Last year Utah state Senator Bob Bennett introduced a $3.5 Million spending bill that included $600,000 to fight meth in Utah. The bill was approved by the Senate and signed into law last year.
Now, Health Department officials in Cache, Box Elder, and Rich Counties have created a meth-testing program where residences can have a home tested for the toxic drug and it’s meth-related chemicals for $150.
Methamphetamine is a highly addictive drug and is made from common household chemicals. The drug stimulates the central nervous system and when it is produced, can leave a residue throughout the building it is made or used. This residue can be harmful and even deadly and can be found in walls, floors, plumbing, furniture, and even counter-tops and fixtures.
There aren’t any other areas around the state where local health departments will provide this service (although private companies are available), but Logan Police Sgt. Bret Randall says he thinks the service will be popular and other counties around the state will copy the program. “Your main customer will be the Realtors”, Randall says.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration says that it considers meth the number one drug threat in Utah with 49 kilograms seized statewide in 2005 and with it’s lingering harmful effects.
When selling a home that has had meth in it, you need to have the home certified clean by the state before occupants are allowed to inhabit the home.
Once the home has been certified by the state, you no longer need to disclose that the home had meth present in it. The state just passed that into law two years ago and now when a home that has been certified clean it should not be stigmatized with the “meth house” label.
To test your home for meth in the Salt Lake area click HERE.
November 19, 2006 at 9:55 pm
LOL thats got to be a fun contingency to tack onto a purchase offer.
“We offer $280,000, with the standard riders of a home inspection, mortgage approval…. oh and we need to find out if you guys were running a meth lab here.”
November 20, 2006 at 6:05 am
This is apparently an extraordinarily serious problem. In a class I was told that if we walked into a meth home, we should immediately walk back out and burn all of our clothes. Even walking into our own homes wearing the same shoes could contaminate the home. I’m still learning about the effects and symptoms of a meth house, but don’t look forward to my first time walking in one.
November 30, 2006 at 3:29 pm
If the house has never been registered does that mean it’s hasn’t been certified?
November 30, 2006 at 5:05 pm
For the house to be certified it needs to be tested by the state and if there is any traces of meth it needs to be cleaned and then re-tested before certification. We have a listed home that just got certified yesterday. It took about a month to go through the cleaning and certification process.
In Utah, once a home has been certified clean a seller no longr needs to disclose that the home ever had meth in it. This is to ensure the home is not stigmatized by the “meth house” label.
June 15, 2009 at 1:04 pm
How did you clean it?
May 8, 2007 at 7:39 pm
Hi, I am purchasing a home in dawsonville GA and it was a drug house what steps should I take myself or demand from the listing agent to make the home “clean” before purchase and move in?
October 11, 2007 at 12:23 am
[...] There are even states now that expect you to “drug test” your home before sale to make sure it was never used as a meth lab. (I use the word lab loosely [...]
January 15, 2008 at 1:59 pm
I prchase my home about 2 years ago and now I am selling it and the people that are buying have done a meth test and say my house has meht in it. the test showed 2.8 what does this mean. I have never done meth in my life let alone in my house how could this test say this
January 15, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Bill,
I suggest contacting the state or a private company to ask them what levels are safe and what needs to be done about it. I believe the tests are actually testing for the chemicals used in producing the drug along with the drug itself, so there may be some reasoning behind your house testing higher than what is considered safe.
Or perhaps the people who owned the home before you used the drug- the residue lasts for quite a while, which is why the cleaning process is so lengthy and costly.
Sorry to hear about your circumstance- good luck to you.
August 18, 2008 at 11:22 am
What does the contamination with meth do the the retail price and re-saleability of a home. Even though the home may test clean, and disclosure is not required, the neighborhood knows the history of the home and will freely offer this information to any future buyer thus placing the stigma on the home for years to come.
December 3, 2008 at 9:13 pm
Bill,
I would get a second opinion from another company right away.
Once in a while mistakes are made. Good luck to you.
August 10, 2009 at 11:55 am
Go to http://www.hazmatandmore.com for answers. They are very helpful and offer many answers to your questions! They are located in Ohio, but travel to other states!