Four Options For Lead Paint Removal
Lead paint or lead-based paint is a highly toxic material that can cause several health problems, especially in young children. If your home was built before 1978, it likely contains lead-based paint. The older a home is, the more likely it has lead paint in it. Lead paint becomes an issue when it peels, flakes, or creates dust particles. If your house contains lead paint, you’ll want to remove it as quickly as possible, especially if you have young children in the home. DCM Environmental Testing Co. provides unbiased mold testing services throughout Massachusetts and can help you determine if your home or building contains lead paint! Contact us today for a free estimate! Once you’ve identified whether or not your house has lead paint, you have four options to safely resolve it: encapsulation, removal, replacement, and enclosure.
Lead Paint Encapsulation
You may wonder if you can simply paint over lead paint with new paint, and the answer is yes, but only with some caveats. Instead of just using new paint, you must use encapsulation paint. The encapsulation technique is typically the easiest and most affordable option for managing lead paint. It involves brushing a specially made coating over the lead paint, which will seal in the dangerous lead with a waterproof bond. This may be a temporary fix, though, as the coating can wear down over time.
Lead Paint Removal
There are several different ways to remove lead paint, such as wet sanding, wet scraping, hand scraping with a heat gun, and more. Liquid paint remover is also effective for small areas, such as windowsills and woodwork. While this method is a permanent fix, it must be done very carefully as the lead paint comes off and can create lots of dangerous flakes and dust.
Lead Paint Replacement
Instead of removing or encapsulating lead paint, some homeowners opt for removing all surfaces containing lead paint from the house, such as doors, windows, and woodwork, then replacing them with new ones. While this method will ensure that there is no lead paint left in your home, it is one of the more costly options.
Lead Paint Enclosure
Enclosure is the final method of handling lead paint in the home. Instead of removing the lead paint or painting over it, the homeowner covers the lead-painted surface with a new one, such as installing new drywall or covering window sills with new cladding. The downside to this method is that if the new surfaces are installed improperly or are ever removed, you will still have to deal with the lead-painted surfaces underneath.
Contact DCM Environmental Testing!
If you believe your home may contain lead paint, it's crucial to test for it as soon as possible. At DCM Environmental, we provide Massachusetts and the surrounding region with professional, unbiased testing for lead paint and other hazardous materials. Contact our team today to learn more or to get a free estimate! Give us a call at (617) 481-5782 or fill out the contact form on our website!
