Re: Lead Paint and Heavy Metal Toxicity

February 22, 2010

, from one old house lover to another - our daughter was exposed to lead

paint in our old house at about a year of age. The problem with lead paint is

that you have to be really scrupulous about upkeep - any peeling paint can

become lead dust. If you want to do any remodeling, you would have to vacate

the home. Any sanding or other such work that would cause paint to become

airborne could be extremely hazardous. Then you've got old pipes, another

hazard, as well as soil issues if outside paint hits the ground. If you've got

a toxic kid already, I would sacrifice charm for my child's health and think of

other options.

Olivia

>

> For those of you who have dealt with high lead, maybe you can lend me some

> insight. We are currently house hunting and we came across a beauty

> yesterday. It was built in 1760 and was part of the revolutionary war and

> the freedom trail. The thing is, its got a ton of lead paint. DS is

> already high in arsenic and antimony, so I am worried that moving into a

> house with lead paint will add to his problems. Is it only ingestion or is

> off gassing a problem too? What do I need to know before even thinking about

> buying an old house like that? TIA!

>

> --

> -------------------------------------------

> J.

>

February 22, 2010

Keep looking, this would just be looking for trouble. It's the dust among other

things.

S S

Lead Paint and Heavy Metal Toxicity

Posted by: " " erinjwilliams@... erin_j_williams

Mon Feb 22, 2010 6:58 am (PST)

For those of you who have dealt with high lead, maybe you can lend me some

insight. We are currently house hunting and we came across a beauty

yesterday. It was built in 1760 and was part of the revolutionary war and

the freedom trail. The thing is, its got a ton of lead paint. DS is

already high in arsenic and antimony, so I am worried that moving into a

house with lead paint will add to his problems. Is it only ingestion or is

off gassing a problem too? What do I need to know before even thinking about

buying an old house like that? TIA!

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February 22, 2010

Testing for lead constantly would be at great expense. I'd look for

another house.

Shepard Salzer schrieb:

>

> Keep looking, this would just be looking for trouble. It's the dust

> among other things.

> S S

>

> Lead Paint and Heavy Metal Toxicity

> Posted by: " " erinjwilliams@...

> <mailto:erinjwilliams%40gmail.com> erin_j_williams

> Mon Feb 22, 2010 6:58 am (PST)

>

> For those of you who have dealt with high lead, maybe you can lend me some

> insight. We are currently house hunting and we came across a beauty

> yesterday. It was built in 1760 and was part of the revolutionary war and

> the freedom trail. The thing is, its got a ton of lead paint. DS is

> already high in arsenic and antimony, so I am worried that moving into a

> house with lead paint will add to his problems. Is it only ingestion or is

> off gassing a problem too? What do I need to know before even thinking

> about

> buying an old house like that? TIA!

>

> ----------------------------------------------------------

> Cheap Diet Help Tips. Click here.

> Diet Help

>

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>

February 22, 2010

Regardless of the house, when you get serious about the house, I would have

someone come in and do an environmental check for floors, carpeting, paint, etc.

Many of the older houses have asbestos as well, many newer homes can have mildew

and mold, so you never really know until you get someone in there.

Once you get it checked out, you can always work it into the purchase price and

have the work done before move in. At least this way you know it is safe.

Regards,

Summer McFarland

1.22 HEAL KIDS

1.224.325.5437

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\

-------------------------------------

Over fourteen years of organic search engine optimization, marketing and design.

February 22, 2010

If you have small children...it's not worth it. It's too hard to spend 4 years

chelating Lead out of them that they ingesting from the dust in the house. A

house that old is going to be full of lead. Absolutely skip it! Lead causes

brain damage, lowers IQ...I'd never buy one older than 1980 if I had to do over

again. Too risky...there is no way to keep every bit of lead dust out of your

child. It's impossible if you live in a house like that.

Jan

>

> For those of you who have dealt with high lead, maybe you can lend me some

> insight. We are currently house hunting and we came across a beauty

> yesterday. It was built in 1760 and was part of the revolutionary war and

> the freedom trail. The thing is, its got a ton of lead paint. DS is

> already high in arsenic and antimony, so I am worried that moving into a

> house with lead paint will add to his problems. Is it only ingestion or is

> off gassing a problem too? What do I need to know before even thinking about

> buying an old house like that? TIA!

>

> --

> -------------------------------------------

> J.

>

February 23, 2010

thank you all for the responses. Its so hard bc we live in Massachusetts,

90% of the homes here were built before 1980. I took all of your cautions

to heart and we are going to skip on this house. Its totally not worth the

potential harm even if we were extremely careful

On Mon, Feb 22, 2010 at 5:44 PM, Jan <mercurybabies2@...> wrote:

>

> If you have small children...it's not worth it. It's too hard to spend 4

> years chelating Lead out of them that they ingesting from the dust in the

> house. A house that old is going to be full of lead. Absolutely skip it!

> Lead causes brain damage, lowers IQ...I'd never buy one older than 1980 if I

> had to do over again. Too risky...there is no way to keep every bit of lead

> dust out of your child. It's impossible if you live in a house like that.

