Before purchasing a new house it is commonplace to carry building or pest inspections, but less doing meth residue contamination testing. Meth residue resulting from either the usage of cooking of the drug Methamphetamine can cause serious health and financial issues to owners and occupants. A house where meth (or ICE) was used can have the same levels of contamination than a meth lab.

Meth residue testing should be part of the property pre-purchase inspections since once purchased, the house will be yours to clean. How then would you prove the house was contaminated before purchasing? The process of decontamination and cleaning can be expensive up to the tens of thousands of dollars, however the cost of testing is inexpensive and can be done by anyone in a matter of minutes. Learn to recognize if a house is a meth house and what you can do next.

Look out for strong odours and unsanitary conditions

Meth houses contaminated with ice residue exhibit a signature scent that smells like ammonia, rotten eggs or vinegar. So do make sure and put your nose to the ground, smell the floor, walls or furniture. If something smells off, it could be strong indicators of a meth contaminated property.

Moreover, meth houses aren’t particularly known to be clean. If the house looks run-down or messy, if you see deep stains on the carpet, it could be another indicator of a meth lab. Some trash items to look for:

  • Packaging from cold tablets 
  • Lithium batteries 
  • Propane tanks with fittings turned blue 
  • Coffee filters stained with odd colours such as red 
  • Hydrogen Peroxide 
  • Empty containers with puncture holes (antifreeze, white gas, freon, paint thinner, acetone, alcohol, white gas) 
  • Plastic soda bottles with holes near the top 
  • Plastic or rubber hoses, rubber gloves, duct tape 
  • Respiratory masks

Ask the police

The local police in the area might have a lot of information of any past criminal activities happening in the area, you might learn if the house has been involved in any drug related activities or any house in the neighbourhood.

Talk to the neighbours

Neighbours can give important information on details they noticed if they live in the area for a while. They might know the previous owners of the house and be aware of any suspicious activities that could have taken place around the property, such as windows covered during the day, suspicious night time activities, etc.

Was the house price surprisingly low?

Sometimes a deal can seem too good to be true. However a low priced property can hide long term damage done to a property by  meth residue. In that case it is always a good idea to check the house history, do not hesitate to ask hard questions or go to the police station if something’s off.

Purchase a ice drug testing kit 

Buying a meth lab puts you and your family at great financial and health risk. While the cost of remediation can take days and in the thousands of dollars, a meth test kit is cheap, quick and will tell you if the house has meth issues. If you suspect a house has been used to cook the drug Methamphetamine, purchase a meth test kit online on our site. You can then do your own ice drug residue test on various surfaces of the house that will give you results in less than 5 minutes. Keep in mind the test kits do not give an exact reading of meth contamination levels, but only if meth is present on a surface within unsafe levels.

Final note

The purchase of a property is a lifelong investment and so it is important not to rush and even consider a meth testing. Australia is one of the top countries in the world in meth usage and drug lab busts are happening on a regular basis. For example, in Melbourne, a meth lab was discovered by the police in a house not too far from the CBD in September 2020. Do your research, and move in safely with your family