Common Locations for Meth Cleanup

Due to its exceptionally-addictive nature, the scourge of methamphetamine use continues to be on a rise in the United States. In an even more unfortunate twist, properties affected by the manufacture or consumption of this illegal drug can suffer damage that could make the area uninhabitable without the help of an experienced remediation contractor. While the production process is dangerous, it’s also relatively low-tech, which means that laboratories can pop up in nearly any location. Here are just a few potential places that could need meth cleanup services.

Apartments and Houses

The compact nature of the manufacturing procedure for methamphetamine means that a criminal doesn’t need to dedicate a large footprint to his or her illegal enterprise. As such, any house or apartment is more than capable of containing a laboratory in the basement, kitchen, spare bathroom or bedroom. If you buy a home that was once used in the production of this dangerous drug, you’ll probably need the help of a remediation contractor.

Hotel Rooms

Because of the transient nature of drug manufacturers, hotels are prime ground for pop up laboratories. Criminals can check in to do their illegal activities and then be gone before anyone knows what ever happened. There have also been stories of guests checking into a room and getting sick from using a coffee machine that was previously repurposed in the meth production process. Even if there wasn’t a lab in the suite, a guest who smokes the drug can leave residue of the noxious chemicals on any surface where the chemical vapor lands.

Vehicles

Television shows have popularized the image of a methamphetamine operation housed in a motor home, and in a case of life imitating art; police have uncovered similar laboratories in the real world. The ability to move your operation around and stay one step ahead of law enforcement is appealing to any criminal, which is why it’s not uncommon to need meth cleanup services in trailers or other recreational vehicles.

Public Restrooms

This is one of the newer trends, but there have been a few reported cases of people trying to manufacture methamphetamine in public restrooms of retail stores. All the criminal has to do is mix the appropriate chemicals together in a two-liter soda bottle and leave it in the bathroom to go shopping while the risk of explosion subsides. Once the cooking process is complete, he or she can simply return to the restroom and retrieve the drugs while leaving the dangerous residue behind for others to deal with the fallout. Much like hotel rooms you could even need cleanup services if someone simply used the stall as a secluded place to get high.

Fighting an Epidemic

As you can see, methamphetamine manufacturing laboratories are small enough operations that they can appear virtually anywhere. If you own a property that has previously housed one of these dangerous setups, you owe it to yourself to secure the services of an experienced meth cleanup contractor before you let anyone else into the room. Not only is it illegal to willfully neglect this need, but you could also open yourself up to expensive lawsuits from future occupants of the property.