result of deputies finding a meth lab located in the basement of the home located at 830 Kevin Road. The owner of the home does not live at the home, but will be responsible to pay a cleanup contractor, certified by the Knox County Health Department to test and decontaminate the home, as required by TN law.

Free on Bond

Lane, 43, was released after posting a $10,000 bond.

William Allison, 26, was released after posting a $4,000 bond.

Aaron D. Lawhorn, 27, was released after posting a $10,000 bond.

Joe Akins, 29, was released after posting a $4,000 bond. His previous offenses involved burglary, theft, aggravated burglary, driving without a license.

Still in Jail

Ron Austin, 32,  is being held at the request of Anderson County. He has a previous record that includes theft and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Russell Lee Jarrard, 36, is being held on a $10,000 bond. He has previous criminal record that includes assault and vandalism.

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