Drug smoke houses and cleaning contamination

Information for property managers and real estate agents

If drugs such as methylamphetamine (meth, ice) are smoked in a home, potentially harmful chemical residues may be left on surfaces such as curtains, furniture, and walls.

Research indicates that residues from drug smoking present a lower risk to public health, but they are still a cause for concern.

The level of chemical residues will depend on how much and how often smoking occurred.

If you suspect or know that a tenant has been smoking meth or other illicit drugs inside your property, it is recommended you hire the services of qualified professionals to:

• test for chemical residues
• clean and decontaminate the property (where necessary) – cleaning may be required if testing shows residues above health investigation levels
  • clean-up methods are generally less extensive and expensive than what is required for a clandestine drug laboratory
• validate (re-test) to show the contamination has been cleaned, only where necessary.

Testing for meth residues

Contamination from people smoking meth inside a house is far more common than from people manufacturing or ‘cooking’ meth (commonly known as a 'clan lab').

If there is no suspicion or evidence of clan lab activity at a property, any chemical residue found during testing is most likely from people smoking meth inside the house.

Professional testing and cleaning

The Managing illegal drug contamination in homes: guide for homeowners, property managers, and real estate agents (PDF 1MB) will help you understand the process for organising professional testing, remediation (clean up), and re-testing (if necessary).

Step 1: Talk to your insurance company

Before organising testing or cleaning check if the home insurance covers illicit drug contamination. Some policies don’t include this, so it’s important to know what’s covered. If covered by insurance, your insurance company may organise testing and remediation for you.

Step 2: Choose a reputable and qualified testing and clean-up company

It is strongly recommended that you utilise the services of a professional testing and remediation company to undertake any decontamination works.

• Use the Checklist for hiring companies to test or clean-up drug contamination (PDF 175KB) to help you choose a reliable company for testing, cleaning, and validating the property. The testing and validating company should be different from the remediation (clean up) company. This will help prevent you from being overcharged or quoted for unnecessary work.
• Get quotes: Contact a few companies to compare prices.
• Check reviews: Look online to see what other people say about them.
• Ask for proof: Make sure they have insurance and follow the Guide for testing and remediation of methamphetamine and illicit drug residues in residential properties (PDF 1MB). 

Step 3: Confirm the property is safe to live in by requesting a validation report

Before renting or selling a property, it is important to have evidence confirming that it is safe. The testing company should provide you with a validation report showing the property has drug (e.g. meth) residue levels below those that may pose any risk to human health and below any national health investigation levels. 

Suspected clan lab contamination

If any contamination is suspected or known to be from a clan lab, then it will be subject to more thorough clean-up and decontamination. Visit Clandestine drug labs for more information.

Resources

The following resources can help homeowners, property managers, and real estate agents to organise professional cleaning of a property following contamination:

• Managing illegal drug contamination in homes: guide for homeowners, property managers, and real estate agents (PDF 1MB)
• Checklist for hiring companies to test or clean-up drug contamination (PDF 175KB)
• Guide for testing and remediation of methamphetamine and illicit drug residues in residential properties (PDF 1MB)

Western Australian position

• Public health risks of residues from smoking methylamphetamine in homes (PDF 174KB)
• Public health risks of methylamphetamine (meth) smoke houses (PDF 1MB)