The truth about instant test kits

There is a lot of speculation around instant meth or p test kits some for, some against. This is our professional opinion on them based on our extended experience in the industry and discussions with enumerable clients with their own personal experiences using them.

High risk of False Positives/negatives and can be fooled by common cleaning agents just as ajax and bleach.Indicative only: No level to directly compare to guidelines, so cannot work out the level of risk.Ineffective on porous materials (basically all internal linings in a property).Not Compliant with New Zealand Standards NZS8510:2017 and unlikely to gain validation as an acceptable form of testing for meth.Non-evidential process which is unregulated and not intended for testing houses for p.Only basic instructions are provided on how to get a reading, not what to test and what not to test to give you an indication of the problem.

Benefits to instant test kits

Instant resultSlightly cheaper alternative to laboratory testing

The manufacturer of these kits recommends that “If a positive result is obtained for any particular area, we suggest laboratory tests are completed to provide actual levels for any given area tested area.” This would potentially double your costs involved in the process and because instant test kits are easily fooled into a positive detection, this is a common scenario.

If a negative test result is obtained, can you really trust the result? Can you really judge the safety of your family on a kit not designed specifically for testing houses.

"As an experienced Meth sampling company, we have seen first hand time and time again, how these test kits mislead their users." - MethSafe Ltd 2017

What does the standard say?

NZS8510 which are the industry standards for Methamphetamine Testing released earlier in the year state that any technology used for Methamphetamine Screening Assessments must be independently validated by an organisation accredited to NZS ISO/IEC 17025 with validation of methamphetamine screening technologies as a scope of their accreditation.

As of the date of this article, no instant test kits are validated and able to be used as genuine meth testing alternatives to determine compliance of properties with the meth testing and decontamination standard NZS8510. Click here for the standard

But aren’t you biased being that you only use laboratory testing?

You could consider us bias against instant test kits but the truth is if they worked we’d be using them and we can assure you the profit margin on instant DIY meth testing is much higher than high quality laboratory analysis.

But if you still don’t believe us, check out these articles on the subject of instant test kits for drugs.

Police in Orlando tested glazed sugar which fell off a donut into the bottom of a mans car and instant methamphetamine test kit confirmed the glaze as methamphetamine – man arrested onsite. Later, laboratory analysis confirmed it was actually sugar. Man awarded 37k USD in damages Click Here

A recent investigation by ProPublica and The New York Times showed that “there is every reason to suspect” that false positive results from roadside drug tests in thousands of wrongful convictions each year. Click Here

The alternative?

Lab based meth testing through MethSafe

MethSafe uses Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry the Gold Standard in analytical chemistry carried out for us by a laboratory with IANZ (International Accreditation New Zealand) ISO 17025, Analytica Laboratories. Meth Testing laboratory.

For as little as $199 + GST we can get a certified and experienced sampler out to your dwelling to conduct a p lab check or meth check. The sampling itself will take approximately 30 Minutes, and we can have the accurate results to you within 2 days.

Pros:

Professional experienced and independent sampler who is unbiased.IANZ Accredited laboratory using the gold standard of testing, can pick up very low levels of methamphetamine.Very accurate– no possibility of misleading resultsEvidential analysis that can be used for purchase agreements, rental properties and all third party requirements.Testing can be done to be compliant with NZS8510:2017 and therefore will be suitable in the future.Professional advice in the form of a report and phone consultation

Cons:

Can take up to 2 days to have results backSlightly more expensive than instant test kits.

The best part?

Because a laboratory test is undertaken on professionally collected samples, we can advice you of the risk and also ways to mitigate those risks.

Cleaning can be effective, but only with the right know how and advice.Certain types of paint can be effective in encapsulating low levels of methamphetamine, we can advise you when to use them to maximize your risk reduction on the property.How to mitigate or remove the issue from the property during renovations to ensure no detection in the future and therefore, maintain the value of your house.

Before you renovate, trust the professionals to give you the best advice possible.

Call Us on 0508-6384723 to book a Laboratory Based meth Test today!

MethSafe currently provides Meth testing Whangarei, Tauranga, Thames, Hamilton & Waikato, Christchurch, Taupo, & AucklandCLick here to contact us for our meth testing services

One of the biggest questions people ask themselves when it comes to methamphetamine, or testing a house for p, is what is the likelihood of this issue affecting me?

Based in the Waikato METHSAFE test properties for meth contamination across New Zealand.

As well as testing the samples for the drug known as methamphetamine, our analysis also shows if there are any traces of the manufacture indicative precursors chemicals, ephedrine, pseudoephedrine and amphetamine.

In the Auckland region, Just over 40% of all the dwellings that we have sampled for methamphetamine in the last 2 years have returned a positive result for traces over 0.02µg and of these, 40% were over the threshold limit identifying that methamphetamine is located in the property above the NZS8510 standards level of 1.5µg/sample, This means is that 1 of 6 properties we test in Auckland have been above the guideline threshold.

“Are you willing to play a game of Russian roulette with the possibility of your biggest investment being affected by meth contamination?”

These are just the statistics for properties in Auckland, but the numbers hold true for the other locations we are based, including Hamilton, Christchurch, Thames, Tauranga and Taupo.

People from all socioeconomic backgrounds use and sell methamphetamine, we have tested and detected p contamination in farm worker houses in Te Kuiti, baches in Coromandel, campervans in Papamoa, and Million dollar waterfront apartments in Auckland.

Don’t pull the trigger on the health of your family or your property, Book a NZS8510 compliant Methamphetamine Screening Assessment today.

These days, you're just as likely to find a meth-contaminated or “P House” property as you would dust on a window frame. P testing houses is pretty common and you will more than likely come across properties for sale and rental properties up for rent that have been cleaned for meth.

