Is a home inspection of lead worth the money or will it basically tell me what I already know

lead

We just purchased a house. It was built in 1939. There are areas of the house, around the base of some molding, door corners, around some door frames, etc., where paint is chipping.

We didn't get the house inspected before we bought it because we just assumed that there is lead paint underneath.

We haven't moved in with our kids (5 and 3 years old) b/c we are renovating. I recently used a lead paint test stick on a wall under a big piece of peeling paint in the bathroom. It was positive for lead.

Now that got me thinking and possibly considering getting a professional to come it to do some XRF testing. Is it worth having it tested or is it adequate to just follow EPA RRP guidelines and recommendations…such as cleaning the house more often, wiping your shoes before coming in the house, eat a less fatty diet (less lead absorption), etc.

Best Answer

Beyond simply identifying whether you have lead, there are two main reasons to consider getting a more thorough XRF lead inspection:

  1. If you're trying to fully de-lead your home, this is a thorough test to determine if the deleading project has been successful.

  2. If your goal is to make your home safer without going as far as a full deleading project, you can use XFR to prioritize remediation work. For example, you may find that some areas do not contain lead and can be safely ignored.

For safety impact, the most important rules are:

  • Any repair work should be done with proper personal and work area protection. Work done without proper precautions is a major risk for dangerous levels of lead exposure.
  • Peeling or chipping lead paint should be safely removed and replaced or covered (e.g. with an encapsulating primer designed to secure lead paint).
  • Lead paint in areas subject to frequent motion (e.g. window partition beads, door jambs) or in child-accessible areas (e.g. base and window molding) are higher priority for remediation.
  • Keep your home clean (vacuum more often with a HEPA filter equipped cleaner).
  • Supervise your children and/or remove lead paint in their primary play areas.
  • Watch out for any new paint chipping and clean or remediate as needed.

Of course, it is safest to fully de-lead your home. You should come to your own conclusion about how much risk you and your family are willing to accept around this.