We all know it – lead paint is bad for you.
So bad, in fact, that the government banned its use back in 1978.
However, they didn’t mandate its removal, so you might occasionally find some residual lead paint if you have an older home or commercial building.
But why is it such a big deal?
How do you know if you have it in your home?
And what can you do about it?
Keep reading to find out from this professional painter in Willow Grove
What Is Lead Paint
Lead paint is simply paint with the metal lead added to it.
They used it because it made the paint dry more quickly, more durable, and more resistant to moisture.
However, lead can cause brain and kidney damage, especially in young children.
It also causes weaker bones, teeth, muscles, nerves, and blood vessels.
Nasty stuff.
However, so long as the paint isn’t disturbed, there isn’t much of a chance of lead exposure.
The problem is keeping it undisturbed – small pieces may chip away from your paint over the years, which can gather on the floor along the edge of the wall or on a couch or bed pushed up against it.
This unfortunately makes young children at higher risk of exposure, since they’re more likely to be crawling around on the ground.
In fact, lead poisoning has the largest effect on young children, because it can interfere with their brain development.
Now, lead also has a sweet taste to it, so much so that the Romans used to use it to sweeten their beverages.
Because children also tend to stick things in their mouth, and because lead is sweet, children can end up eating quite a few lead paint chips, or even breaking pieces of flaking or peeling paint to eat it.
This often leads to long term health issues.
How To Tell If Your Home Has Lead Paint
As we mentioned above, lead paint was banned in 1978.
So logic might dictate that any home built after 1978 is guaranteed not to have any lead paint, right?
Not necessarily.
Often, paint companies and paint stores are sitting on quite a bit of paint – it’s true today, and it was true in 1978.
Rather than throw all their lead paint away, some stores ended up selling it off with different labels, and some painters just used it in peoples’ homes anyway.
After all, how would they know?
So if your home was built in 1979, 1980, around there, you might still want to pay attention.
But if your home is only 20 or so years old, don’t worry about it.
If your home is older than the early 80’s, though, chances are it had lead paint used in it at some point, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s still there.
If you own an older home, consider getting a lead paint testing kit.
You can get these from most hardware stores.
What If You Find Lead Paint?
The truth is, you’re unlikely at this point to find lead paint on your wall – much of it has been removed at this point.
But it’s not impossible.
If you discover lead paint, you can paint over it, but that’s not really a good idea.
After all, preparing a wall for painting always involves a bit of sanding, and chances are you’ll release a bunch of toxic dust into the air when you do.
No, it’s far better to have a professional painting company come in to take care of it for you.
While it might cost more, the truth is lead can be incredibly harmful to you and your family.
It’s worth it to hire a lead-safe certified painter to remove your lead paint and keep your home as safe and healthy as possible.
Call Purcellpro Painters
Do you have a painting project in mind?
Big or small, we do it all.
Call us at Purcellpro Painters today.
