Lead Poisoning
Big topic, lots of q’s. Surprised more hasn’t been posted. It seems safe to assume that most / all old townhouses in Bklyn and Manhattan will have a few old layers of lead-based paint, yet it doesn’t seem to be a big concern to owners. I understand if you just keep painting over it and…
Big topic, lots of q’s. Surprised more hasn’t been posted. It seems safe to assume that most / all old townhouses in Bklyn and Manhattan will have a few old layers of lead-based paint, yet it doesn’t seem to be a big concern to owners. I understand if you just keep painting over it and maintain it, its pretty safe but since everyone in this forum is renovating, isn’t it more of an issue for all of us? Is it something that’s pretty manageable?
More specifically, I would appreciate any thoughts on the following.
1. Good lead risk inspector / remediator & rough cost guideline? Is it incredibly expensive. Is ignorance bliss?
2. Is it automatically unsafe to strip leaded-paint off doors, molding, radiators etc or knock down plaster covered with some leaded paint? If a stripped door is then sealed with stain & finished with polyurethane, does the door still present a risk (ie, could the lead have gotten embedded in the wood and come out thru the finish)?
3. Re the lead-bearing dust created by renovation. Is it really a lot? Can it be dealt with relatively easily (vacuum, wetmop, give it some time etc)?
4. Is the soil in your backyard usually infected? Is it unsafe to eat vegetable grown in a backyard?
5. Is lead in their homes a big issue for the many young families in brownstone Brooklyn? I know the whole topic is stressing me out.
Nilfisk vacuums were recommended to me.
Not all HEPA flitered vacuum cleaners are safe and effective at removing lead paint dust. Special lead dust filtration is needed and only provided through multiple filtered commercial vacuums. We are talking about filtration at 99.99% @ .12 microns
other than having your child/children tested frequently, you should make sure that if they are at an oral fixation stage (when they’re putting hands,fingers, toys, whatever in their mouths) and/or crawling on all fours, you wash their hands and toys frequently. Making sure your child is not anemic helps also (for some reason lead binds to iron. It’s the long term exposure that’s a problem. We got HEPA air purifiers for some rooms in our house (where the children play alot) after renovations. They’re quite ugly but they also help during allergy season. We used a HEPA shop vac during renovations. We also now use a HEPA vac for regular cleaning. Using a high phosphate detergent like Cascade (I think it’s a tablespoon per gallon??) and the double bucket (one for dipping the dirty mop and the other for rinsing the mop) method is a suggested way to clean lead dust in the house. Yes, we also sent our doors out to be stripped and we got all new windows. We were a bit paranoid, but our kids are young and we’re hoping they’ll remain the geniuses that they are ?! Someone once told me that when we were growing up, the average lead level in children was probably about .17 — it explains alot about me and my husband.
Whoever posted about having lead paint on the back of your house – can you please email me offline at jmartin@rho.com? We have the same issue.
Thanks
The other thing to consider is whether your house has a lead water main, which you should replace, according to my plumber. The city’s lines are steel.
Thanks for all the helpful comments.
Looks like I’ll be having all the old doors stripped offsite, the shutters stripped offsite or discarded, and all the door casing moulding and window wainscotting stripped onsite (not sanded) by a pro (who’ll I’ll ask to be very careful about the lead issues). The woodstrippers are saying once the doors and shutters are stripped and resealed, there should not be a lead issue (bc there’ll be none remaining on the surface and nothing will be chipping off). After that, I’ll be washing down and HEPA vacumming and home-testing frequently for a while. After that, if I have any lingering concerns, I’ll get a pro lead assessor. Thanks again.
Peeling paint is a strong indicator of the presence of LEAD. If you see peeling paint on old doors that were repainted, guaranteed there is lead underneath, It eats its way to the surface. You can read up on it with the Dept of Health’s website. In my buiding I had to replace doors, window sills etc. We also replaced old water pipes that were soldered with lead. I had the water checked after, and got a clean bill of health. After all that work , I had renters whose child’s lead count was off the charts, her other 2 children were in the nornmal range. And yes it stressed me out.I then got lead testers from home depot and rechecked their apt, and it came back negative. Then one day I saw her in the backyard with her child and he was eating dirt(2 yr old). I also noticed he put everything he could into his mouth.Yes, that episode was stressful.
You can definitely grow vegetables in lead contaminated soil. If you are concerned, you can have the soil tested. I had mine tested in Clinton Hill. It was off the charts full of lead. However, there’s lot that says that lead collects in the leaves of plants. So grow fruiting vegetables. And wash them thoroughly before eating!
We are a young family hoping to have kids in a few years. This is our plan for dealing with lead paint in our brownstone. We welcome feedback:
We’ve replastered and painted walls that have tested positive for lead paint. In a few places we used drywall.
Our woodwork is another story. Here’s where most friction happens over time. The best thing would have been to strip it all and seal it or replace it. We couldn’t afford that so the most economical thing to do was to strip it (not sand it!) down in places where the most wear and tear occur (doors, jambs, windows). We reduced the layers of paint so there is less friction and chipping over time and are repainting it.
In the backyard we have flaking paint over brick so we’re having it power-washed. The back of the house will be draped in a large tarp that funnels the water/paint to a drain under the porch and (hopefully) protects the backyard and the neighbors. We have no grass or anything yet so we’re hoping to wait a year and then try to grow grass and create a patio. We will try to grow vegetables but will bring in a lot of new dirt and compost for that.