(Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash)

 

You did it!

 

You finally went out and achieved your dream of buying a rental property. Now you can clean it up and begin renting the rooms out to tenants. There’s just one thing left, though.

 

How do you know your property is drug-free?

 

While it’s certainly not a glamorous question by a stretch, it’s still necessary to ask. One of the worst things a new landlord can do is let important details fall through the cracks and damage his or her credibility early on in their career. But how do you go about testing properties for drugs?

 

In humans, it’s pretty straightforward: a blood, urine, or hair test can reveal any drugs that the person has ingested. With buildings, however, it’s a bit more sophisticated. Because indoor settings often have a much bigger area to cover, it’s essential to use a collection method that is especially sensitive to certain drugs. This sensitivity will cut down on search and collection time.

 

This collection method first came to prominence at the turn of the millennium. A company named SecureTec manufactured DrugWipes; these are wipes designed to collect drug residue from objects or surfaces with which a potential drug user frequently interacts. One of its features included a precise cutoff point for drug residue, meaning that the wipes had to collect a certain amount of drug residue for it to be criminal. This measure strove to keep innocent people out of the fray.

 

While DrugWipes managed to find more substantial amounts of drug residue without fail, it did not succeed at picking up any of the smaller numbers. Consequently, the American government declared that DrugWipes were best for a preliminary investigation, but not reliable.

 

Since then, drug residue testing technology has evolved dramatically. Many meth residue collection tests now collect residue using a device that looks a lot like a pregnancy test. Similar to DrugWipes, these devices wipe surfaces to collect drug residue. Better still, you can see the results in minutes.

 

Other test kits include something called colourimetric reagents, which are chemicals that change colours as a result of a chemical reaction. Different illegal substances turn to different colours. Many test kits test for drug residue using this method.

 

So where does that leave you, then? Which test kit should you use and for which drugs should you be testing? Seeing as opioid use is on the rise, it is crucial to check for opioids. Methamphetamine is also quite popular, so be sure to test for those too. Some landlords opt out of testing for cannabis. However, the ordinances may vary depending on your property’s location.

 

The good news is that third-hand meth consumption is highly unlikely. The only times third-hand meth consumption could pose a danger is if the property in question was used for cooking meth or if meth was smoked heavily on the premises. The police or city council may not even require a residue test on the property if neither of these applies.

If you do find yourself needing to test your property for meth residue, choose a trusted name in the business like Stewart’s rental property drug testing. Their three-step residue test brings you the most accurate results for a fair price.