I think he’s confused. The licensing applies to clandestine laboratories. He should not be taking samples there. The idea is to sample a home to determine if anyone used or made meth in the home. If it is a known clandestine lab, no samples should be taken by a home inspector-at least not in Virginia or WV. I did not look at other state laws.
If mike is correct, and I’m wrong, no disclaimer will help. It is unnecessary in either scenario.
With titles such as, “meth-the new mold”, it appears a new industry is being created out of fear. It seems the premise is that it’s not always obvious that meth was made, or used in a home. The residue is apparently harmful to humans. That’s where home inspectors come in. That is what I understand from looking into this yesterday. $150 for a meth test will be a hard sell though.
I’d be elated if Meth was indeed the new mold. Then I wouldn’t have to answer the incessant questions. There isn’t a day goes by I don’t hear ‘will you be testing for mold’…or ‘does my air handler and ductwork have mold in it’. Where did all this paranoia of mold come from? I’ve been on this earth for 36 years and not once have I ever wondered, worried, cared, or really heard much commotion made about it, but it seems everyone else has/is??
When people ask me if test for mold, I tell them no, I guarantee you have mold in your home 
Lol, I know right. Good answer.
I’ve been $245 meth testing for about 6 years. Don’t be too anxious to do one; Nick knows that Jeanne & I have been “methed up” several times during inspections. Thankfully, that seems to have come to an end around here!
Russel, is that $245 for one sample area?
Laughing
Juan, the reason I believe the disclaimers are necessary is the same reason I have disclaimers on roofs, structural issues, and electrical issues. I’m not a roofing contractor, an engineer, or an electrician. If a client acts before seeking a professional contractor, I don’t want to be the one responsible. I would just tell them to seek the consultation of a professional.
Same with meth. There are actually acceptable and unacceptable residual levels of meth, so if I were to say it’s contaminated, I better know to what level. My disclaimer would say something like “A positive test should be verified with a licensed contractor”, or something like that.
And if my test comes back negative, but there is actually contamination that is present where I didn’t test, well, I’d hate to be on that hook.
I would put in the disclaimers, mainly to stay out of hot water with the state.
If your positive test needs to be verified with another test from someone else, why would you make your clients pay for it?
Shouldn’t you just advise them to get the other person to perform the first one?
I completely agree…
Jim
Because I’m not trained for remediation. The remediation company always does their own testing, and they charge for it. I guess the client would be paying for “peace of mind”, hoping the test is negative. Maybe they suspect a teen age or adult child used meth in the home while the parents were away, returned from vacation to a “funny smell”. Smells like cat piss. My negative test would suggest their pet cat peed in the house. My positive test would suggest they need clean up, hence, they call the state licensed clean up facility and would have to pay for another test…
I’m just saying I’m gonna CMA…
So if you get a positive test, a company needs to clean it up. Clean up procedures may include a pre-test by the clean up company. Why do you need to disclose this?
Just to CYA? From what?
I think the client should know that if they pay me, say, $175-$225 for a test, and it’s positive, they will likely have to pay the clean up company for a test as well. I don’t want the client to feel they’re getting “double whammied”.
I’m sure the clean up company’s test is $600 or more (I’ve looked into it), which is why they wouldn’t call them if it’s just suspected. Of course, if a lab is discovered, there would be no reason for me to test at all, I would defer them to the clean up company.
Maybe CYA ain’t really it-more like LCK-(Letting Clients Know)
They’re just paying me so they will know…and knowing is half the battle!! :|.)
Until somebody is educated in a field, they should not make blank statements about a field they know nothing about. Just like meth, people do have problems with mold in their homes. I see serious cases quite often. Some of them heart breaking.
I don’t test for mold. I guarantee there is mold in every home.
Consumers are welcome to find someone else to test if they are worried about it.
I’ve been testing for meth for about 7 years, and charge $295. I think I was the first INACHI member to actually be certified for this type of testing, and had a few “horror story” posts on this MB!
Yup, and I get a lot of jobs doing Certified Mold Sampling for those who are concerned if there is an elevated mold spore count inside their homes, compared to the exterior.
Sorry for the delay, I was never informed their had been a response!
The lab I have been using provides special papers that are swabbed across an area. Typically, I would do 2 swabs for the $245 (now I’m up to 295, same as my 3 mold samples)