Methamphetamine, more commonly known as meth, is a drug that has become unfortunately common in the United States. One of the downfalls of meth is that when it is cooked in a home, that home becomes heavily contaminated with dangerous substances. To make the home safe again, the owner or responsible party needs to hire a meth decontamination team. Here's a look at the major steps a decontamination team will take when cleaning up a home that was used to cook methamphetamine.

Removing carpeting.

Although most hard floors can be left in place and cleaned, there is really no good way to remove methamphetamine contamination from carpet. As such, the carpet is torn up and discarded. The padding underneath the carpet is removed, too.

Removing furniture and some electronics.

Most furniture will need to be removed from the home. Certainly, anything plush, like a sofa or mattress, has to go. Some hard-surface furniture might be able to be saved, but since it will have to be scrubbed clean with specialized cleaners, the finish is likely to be damaged. Many cleanup teams simply opt to throw away wood furniture as well, just to be sure that the home is completely decontaminated.

Cleaning air ducts.

One of the reasons cleaning up from methamphetamine contamination is so difficult is that the substance tends to get inside the air ducts. After all of the carpet, furniture, and other loose items are removed from the home, the cleaning team will turn off the HVAC system and clean the ducts. First, they will vacuum them out, and then they will use a specialized liquid cleaner to remove any remnants of contamination. 

Scrubbing walls, floors, and ceilings.

After the ducts are cleaned, the cleanup team will focus on scrubbing the floors, walls, and ceilings. It is normal for some of the paint and finishes to be removed as a part of this process, so the homeowner will need to pay for some remodeling and renovations after the cleanup is complete. Usually, cleanup teams scrub all surfaces at least three times. The HVAC system is not turned on again until after this step is complete. Once the home is clean, though, the heat or AC can be turned back on without the worry that additional contaminants will be sucked into the ducts.

Hopefully, you never find yourself in the position of needing a home decontaminated from meth. But if you do, you now have a pretty good idea of what the process involves. For more information about home decontamination, contact a local professional.