Ex-Realtor building meth cleanup biz.

• Author: Taylor, Mike
• Position: SMALL biz

Peter Riley used to sell homes. Now he decontaminates meth houses.

Five years ago Riley launched Crystal Clean Decontamination, a Denver-based company that specializes in meth-lab and biohazard cleanup.

Riley, who was a real estate broker for 14 years before he went looking for a career change, figures he's decontaminated about 150 properties since he started the business in 2005, including about 25 properties this year.

On the low end, he'll charge about $3,500 for a small house that requires only removing the soft goods--the carpeting, the bedding, drapes, etc.--and cleaning the nonporous surfaces with multiple washes.

On the high end, a job can cost $40,000 if it's a big house and Riley has to gut it, taking the interior down to its 2-by-4 studs from the floor to the attic.

In Colorado, the meth level must be below 0.5 micrograms per 100 square centimeters, and the property must be tested by a third-party industrial hygienist. Regulations vary by state.

In early July, Riley and another worker drove several hundred miles to decontaminate two houses, one in Salt Lake City, the other a half-million-dollar house in nearby Taylorsville, Utah.

"The house we're working on right" now is going to studs," Riley said on the phone as he took a break from his Salt Lake City job, one that's presumably going to rid the place of meth and leave an invoice of about $13,500. 'There's not going to be any walls, just the 2-by-4s. All you'll see is electric wiring and the framing."

Riley and anyone working with him wear protective "head-to-toe moon suits" with air-purifying respirators when they work. The business is growing, generating revenue of about $200,000 two years ago, a little less than that last year, and back up to a projected $225,000 to $250,000 this year, Riley says.

At present, the core staff of Crystal Clean Decontamination consists only of Riley and his wife, Lori, a co-owner. Other than that, Riley relies on a few independent contractors, though he hopes to add a full-time employee soon. About half his business is in Colorado, the rest in surrounding states.

"I didn't think at this time I would still be doing as much of the work as I am," says Riley, 42. "But it's one of those things where attention to detail is just really important."

The tragic toll that methamphetamine exacts on human lives has been well-documented. The properties where the drug has been...