Finding out whether your home was formerly used as a place for manufacturing methamphetamines used to cost hundreds of dollars and required a certified tester. Results might be delivered in weeks or months.

That's not so anymore. Those living in owner-occupied homes, along with landlords and renters, have access to a tool to detect whether they live in homes with invisible, long-lasting residue left from making meth. For $49.99, anyone can now test surfaces from carpets to countertops using a technology called DrugWipe. The results are available in about five minutes.

Adam Kreitman is president of Integrity Detection Systems (IDS) in St. Louis County. IDS is the only company in the state to offer the technology. Missouri has ranked No. 1 in the nation for meth lab seizures in each of the last six years.Kreitman said some landlords might be reluctant to perform the test, which guarantees scientific, 100 percent reliable results in a few minutes.

Kreitman had mentioned, "There are two big problems with meth testing for homebuyers, First, Realtors are generally not in favor of doing anything that could cost them a sale. Second, most home inspectors are afraid to do meth testing because of the potential liability. Everybody comes back to if McDonald's can get sued over hot coffee, you can pretty much get sued over anything."

Kreitman said real estate agents face the same problem home inspectors and homebuyers face when it comes to meth and real estate - a lot of ambiguity.

"What Realtors want to avoid are situations where trace amounts of meth are detected, which may pose little to no health risk," Kreitman said, "but the buyers get cold feet and back out of the deal. This is where the guidance of better laws and better information on the health effects of meth residue would be a huge benefit. It is the lack of this guidance and information that causes most of the liability concerns for both Realtors and home inspectors."

No laws are currently on the books to regulate meth lab cleanup for the average homeowner. Little research has been done on the long-term effects of exposure to toxins left behind from making meth.

A resolution recently adopted in the U.S. House of Representatives is focused toward helping residents living in buildings formerly used as meth labs, particularly children and first responders.

Kreitman said part of that fear of testing might stem from a potential seller not having been responsible for any drug activity within the home.

"It might be news to them and they might get upset," Kreitman said.

That's what Gary Frost said happened to him. Frost sold a home last summer to Sudhagar and Camille Subramaniam in the Pasadena Gardens subdivision in St. Charles. He said he first learned the home was once used as a meth lab when a staff writer for the Journal contacted him in mid-February.

He insisted it was not his intent to deceive anyone into buying a property that could possibly harm anyone living there.

Frost said he had no idea any former occupant of the home was cooking meth there. He was not even renting the home to John Uszynski - the man charged in October 2005 with attempting to manufacture a controlled substance.

Uszynski was convicted and is serving 15 years with the Missouri Department of Corrections. Frost was renting to a woman and her 3-year-old child.

Police found a meth lab at the home, which Frost sold to the Subramaniams, less than one year later.

"My career is my reputation. I believe in doing the right thing," said Frost, who owns a handful of rental properties in St. Charles County.

Frost worked to meet the city's cleanup requirements after meth was discovered in the home.

City officials ordered him to scrub all the surfaces with bleach water - under the direct supervision of city employees. Shortly after Uszynski's arrest, Frost hired American Air Duct Cleaning Company, of St. Peters, to clean the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, to remove dirt and dust from carpet fibers and to clean the coil in the air conditioning, among other things. The bill for that was $305.

"I washed the walls and was told, 'No, you're not done yet.'" Frost said. "I had the duct work professionally cleaned, fumigated and disinfected. I rented a steam vacuum and went over the carpet five different times. I replaced the blinds and filters."

Frost was told the work was completed to standards and the city issued an occupancy permit. He said the city even seemed proud of its standards - despite only general guidance from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and other state agencies on the methods and thoroughness to remove any possible health risks that may be posed by the presence of meth residue.

"At this point, I really thought I was good to go. From my standpoint, I thought I was doing the right thing," Frost said.

Frost said he was refused information from police regarding possible meth manufacturing in the home.

The property was going to be sold anyway, he said, to take advantage of the "tremendous appreciation" real estate in St. Charles was then experiencing.

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