How to Check the House for Lead Paint

Lead-based paint can cause lead poisoning. Lead poisoning causes mental retardation, nerve damage, poor muscle coordination and irritability. Children are more susceptible, because they are more likely to chew on a piece of wood that may contain lead paint. It is very important to test your current home or any new home you plan on purchasing so that you can avoid any injuries caused by the lead paint.

Things You'll Need

• Lead paint testing kit

Instructions

1. Find out the age of the home. Homes built after 1980 are safe, because manufacturers stopped using led paint. If the home was built before 1980, it needs to be tested.

2. Buy a lead paint testing kit. Lead Inspector (see Resources) makes a good one that costs $12.95. Stores such as Home Depot and Lowe's also sell lead paint testing kits.

3. Clean the area you want to test first. You want to make sure the area is free from dust.

4. Insert the swab in to the vial. It is now ready to test an indicate whether lead is present in the paint.

5. Rub the tip of the swab on a piece of paint in your house. Keep rubbing for half a minute. If the tip of the swab turned brown, it means that the paint has turned up positive for lead.

Tips & Warnings

• If the house is old, you may need to scrape down a few layers of paint to see if the lead is in one of the original coats of paint.

• If you use a professional to test for the lead and lead is present, you are going to have to follow some strict and costly rules to remove the lead.

Resources

• Lead Paint Testing Kit