When You Remodel, Repair, or Repaint

Improperly repairing, removing or maintaining potential lead-based paint increases the hazards to your family by creating and spreading hazardous lead dust throughout the home. Many lead poisonings occur because precautions were not taken.

Therefore, it is very important to be knowledgeable about lead paint, the proper methods to use when working with lead paint, and the proper ways to clean up afterward.

If your home was built before 1978, there is a good chance that it contains some lead-based paint. Almost 80% of homes in the US built before 1978 do! When working on such a home, it is safest to just assume you are working with lead paint. Collecting one or two paint chips, or spot testing one or two areas, will not give you a representative picture of whether your home contains lead paint. Levels of lead in paint can vary widely from spot to spot. Surfaces just a few feet apart often have different levels of lead. You should test for the presence of lead.

There are certain procedures that you or your contractor should use to ensure that your home remains safe for you and your family. If you choose not to do the work yourself, inform contractors that they may be working with lead paint, and stress that you expect them to follow lead-safe work practices.

Repair and Maintenance

Repairing, removing or maintaining potential lead-based paint improperly can increase the hazard by spreading hazardous lead dust throughout the home. Therefore it is very important to know the proper methods to use when working with lead paint. Ideally only a properly trained LeadSmart^tm maintenance and repair person should perform any work involving surfaces that may contain lead based paint. There are six key steps in working with potential lead-based paint:

1)Use the proper equipment. You will need several items before you start to ensure that the job can be done correctly. In addition to the usual tools such as scrapers and putty knives, it is important to have: a HEPA vacuum; double sided mop bucket (or two buckets) and mop; high phosphate cleaner (such as TSP) or any good reliable cleaner; ample disposable paper towels or rags; plastic sheeting; tack cloth; disposal waste bags; wet sanding blocks; misting bottle filled with water; and a LeadSmart^tm testing kit.

2) Have the proper set-up. Create a barrier between the work area and the rest of the house. Using plastic sheeting over doorways is a good way to seal off the area and protect the rest of the house from exposure. Put down a plastic drop cloth to catch any debris created as a result of paint removal. Wear shoe covers and remove them before exiting the work area, or step off onto a tack cloth. Keep doors and windows closed to prevent dust from blowing, and close off vents to central air or heat to avoid spreading dust. Remove all furniture, or cover tightly with plastic sheeting. Do not allow children or pregnant women into the work area.

3) Essential work practices. Never remove lead paint by dry sanding, dry scraping or burning. Using your misting bottle, mist the painted surface before sanding with a wet sanding block, or scraping. Be sure to work over a plastic drop cloth to catch any large particles. Do not eat, smoke, or chew gum while working.

4) Clean as you work. Be sure to wet clean the areas you are working on as you go along. Though it will be necessary to clean the entire house at the end of the project, it is important to clean as you go in order to keep lead dust from spreading. Dust that spreads to other areas of the home can be ingested or breathed in by residents. Clean using a good detergent (or TSP) mixed with warm water. Rinse your cleaning utensils in clean water. See our fact sheet "Employing Cleaning Methods to Minimize Lead Hazards in the Home" for further guidance on cleaning.

5) Proper disposal. When painting is complete, mist the plastic sheeting with water to keep down the dust. Rollup the plastic sheet keeping the dirty side inside. Pick up any paint chips or other debris that may have fallen elsewhere. Be sure to place all items used in the repair and clean-up into a plastic waste bag. The bag must be tightly sealed and properly disposed of with the garbage. Once the bag is sealed, do not reopen. Use a new bag if needed.

6) Dust test afterward. You should use a LeadSmart^tm testing kit to perform a dust test after all renovations, maintenance and cleaning activities. The results of this test will tell you if your lead-safe work practices followed by proper cleaning have been effective. Since lead dust levels in the home may change over time, it is strongly suggested that you perform dust testing periodically to help safeguard your family. If lead dust levels begin to rise, reinspect the home for deteriorating paint, repair where necessary, repeating the steps outlined in this fact sheet, and be sure to wet clean thoroughly. Some lead hazards can be reduced simply by cleaning.