> Jan

>

> >

> > For those of you who have dealt with high lead, maybe you can lend me

> some

> > insight. We are currently house hunting and we came across a beauty

> > yesterday. It was built in 1760 and was part of the revolutionary war and

> > the freedom trail. The thing is, its got a ton of lead paint. DS is

> > already high in arsenic and antimony, so I am worried that moving into a

> > house with lead paint will add to his problems. Is it only ingestion or

> is

> > off gassing a problem too? What do I need to know before even thinking

> about

> > buying an old house like that? TIA!

> >

> > --

> > -------------------------------------------

> > J.

> >

February 23, 2010

I wonder about this too. There are many areas that do not have the option of

living in a post 1980 house. Many cities and communities only have old houses

available. Additionally, there are people who for one reason or another do not

have the option to live in a newer house. It just seems that there must be

solutions to living with lead paint. From what I understand, it is the door

frames, window frames, and trim that are the most risky - as those are the areas

that are bumped and rubbed against. It would seem that there must be some kind

of coating one could place on these areas to prevent a problem. Additionally,

it seems that one would significantly reduce risk by keeping the house in

excellent condition - both with paint and with cleaning. I am not suggesting

that one seek out an old house, but I would be really interested in learning

solutions that can be put in place to live safely in an old house.

> > >

> > > For those of you who have dealt with high lead, maybe you can lend me

> > some

> > > insight. We are currently house hunting and we came across a beauty

> > > yesterday. It was built in 1760 and was part of the revolutionary war and

> > > the freedom trail. The thing is, its got a ton of lead paint. DS is

> > > already high in arsenic and antimony, so I am worried that moving into a

> > > house with lead paint will add to his problems. Is it only ingestion or

> > is

> > > off gassing a problem too? What do I need to know before even thinking

> > about

> > > buying an old house like that? TIA!

> > >

> > > --

> > > -------------------------------------------

> > > J.

> > >

February 23, 2010

There is a coating (encapsulation paint) you can paint over it that is supposed

to " seal it in " but that's provided no one chips it. I find that with kids, the

door frames need repainting yearly in our house. Kids bangs stuff into the walls

and doors, it happens. So there is not way to be living " lead free " if there is

lead paint under new paint. You can reduce exposures....but to some extent there

is still risk. You want to find a home that is in good condition. Has been

modernized in the past 30 years....if it hasn't seen paint since the 70's.....no

go.

You can buy old houses that have been abated of Lead also. These would have had

it all removed and then testing done to be sure there wasn't any lead in the

house. Usually they have had the windows replaced, the moldings replaced and

sometimes were gutted down to the studs and drywalled. Depends....but abated

houses would be an option if you lived in one of those older cities. I just

would not buy a home that was knowing full of lead paint. Buy one that has been

lead tested and abated. If you can find an old home with the original wood trim

that has never been painted, this would help. Providing you don't mind wallpaper

to cover the walls or use encapsulation paint or latex it well and keep it in

good condition. The main concern there would be old porcelain tubs, and window

sashes, porch floors...wooden siding outside the home and the soil beneath it.

Our home is built in 1954 and well maintained...but anytime someone chips a door

jamb I have to run over with the vacuum cleaner (which has the proper bag to

trap Lead dust. They don't all do this, certainly bagless don't) to remove the

dust and chips and then quickly retouch the chipped paint.

We do not have the original windows thank goodness. We have newer vinyl so the

old painted ones were removed years before we bought the house. So our only lead

concern would be if someone chipped the trim in any of the rooms in the house.

They do sell encapsulation paints to help seal in lead paint. But again this

won't help if your window sashes were once painted in lead, every time you open

and shut them you get lead dust in the house. What also works is Kilz Primer.

Then put latex over it. Again....as long as you don't smack into and chip it.

Anyone with older homes or who is concerned about lead should read the book Lead

the Silent Hazard. I found this to be a very good resource on Lead sources and

what to do about them. You do need a certain kind of vacuum cleaner for lead

dust if you live in an old house. One that has a micron filter bag capable of

trapping lead particles. There are also special cleaners that can be used to

wipe the window sills and baseboards/floors with to help reduce lead dust.

I'd also make any offer on a house contingent upon Lead testing coming back

safe. Some states have laws to protect you when buying an older house. But that

doesn't mean the seller is honest in disclosure. Our disclosure said there were

no known source of lead in this house. It was a lie. I found Lead paint in the

basement, porch, and inside some closets. It is also under a few layers of latex

on the moldings. But see, we mistook the disclosure to mean there wasn't any

lead, when all it means is the seller wasn't aware of any lead. For a few extra

bucks we could have had the inspector test the house. It would have been worth

that money...now that I have spent four years getting lead out of my son. I

can't say for sure that all of what he got was from the house, it probably

wasn't. Some was probably maternal and environmental...but it would have been

nice to know about the lead before so we could have abated it, rather than have

to have it abated when he was 3 and toxic with it!

Jan

>

> I wonder about this too. There are many areas that do not have the option of