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I am looking to move into a 1945 house in West Palm Beach. It hasn't been officially tested for lead, but it's a likely scenario. When I visited the house, there was a peeling window sill (from water damage) and some peeling interior paint (about 2-3 square feet total). The owners had it fixed, but not by any special lead removal company (just a family member who does this sort of work). The owner mentioned he probably vacuumed up all of the paint chips with a standard shop vac (do those things have HEPA filters?).
The main problem is that I have a 2 year old and a 5 year old. The rest of the house seems to be in great shape (no other areas of peeling paint). Do you think this house would be safe enough for young children? The only things I can think of to do to increase the safety would be to mop and dust with a wet rag every day, and wash their hands before eating. My 2 year old is not likely to chew on any window sills (past that stage), but she does put her hands in her mouth, plays on the floor, etc.
There is a lot of conflicting information, it seems. Some people say it's not a big deal as long as paint chips don't get eaten, others say it's way too dangerous. Opinions?
If the area you are renting doesn't have lead safe certification, you can pay out of pocket to make you feel safer. You were assuming that the peeling paint is lead. It may be likely that the layers below it has lead but if it has been painted over many times, it's going to be lead safe.
Lead paint was an industry standard for a while... I can't believe your parents\ grandparents \ great-grandparents made it through without succumbing to a violent death!
But no seriously, when your kids are old enough to have kids they are probably going to look back terrified at the chemicals in the paint we use, the glue that was used in carpet backing, the chemicals in flooring, the chemicals in CFL lightbulbs, plastic plumbing..... I could go on forever.
Most lead paint is long gone and has been painted over hundreds of times. Just wear masks if you have to sand your walls and clean up well after.
You can buy lead test kits at Home Depot for $10. As you work around the house test anything that is chipped, scraped or that you need to cut. Lead paint was a relatively expensive finish in it's time so it wasn't commonly spread across every surface. If you actually do find lead, deal with it. There is a lot of information on how to handle lead paint. Also read up on how lead is absorbed. Healthy children generally don't absorb lead. They can if there's too much of it, but the blood levels required to cause damage are most often harmful to children with health and nutrition deficiencies. Obviously you want to encapsulate or remove any lead you find, but it's not the end of the world if you have some in your house.
A couple of other areas where you might find it other than paint are plumbing joints and weights. The old double hung window weights as well as the counter weight on faucets sprayers are often made of lead.
Do you think your children will want to suck on bits of paint? I suspect that very bored little ones, with no plastic toys, no TV, so computers, might have done so in the days of the depression or something, but today? The child would need to be tempted to do so. I could imagine that big swathes of peel might be a little tempting, but just eliminate those. You should not sand lead pain, making it airborne, but there are also ways to deal with that. Once you read more about it (not the scary hype articles) you might feel more comfortable with the older home.
Do you think your children will want to suck on bits of paint? I suspect that very bored little ones, with no plastic toys, no TV, so computers, might have done so in the days of the depression or something, but today? The child would need to be tempted to do so. I could imagine that big swathes of peel might be a little tempting, but just eliminate those. You should not sand lead pain, making it airborne, but there are also ways to deal with that. Once you read more about it (not the scary hype articles) you might feel more comfortable with the older home.
It's not that kids want to suck on bits of paint, it's that they walk/crawl around in areas with paint chips then put their hands in their mouths.
Any house built before about 1980 is bound to probably have at least some lead paint..paints manufactured before about 1970 have higher amounts than those made in the last years manufacturers were allowed by US law to add lead to their mixtures...and paints made before about 1950 will have even higher amounts of lead, especially white, red and yellow paints (which traditionally contained white and red lead in the pigments).
Really the best thing you can do is encapsulate the lead and leave it alone. Sanding or scraping it will release the lead into the air which can also be dangerous to young children. If you are doing remodeling and anything which you suspect or knows that contains old lead paint, definitely have a professional deal with it who is certified with lead paint removal.
Also keep in mind of asbestos in old drywall joint compound and ceiling textures (which was banned in 1980 in the US). It too is just best to be left alone and encapsulated. There is a special kind of paint you can buy which is meant for encapsulating lead paint.
If you leave it alone and seal it up, there is little to be worried about. Its when you disturb it or have chipping, pealing paint conditions or sand/scrap it and have lead paint particles get into the air and float about--that is where you have a hazard.
mkarch mentions lead in old plumbing and window weights--yes, you might find lead in old lead plumbing solder or even lead pipes, though both have not been used since at least the 1950s--lead was more often used for the service water line from the street into the house.
Old window sash weights were sometimes made of lead, though more often they are low-grade cast iron. I think old window sash weight from the 1700s/early 1800s tended to be made of lead than ones of the late 1800s/early to mid 1900s. Lead can get into the air by opening and closing of old windows which have lead paint on the sashes and tracks...many times the windows are either replaced entirely or the old layers of paint is stripped professionally and then the sashes and tracks are reinstalled. Stripping old sashes and tracks is not nearly as expensive as stripping woodwork trim for baseboards, door and window trim, etc. I might even be less than replacement windows altogether.
Since lead was used in paint here in the US as late as 1979, it is not likely to be on the upper most, exposed coat, but it could well be a coat or two below if it is a room which has not been painted in years.
I have a small bedroom in the third floor of my house, which was probably once a maids quarters...it had been used for storage for many, many years apparently and the paint was old. We had it tested and the upper most, exposed lair of paint was in fact lead--had a high amount as well and there were only three coats of paint on the wood work in this bedroom, plus a thin grey primer. This house was built in 1892, so the room had obviously had not seen a painter in decades.
half if not more of all apartments here in NYC have been painted with lead paint, but like another poster had stated, all have been probably painted over about a billion times, I wouldnt worry about it.
How often do you really have paint chips in your house, I know I never did, my gramma never did, and so on......were still alive.
i think too many people make big deals out of the lead paint - asbestos stuff...
I appreciate all of the responses here! Thank you. You guys are very knowledgeable.
After much thinking, I've decided not to go with this house. My son has autism and, like many who have autism, has a very limited diet. I don't feel comfortable putting him at risk for lead exposure because of his vulnerability. Additionally, I talked to my kid's doctor, and she feels strongly it wouldn't be good for either child. The way I see it, there are plenty of options down here in Fl (maybe not so much up north), that I will just look elsewhere.
Thanks again for helping reach my decision. I definitely feel much less afraid of leaded houses now.
I grew up in a house built before 1978. I was born before WWII. Everybody in my extended family was born before 1978. We are all alive, well and have our faculties. Our sons are engineers. Our homes did not kill us. Our present home was built in 1885. I don't think we are doomed by the paint in our house.
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