When meth is discovered to be of even of a miniscule risk to the occupants, decontamination of the p house to the highest level possible is required. Regardless of whether the meth was from a lab or p from smoking, contamination testing will identify the presence of meth and it is the responsibility of the owner/landlord to fix it. When it comes to p contamination, the house is treated in the same whether it was smoking or manufacture. Here are a few reasons why you may want to take a second look at that “meth house” to buy or rent.

Properties where meth or has been cleaned will receive less attention from the rental/buyers’ market which means you have a better chance of getting the rental or having an offer accepted.The property has been meth tested and cleaned which means that at the very least, it is better than one that hasn’t (which is the clear majority of rental/houses for purchase).“Meth houses” are cleaned to a standard way over and above what would normally occur within a rental or listed property. These houses are then forensically scrutinized for habitability under the newly released standards.A cleaned “Meth house” is going to be odour free, virus free, bacteria free and mould treated due to the hospital grade cleaning agents used within the property, process depending.A “meth house” or “P house” represents a brand-new start without the uncleaned walls, ceilings, dust etc left behind by previous tenants/occupants after years and years of occupancy. Yuck!Properties that undergo clean up often receive renovations which means you’ve got a better chance of getting a house with new interior, painting and even new air conditioning systems and insulation.

Before you turn your nose up at a p contaminated property, think about the benefits. As a meth testing technician, I would personally not pass up an opportunity to purchase a “Meth house” as there is actually very little health risks involved with cleaned properties and generally, you get a better, cleaner, safer house than you normally would have for the same, or better price. When you think about it like that, why wouldn’t you buy/rent a “meth house”?

If you're unsure about what a report means or what the quality is of said report, feel free to send any information you have onto MethSafe for some absolutely free, no obligation advice.

On June 29th 2017, Standards NZ released the new guidelines for testing and decontamination of meth homes. The guidelines include:

Providing 2 levels to distinguish high-use and limited-use areas.

By defining areas and setting a separate level for each will cut down time and money when it comes to remediation of these areas.

A high-use area is defined as: In summary, these means all the major rooms in a home and on the occasion garages (though this can be applied on a case by case basis).

A limited-use area is defined as: This would be applied to ceiling cavities, attics, under house areas.

Changing the threshold from 3 levels to just 1 in high-use areas.

Previously, guidelines stated that 0.5ug/100cm2 would be used in the case of clan labs, 1.5ug/100cm2 for smoking in properties with full or part carpet and 2.0ug/100cm2 for smoking in properties with no carpet.

The level set in June is now 1.5ug/100cm2 in all instances. Reasons given for this include[iii]:

“It is currently not possible to determine whether or not a property has been used as a clandestine laboratory, based solely on the results of scientific sampling;”“What constitutes evidence of a clandestine laboratory may change as production techniques change;”

The guideline set for limited-use areas is 3.8ug/100cm2. This level is “based on the Colorado Regulations for clean-up and the ESR 2016 review, which calculated an adult maximum exposure level”[iv].

Clear steps forward for screening and detailed assessments.

This section states that where a screening is undertaken and a negative result returned, a clearance report shall be issued. Where a screening returns a positive result, a detailed assessment SHALL be undertaken and a report issued stating that. “ Plainly, if any screening result comes back over the guideline threshold, a detailed assessment is LEGALLY required.

Around 65% of the meth tests in Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Taupo and Christchurch areas are to undergo painting of surfaces within the dwelling. Of that, 40% will come back with some level of contamination. Renovations are a great way to increase the rental price or sale price of a property for minimal investment, however there are downsides to this in relation to meth testing and contamination within the dwelling.

Why is painting over meth a problem?

The reason that painting over methamphetamine is not an effective means of treatment is because meth will bleed through the paint layers over an extended period and become detectable on the surface. This affects all areas of properties including the sale of a property and the renting of a safe and habitable property.

How does it affect buyers?

No one wants to feel as though they have put their family in harm’s way by purchasing a “newly renovated property” that has not had a meth screening test completed before the changes took place. If a meth test is taken on top of renovations and receives a positive detection, most buyers will immediately become suspicious of the vendor who has “covered up the meth” whether it be true or not. The risk for the buyers is that they purchase a house, that increases in meth concentrations over their period of ownership and affects the sale of the property in the future, or increases to a significant extent that vulnerable persons such as children could be compromised.

How does it affect land lords and tenants?

In consideration of rental properties, a negative or low meth test at the beginning of the tenancy can easily turn into a considerably higher concentration at the end of the tenancy, even though no meth has been introduced to the property. If no official and considered meth test is done before the renovations, the tenant can have a meth test done which shows an unacceptable amount at any time during the tenancy to which the landlord will be held responsible. Potentially repercussions of this could be complete repayment of the bond and rent to that point in the tenancy. Tenancy tribunal imposed fines for failure to provide a safe and habitable property as well as other infringements.Cleaning up meth contamination under the paint – Not a cheap endeavour.

If meth is suspected under the paint, the clean up can be extremely expensive. Because there is no certain way to reduce meth under the paint, the only way to deal with such contamination with any certainty is to remove and replace painted surfaces.

Because the waste is potentially hazardous, dumping will be expensive requiring the property waste is crushed and bury and will not be reused. Replacement costs for all removed surfaces for the entire dwelling including repainting of the surfaces can end up in the tens of thousands of dollars on average for even small concentrations of methamphetamine.

Always test before you paint a property..

MethSafe recommends always meth testing before renovations begin. If a positive result is returned, we can then direct you in your renovations and cleaning to mitigate risk of a positive result in the future. Many options are available for helping to fix the problem and the costs aren’t always as high as people think. However, these options are only available before painting of the property.