My Home Depot

Lead paint dust: My kids are 11 and 13. Doing renovations. How many days can they sleep here with lead dust?

We haven't tested the lead level in the dust yet. Just worrying. Renovations were the equivalent of stripping one door of paint, using a scraper. Most swept up but we can smell something bad. Don't want to hear alarmists -- just anyone with real info. Thanks.

Public Comments

1. do you have any air purifiers? if you do, and if this was me, i would open up windows, run it on full power, and keep the kids out at least overnight.
2. It is important to protect yourself when dealing with lead paint. Adequately protect yourself by wearing a dual filter respirator, gloves and overalls. Make sure you aren't working around pets or children. You should place down a tarp, or a similar plastic drop sheet to catch the paint for easy disposal. It is best to use a drop sheet that you don't mind getting rid of. Step 2To remove the paint you should avoid sanding. Creating dust from the lead based paint is generally not a good idea and should be avoided. Any dust created can linger and contaminate the home. While the effects of lead are not entirely known on humans and household pets, it is generally known to be harmful to health. Step 3To remove the paint you can purchase a commercial system such as Peel Away and Let’s Clean. These are chemical solutions that will easily remove multiple layers of paint at once. However make sure you read the label to know if it is safe for the material you will be using it on. Some solutions may cause permanent damage to wood and other surfaces. Simply purchase one of these chemicals and apply to the surface as per instructions, you will find that the paint comes off very well.
3. Hi, Lead tends to accumulate in our bodies, so any exposure should be limited - especially for children that are still developing. Lead (in the form it appears in paint) doesn't have a distinctive smell. It may be that you're smelling some solvent residue or some other residue chemical that was released during the stripping process. Although ,lead-acetate (sometimes used in old paints) does have a sweet taste to it (I wouldn't try tasting it). Lead is usually used as a pigment in paints; most commonly as white and yellow colors, so try to avoid these. The best thing to do would be to test for lead in the dust, paint chips or on the striped door. The link I posted under sources describes a simple "detection recipe" for lead you can do at home. Good luck and keep safe, Ron Novik (M.Sc. Chemistry)