Since 1978, it has been illegal to use lead paint in homes. This doesn’t mean, however, that there isn’t lead paint in your home. For example, if you live in an older home that was built before 1978 and has never been repainted, it’s entirely possible that there is lead in your home, which is a very serious situation.
Because finding lead in a home is so stressful, it can be hard to know how to rectify the situation. Fortunately, there are a few easy steps you can take to get this dangerous substance out of your property. Here are some steps you can take after finding lead paint in your home, including getting help from lead paint abatement contractors.
Are You at Risk?
The biggest difficulty with lead paint is that there is no simple way to differentiate from regular paint, meaning you may not know your risk level. Luckily, there are a few ways to determine if your home is at risk for lead poisoning.
First and foremost, you can check the age of your home. As mentioned, if a home was constructed before 1978, it’s highly like that the paint contains lead. If your home is older and the paint is chipping, lead poisoning can be a possibility. When lead paint chips, it can be very dangerous.
If your home fits any of these warning signs, you need to send of a paint sample for testing. If lead is detected, there are a few simple ways you can respond.
Protect Your Property
Once you have confirmed the presence of lead paint, your main goal should be containing the paint. While you may not need to remove all the paint from your property, you will have to contain it enough so that you are safe.
Generally, the best way to respond to lead paint in a home is to hire lead paint abatement contractors. These contractors will be able to fully examine your property and will be able to develop a plan to remove the lead as quickly and safely as possible.
Your contractors, for instance, will enter your home with protective gear such as zip-up suits, gloves and a mask with a filter. They will then use a HEPA vacuum to remove paint chips and lead-contaminated dust and properly dispose of these materials so that they are no longer a threat. With this done, there are several ways your contractors can remove or contain the leftover lead paint.
If only the surface level contains lead, the wet dusting method should suffice. On the other hand, if the lead has penetrated all the way to the wood, your contractors will need to use a more aggressive method.
Get Help Removing Lead with First Freedom Preservation
If you detect lead in a piece of property you own, you will need to remove this substance before you can even think about making a sale. Luckily, with the help of the lead paint abatement contractors at First Freedom Preservation, you can easily make your property lead-free.
First Freedom Preservation is your top resource for property maintenance, including emergency tasks such as lead-paint removal. Contact our team right away so that we can help you with your lead removal project.
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