It’s probably fair to say that we’ve dealt with our fair share of messy home improvements. We’ve tackled everything from removing tonnes (literally) of tarmac to tiling our roof, but one of the most frequent questions we get asked is about how to deal with lead paint.
‘May contain lead paint’ is one the many things that came up on the survey of our home before we bought it. As with all surveys, I’m sure that the surveyor was covering himself to a certain degree, but hearing about all things that could be wrong with your home is a bit disconcerting to say the least.
Lead paint however is a really common problem and it’s something that a lot of homeowners face – especially if you live in an older property, but it’s not all bad.
First of all check to see if your paint actually contains lead. If you live in a house that was built before 1960, it’s very likely that lead paint was used. There are kits available that you can use to test if your paint contains lead. But whilst they’re great to give you an indication, they aren’t 100% reliable and even if the top layer of paint doesn’t contain lead, the older layers underneath could still be lead paint.
If you want to make 100% sure that you don’t have lead paint you should have a check carried out by a specialist company like Lead Paint Safety Association or Lead Test Home Analysis Service.
So, what to do if you have lead paint?
If you’ve done a test and you do have lead paint there’s still no reason to panic.
There’s only a risk to your health is the paint is unsound. If it’s in a good condition with no flaking, removing is actually a greater risk as it could lead to the exposure of lead dust.
Old lead paint surfaces should only be treated or removed if the paint is flaking or if dust particles are present.
If your paint is in a good condition, it’s best to paint over it and therefore cover and seal it with the new paint. If the paint isn’t in a good condition and is chipped, flaking or has lost its adhesion, you’ll have to remove it before repainting.
The best and safest way to remove lead paint is with a chemical stripper which binds the particles in the paint and doesn’t cause dust. We’ve tried a lot of different strippers and our favourite one is PeelAway
We used a hot air gun. It’s much less safe option and it’s important to only soften the paint before scraping it off. It’s also really important to not let the paint burn and of course wear protective clothing and a mask.
It’s also a good idea to take anything you can remove to be stripped. We took all of our doors to a stripping company where they were dipped in a stripping bath and came back without the old paint. It only cost about £15 per door and not only saved us a lot of time and effort, but was also the safest way to remove old paint.
These are some of the things you should consider before removing lead paint:
- Always take safety precautions. Wear an overall and gloves and cover your hair. Wear a dust mask (minimum FFP3) and wash clothes separately.
- Before you start stripping paint, remove everything from the room that you can – especially things like soft furnishings, curtains and carpets and cover everything that you can’t remove with plastic sheets and seal them with tape.
- The general rule is to not create dust or fumes. Use a chemical stripper to bind the particles.
- Work in a well ventilated area and don’t let anyone in the area that doesn’t need to be there.
- If the existing paint is in a good condition, don’t remove it! Just paint over it.
- Dispose of the stripped paint (and all of your masks etc.) in bags that you seal with tape as soon as possible.
Most importantly – Be safe! We stripped every bit of paint in our house and haven’t had any health issues, but it is of course important to take all possible safety precautions! Removing lead paint can be dangerous and cause health issues. Don’t even think of attempting it if you you are pregnant or have young children in the house. If you’re unsure of anything always consult a professional!
If you’d like some more information on how to deal with lead paint you can check out the Lead Paint Safely Association or British Coatings Federation.
What’s the biggest DIY hurdle you’ve ever faced? Do you have any hazards in your home?
Be aware of pets too. We only found out our old house had lead paint when our dog got sick.
He’d been chewing a corner of a bannister and got lead poisoning.
He ended up living to be 21, not bad age for a Border Terrier and not an experience I would want to relive.
Ohh, that’s a really good point Lucy! Chewing banisters is definitely going to expose lead paint, even if it’s in a good condition and hidden under other paint.
Glad to hear that he recovered though!
Cx
Great point! We have heard many stories like yours. Lead paint is dangerous and should be removed. Christine’s blog post is really helpful. Especially, the mentioned steps that should be done before removing lead paint. Well done!
Hi Christine,
Thanks for this post – I was literally about to ask you about lead paint today, as I stumbled upon your site recently while searching for advice about restoring staircases (currently struggling through this project on our 1930s stairs). I have been using a heat gun mostly, and some nasty toxic chemical stripper for the hard to reach bits…
My question is; after the majority of the paint is gone, is the final step of sanding still hazardous would you say? Obviously sanding is an essential step before refinishing, but there’s always going to be some paint or paint residue left on the wood I’m thinking?! I guess it depends on how good a job you do stripping the paint?
A DIY forum I was reading a while back there was a bloke on there saying everyone is too uptight about lead paint and that we all breathed in a hell of a lot more lead back before unleaded fuel! I’m not sure if I find that comforting or terrifying!
Love your house btw :)
Ohh, that was perfect timing then Eve! Yes, you will still have to do some sanding and yes, it can still be harmful. Sanding is the most important step when painting anything (don’t forget to lightly sand between coats of paint, too) and your finish will only ever be as good as the surface you’re painting. If the residue that’s left is smooth, you’re not going to notice it and I wouldn’t worry too much about small bits that are still left. To a certain degree I do think that we’re all overly careful nowadays, but having said that we often didn’t know better and if you know that something can be harmful it probably best to avoid it.
We still sanded everything (I think your meant to wet-sand it) and are fine, but it’s obviously not anything that we can recommend. Just make sure to take as many safety precautions as possible!
Hope that’s a bit of help!
Cx
Really helpful article! I’ve shared it on my facebook page as I don’t think there is a whole lot of info out there about this potential health risk. Everyone moves into their older properties and starts merrily sanding away the old skirting boards etc. I do think the big DIY stores should make the issue more prominent in their paint departments! They should have some leaflets for people about this issue at the very least, as many won’t have even considered it.
Thanks for sharing ! x
Thanks Antonia – glad you liked it! I completely agree that most people just don’t know about the possible risks. It’s easy to get excited when you move into a new home but being safe has always got to be a priority!
Cx
Hello! Your Peel Away link didn’t work. Could you clarify if it is the one by Dumomd and whether or not the Smart Strip version? Thank you!
Not sure why the link didn’t work, but it seems to be fine now. There’s also another link to it in the sidebar.
Either way the PeelAway (we used PeelAway1 which is far better than PeelAway7, but what you need will depend on your paint) is by Barrettine.
Hope that helps and good luck with your stripping Wendy!
Cx