Signs A House Has Been Used As A Meth Lab

Buying a house is always a nerve wracking proposition, especially because of the worries that come with previous owners. Everything might look good on the outside or decent from afar, but what if there are hidden problems no one can see? What if there are infestations or other severe problems that an inspector misses? One of the major new home dangers that it gaining more attention in recent years is the house that used to be a meth lab. Because meth has become one of the worst drug problems in the country, and because it is so easy to create a meth lab no home or setup is immune from having suffered through this at one point or another.

The Dangers of a Home that Has Been Used as a Meth Lab

Meth labs are a huge blight not just on the health and general well-being of the communities they spring up in, but they can be extremely dangerous, as well. Not only do these drug labs involve a huge number of unsafe chemicals that can get in the air, water, and soil, but there are many cases of these labs exploding. The fires are extremely hazardous, and release all those chemicals into the surrounding air, as well.

Burn Marks

Since meth is made from a combination of multiple common household products, it can be very hard to detect unless you know what signs to look for. One of the first signs to look for are burn marks on counters and tabletops. While these can sometimes be something else, a lot of burns away from the oven where you’d expect them should at least raise the red flag.

Meth-Making Remnants in Trash

During cleanup of a house if you find a large number of cold medicine boxes and coffee filters, that is a definite sign that the house may have been a drug lab at one point. Used coffee filters with red rings make that even more likely.

Dead or Dying Vegetation

Look for dead or dying vegetation, especially if it’s in a circle or appears dead from a liquid spill that’s killed everything in the area. When you see these signs, you need to face the possibility that one of your new home dangers is the change that the house was once a meth lab.

Follow American Southwest Magazine for more helpful and informative articles not only on the things to look out for when purchasing a home, but for a wide variety of other important safety topics, as well.

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Why Salt Lake City Residents Should Test Their Indoor Air Quality

Sal Lake City is a beautiful place to live; the nearby mountains, the good communities, the small-town feeling in a big city… The area does come with one problem however. Smog  tends to accumulate rather quickly in the valley that encompasses the Greater Salt Lake City area. It is a problem in many big cities in the southwest that are in large valleys like Phoenix, Arizona. All of that smog and pollution tends to hover over the buildings in the city, but that is just the “tip of the iceberg” that you can see. The truth of the matter is that the same pollutants making up those brownish-grey clouds is also at street level and seeps into homes.

Yes, if you are a resident of Salt Lake, your home is likely pulling in contaminates from the outside air and running them through your HVAC system. In many cases, it is not enough to simply have an air filter and to change it regularly; in some cases, Salt Lake homeowners should get an indoor air quality check from a trusted Salt Lake City HVAC Company.

When your HVAC contractor performs an IAQ check, they are using special equipment that samples the air in your home, and produces a list of all of the contaminates in your home. While most of these contaminates are allergens, dust, dander and relatively harmless, you can be quite surprised at the dangerous elements that are often discovered. Harmful contaminates may include:

• Viruses
• Harmful Materials (Asbestos)
• Carcinogens (Cancer Causing Agents)
• Drug Vapors

There have been numerous cases of Salt Lake area homes that were previously used in the manufacturing of dangerous drugs such as methamphetamine. When this drug is manufactured in an enclosed space, it seeps into the walls and can stay there for years or decades! New homeowners are especially in need of IAQ testing for this reason.

Indoor Air Quality Improvement

Once an indoor air quality test has been performed, your HVAC professional can eradicate any of the contaminates found to be in the air, and install professional grade equipment to keep the contaminates filtered out so that they do not return. This service is not only recommended for Salt Lake residents, but for residents of any big city that can have problems with pollution. A IAQ check is simple, affordable, fast, and can prevent many negative health effects such as asthma and allergies.

Get Your Salt Lake City Indoor Air Quality Check Today!
FROM THE AREA’S MOST TRUSTED HVAC PROFESSIONALS: