We are having a terrible problem with lead dust. A handyman (not me, this time) scraped some old paint without taking any precautions, & now the kitchen is permeated. We don’t have children, but my step-son is very sensitive to it, & is in misery. (It’s his kitchen.)
I remember something about using Lysol rather than bleach for cleanup, but if anybody knows specifically how to deal with this, I’d be grateful.
We did contact a professional lead abatement company, but they wanted to charge $6000 for a 10 x 13 room. What do they do that I can’t?
Edited 9/23/2008 2:31 pm ET by kate
Replies
I think all you can do is wash/wipe down the surfaces with standard cleaning products. Nothing will "neutralize" the lead, and nothing will dissolve it to any significant degree, so you just need to clean it up.
If you use a vacuum at all, make sure it's one with a HEPA filter.
BTW, if your step-son is "sensitive" to something it's likely not the lead, but something else -- mold, solvents, etc.
Clean everything well, with a TSP solution in hot water.
Get everything pretty wet, scrub, and mop it up well.
If you want to seal everything, use kilz or binz.
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Thanks - we already BINned everything, (2 coats), hepa vac'ed several times - I guess what remains is to wash again - of course, I was hoping one of you would loan me the magic bullet...
HEPA vacuum, wash with TSP, HEPA vacuum again.
You may not have a lead dust problem, if the guy only scraped it. If he used a grinder and/or sandpaper, then you may have a problem. Most likely, he is just sensitive to dust. Most of my friends have cured their allergy problems by stopping the drinking of cow's milk.
What are his issues/symptoms?
Jeff
He has Multiple Chemical Sensitivity - so he has lots - the lead-related ones are numbness in his hands & feet, speech & memory issues, & worsened sleep apnea.
But it's pretty darn hard to be sensitive to lead itself, since it doesn't vaporize at room temps and is really fairly difficult to get into the body, except through the mouth or lungs. Most likely the sensitivity would be to solvents or binders in the lead paint.
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That could be, but whatever it is, it's making him miserable...I'm going to do a TSP scrub this week.
Has he ever tried the chelation treatment? I believe there is such a treatment--seems like a guy soldering lead on the roof of City Hall in Bay City got lead poisoning and they did chelation to remove the lead from his blood.
He's looking into it - thanks.
I had a lot of lead dust in my house after a renovation and with two small children was very concerned. After getting some free advice from an abatement contractor, trying various methods and taking lead dust samples to determine how effective each method was, I came up with the following procedure:
Use "simple green" cleaning solution, either the spray bottle or concetrate mixed in a bucket. Simple green seems to be the most effective and readily available cleaner at picking up lead. Some cleaners just smear it around. The surface will look spotlessly clean, but will still be contaminated with lead dust. I didn't try TSP, but I have seen it recommended for cleaning up lead. Have seperate buckets and rags for cleaner and rinsing.
Like painting, start in the far corner and work towards the door, so you don't have to walk on a cleaned area. Have some newspaper on the floor in the uncontaminated area that you will end up on when the room is cleaned. Take off any dirty clothes, shoes on the newspaper when you are done. Wearing a pair of knee pads and shoe covers makes this step easier. Start by applying the cleaner to the surface and moping it with a rag, keeping the rag moving in the same direction, not scrubbing back and forth. Ring out the cleaning rag in a bucket dedicated to ringing the cleaning rag. Then mop the area with a rag and a bucket of water dedicated only to rinsing. Clean in a grid pattern, maybe 4 sq. ft. sections at a time. Overlap half way into the previous section each time. Using landmarks in the room to methodically follow the grid and overlapping to effectively clean and rinse each area twice will insure that no spot gets overlooked or only cleaned lightly. Change the rinsing and cleaning water often.
This method is effective on smooth surfaces like wood floors and vinyl floors. On uneven floors like tile, it will be hard to get the lead out of grout lines or cracks. In that case I would probably use my method and then seal the floor somehow.
Thanks for the tip about Simple Green - I've got a gallon of concentrate in the basement.
Unfortunately, this is the kitchen - the cabinets add many square feet of surface to clean. I also thought of starting with the lightbulbs & light fixtures. After mopping everything, I'm planning to repaint completely with BIN shellac-based sealer.
Good luck, I wouldn't think it would take more than a few hours. The painting will probably take longer than the clean up.
the TSP is best, then rinse wipe with the simple green.Reason - the TSP can chemically combine with the lead as it etches surfaces to loosen semi-attached leadHis symptoms are similar to lead poisoning. I know some people are more sensitive to certain things than others are, but this sounds extreme. Has he been tested for serum lead levels? If they are in the yellow or red zone, combined with those symptoms, he would qualify for chelation treatment.I think tho that some medical pros are shying away from chelation in favor of other methods or even the wait and see bit, so you may have to push and seek to get it.Best of luck
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Thanks - he will be seeing a doctor this week -
Round here, the HRA (housing and redevelopment agency)does lead assessments. They can come into your home and test for lead hazards. I'm not sure what they charge for this. A simple blood lead level is inexpensive and would tell you a lot.
Yes, thanks. There is no doubt at all that we have it - the house is 300 years old...