We had a luncheon Wednesday and  a speaker talked about meth. She told us about the affects on people and on homes. I didn't realize that one party  with about 20 people in a house could be enough to contaminate the house. A meth inspector told us that a moderately contaminated 3 bedroom house could cost $33,000 to repair. Some houses and their contents are not able to be saved after they have been exposed and the owners end up with nothing. The peole that contaminated the home may be require to pay the buyer back, but in most cases that doesn't happen due to the persons lack of money.

The probelm is increasing, and it is affecting the environment as well. Place they dump the waste include parks, water sources, campgrounds, and dumpsters. Leaving waste around can endanger curious childen. Contaminating the water supply is a risk to us all. Rural areas like ours are at risk because of the distance between houses and the difference in jurisdictions due to the reservation in our area. We also have an influx of new people in the area due to energy exploration and this means that people don't necessarily know their neighbor.

Here is a link to a site where you can order a dvd on the effects of meth.

I would really recommend a meth test to anyone buying or renting. Also landlords need to check their homes before renting to a new tenant. The meth inspector told us the standard test is about $120 and takes 3 to 4 days to send to the lab and get the test back.

I wrote this on a past blog

Recently another real estate agent and I were looking into buying a rental property. We had concerns about mold asbestos and the possibility of meth contamination. In looking into the costs we could incur I found some interesting information. Living in a home that has meth contamination can lead to the lungs turning into to gel and expelling the lungs over time due to the chemicals such as anhydrous ammonia. It would be worth the cost of a test to be sure the house is not contaminated because some items that may need to be replaced , include flooring duct work water heaters appliances, sinks, and toilets. Signs of meth include red stains strong cat urine or ammonia smell rock salt hydrogen peroxide anhydous ammonia blacked out or foiled windows ephedrine and lithium batteries. The house could cost $100000 or more to repair. The house may even have to be torn down and properly disposed of. All work needs to be done by a qualified professional. Some states are making it a law that the seller has to disclose knowledge of meth in the house. What experiences do you have? What legislation do we need to have?