If you think your home has been used meth lab, then Meth Lab Clean Ups is important to hire professional help. Even though meth is the most commonly abused drug in the United States, if you don’t know what signs of a former meth lab look like, you could get into serious trouble. Here are some steps that can help:
Signs of a meth lab
- Explosive chemicals
- Flammable materials
- Chemicals, such as acetone and ether.
- Lab equipment, including glassware and beakers.
- Unusual odours. The odour of chemicals can linger for a long time after the lab has been cleaned up. If you notice an unpleasant or unfamiliar smell in your home, it could be due to residual meth lab contamination that cleaning crews haven’t yet discovered
These chemicals can be highly reactive, igniting on contact with each other. Meth labs are also known for their unusual odours, so if you notice a strange smell in your home or apartment, it could be due to residual meth lab contamination from an area that professional cleaners have not yet cleaned up.
Determine whether the property was used for meth production.
To determine whether or not the property was used for meth production, you must first review and inspect it. The following are some of the things you should look for:
- Meth production materials, such as quarts, gallons, jugs and bottles of solvents (acetone, butane)
- Meth production chemicals include cold medicines containing ephedrine/pseudoephedrine as well as muriatic acid and lye.
- Meth production waste such as empty cans from cooking up meth in your kitchen sink; lithium batteries that were used for heating up gases in a glass jar during the process; used filters from air freshener spray bottles that contain ethers; broken glassware like Pyrex dishes; rags soaked in acetone or other solvents.
- Meth production by-products such as red phosphorus matches (used to make small quantities of methamphetamine), inhalers containing pseudoephedrine pills or nasal decongestants (to make larger batches), liquid soap containers with ethers (for heat generation), coffee filters containing iodine crystals (often used to make iodine crystals).
Air out the property.
The first step in Meth Lab Clean Ups is to air out the property. All doors, windows, and vents should be opened for at least 24 hours. If possible, leave for longer than this.
If you are not able to ventilate the property yourself, call an environmental cleanup company who will do it for you. The professionals know exactly how to do this safely and effectively so that there aren’t any toxic fumes left behind after they’ve finished their work on your home.
Wear protection
Before you begin any cleanup, it’s important to protect yourself from harmful chemicals and pathogens.
Wear:
- Gloves: long sleeves and closed shoes are a good idea as well.
- A mask: wear one over your nose and mouth if you can get them in bulk at the dollar store. You want something that covers your face up to the end of your nose but not so high that it blocks any vision or interferes with breathing. If you’re wearing a disposable Tyvek suit (you should!), this should be easy enough—just make sure not to cover up the holes for air intake!
- Eye protection: goggles or glasses will do just fine here!
Clean all surfaces using household cleaning methods and recommended chemicals.
- Clean all surfaces using household cleaning methods and recommended chemicals. Household cleaning products can be used to clean up meth labs, but you should use rubber gloves and eye protection to protect yourself from accidental exposure to cleaning chemicals.
- Use a mixture of bleach (1 part bleach to 10 parts water) or other disinfectants for the final clean-up after you have cleaned the area with water alone.
- Air out the property for at least 24 hours before re-inhabiting it as this will reduce residual odours from lingering in your home’s air ducts, furniture, carpets and drapes etc.
Hire a crew of professionals and have them evaluate as well as clean your home.
If you’re going to have professionals clean up your property, then you need to make sure that they are qualified professionals. This means that they should be certified by a reputable organisation and have experience handling meth labs. They should also wear the appropriate protection when doing the work and be trained in how to handle chemicals used in the cleanup process properly.
Of course, hiring a crew of professionals is not cheap—it can cost tens of thousands of dollars depending on how much damage has been done to your home and what kind of cleanup needs to be done. You also want someone licensed or insured so that if something goes wrong (like one of their workers gets sick or injured), they won’t sue anyone else but themselves.
Conclusion
If you think that your home may have been used as a meth lab, you need to contact the police and let them know. They will come out to inspect the property and determine whether or not it needs an expensive cleanup. If so, we recommend hiring professionals who specialise in this type of work. It’s worth it for your health and safety!