Employing Cleaning Methods to Reduce Lead Hazards in the Home

It is a well-known fact that using simple cleaning practices and proper maintenance can reduce lead hazards in the home. Lead based paint maintained in good condition usually is not harmful to the residents. On the other hand, lead-based paint that falls into disrepair can cause harmful lead dust which settles on surfaces and is ingested or breathed in by people living in or visiting the home. After performing a visual inspection of paint conditions and repairing any areas in need, it is very important to clean up afterwards, and on a regular basis, to ensure that no lead hazards have been left behind. There are several elements to an effective cleaning method:

All horizontal surfaces should be wiped or mopped with a solution of water and a good all-purpose cleaner, a high phosphate cleaner such as Cascade or Spic & Span, or a cleaner specially formulated for cleaning lead dust. (Simple Green is environmentally friendly and also works well.) This includes window sills, floors, counter tops, window wells and any other surfaces that dust may settle on. Cleaning should be done on a weekly basis.

Be sure to rinse your mop or cloth frequently in clean water while cleaning. Do not rinse in your cleaning solution. This will only cause your cloth or mop to become contaminated and ineffective.

Carpeted areas must be professionally steam-cleaned. This may not remove all lead dust, but will reduce it greatly.

Most regular household vacuums will not remove lead dust because it is so small. Often, household vacuums simply spread lead dust around the home in the exhaust and through the bag. Be sure to use a HEPA vacuum, or one which removes particles smaller than 3 microns.

Wash children’s toys, pacifiers, and stuffed toys regularly, especially if they have come in contact with the floor, where they may have picked up lead dust.

Clean or remove shoes before entering the home to reduce the amount of lead which may be brought in from the outside.

The use of proper cleaning methods will help to reduce lead dust hazards in the home and help to protect your family from lead exposure.

What Are Lead Hazards, and Where Are They Found?

Lead hazards are conditions that are likely to poison or cause other adverse health effects when people are exposed to them. There are four major sources of lead hazards in and around the home; including lead-based paint, lead dust, lead-contaminated soil and drinking water containing lead.

Lead-based paint is primarily found in housing built before 1978. It can be a hazard, especially if it falls into poor condition, or is disturbed during maintenance or normal wear and tear. If the paint is peeling, chipping, chalking or cracking, it will create lead dust that poisons children through normal hand-to-mouth activity. Children may eat paint chips or chew on painted surfaces, resulting in poisoning. Even lead-based paint that appears to be in good condition can be a problem if it is on surfaces that get a lot of wear and tear, such as door jambs and window sills.

It is most important to repair areas where lead paint is deteriorating. All areas should be repaired and repainted using a good latex paint or lead sealer. After repairs are made, the home should be thoroughly cleaned to remove any lead dust that may be left behind. A lead dust test should then be performed to verify that the cleaning was effective.

Lead dust is created when lead paint is sanded or scraped during maintenance or repair, or just through normal wear and tear. When maintenance or renovation takes place, the dust from these operations settles on surfaces such as floors, countertops, window sills and furniture. If the paint being worked on contains lead, the lead is deposited as dust. Window sills and door jambs can be another source of lead dust. If these components rub during normal opening and closing, lead dust can be created and deposited on surfaces throughout the home. Lead from the outside soil can be tracked into the home, becoming an additional source of lead dust.

Soil can become contaminated when exterior lead-based paint flakes, chalks or peels and gets into the soil. Homes near certain industries such as smelters or battery manufacturers may have lead in the soil as a result of these operations. Past use of leaded gasoline has also left lead deposits in our nation's soil. Playgrounds and gardens should not be placed in areas where the soil is contaminated with lead.

Drinking water can be contaminated with lead, regardless of its source. Many faucets in homes and on store shelves contain leaded components that can leach lead into the water. Leaded solder in household piping and leaded components in well pumps have been in use for many years, and continue to leach lead into the drinking water of thousands of homes even today. Many public water delivery systems still have old lead piping through which the water must pass before it reaches the home. According to the EPA, older homes, very new homes and high-rise apartments are the most likely to have lead contaminated drinking water. Water with a high pH has a tendency to leach more lead than water with a neutral pH, and warm water leaches more lead than cold.