Hi. I've recently moved into an older house and I want to repaint some
rooms. I also need to strip some paint. Is there a test to determine if the
old paint contains lead? Also, if I find there is lead in the old paint,
what should I do? Thanks.

You can buy a test kit at Home Depot. You would just take a utility knife
and cut into your paint layers at a 45 degree angle to expose enough of the
layers. Then you take a cotton swab dipped in a solution and rub the swab
on the paint. Then you touch the swab to a test strip like litmus paper,
and it turns a certain color if it contains lead. The kit is about $10.
I've found them to be pretty accurate if you follow the instructions.

Per the 2nd part of your question - what you should do it lead. I won't
give advice but your local housing authority or HUD has some brochures.

Here is a typical government webiste on it:

http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/5054.html

Thanks Buck.


"Remi" wrote in message
news:J9vYg.141500$1T2.115979@pd7urf2no...
Hi. I've recently moved into an older house and I want to repaint some
rooms. I also need to strip some paint. Is there a test to determine if
the old paint contains lead? Also, if I find there is lead in the old
paint, what should I do? Thanks.

Remi wrote:
Hi. I've recently moved into an older house and I want to repaint some
rooms. I also need to strip some paint. Is there a test to determine if the
old paint contains lead? Also, if I find there is lead in the old paint,
what should I do? Thanks.

Qualitatitively, you might cook with hydrochloric acid (muriatic acid),
dilute, filter, and treat with sulfuric acid (battery acid). Lead
sulfate forms a white precipitate.

I will say, too, that I called our local housing office about lead paint
about 5 or 5 years ago when my wife was pregnant with twins.

The gentlemen I spoke with said that as long as someone takes reasonable
precautions, and doesn't allow small children to crawl around on floors,
espeically unmopped floors, that it's not a big problem, even in the older
historic houses in the area.

He said that the only kids that he consistently sees who come back with high
lead level tests are kids who have been adopted from Eastern Europe.

Remi wrote:
Hi. I've recently moved into an older house and I want to repaint some
rooms. I also need to strip some paint. Is there a test to determine if the
old paint contains lead? Also, if I find there is lead in the old paint,
what should I do? Thanks.

You can check with your state real estate board. Most states have
required disclosures
when you go to sell your places. And sometimes it is ok to occupy a
place with lead if there are no young kids involved. Some times it is
OK to handle the lead paint by encapsulating it. Real Estate people
know all the laws on the subject.

How to get rid of it, just common sense stuff. Wear a respirator and
clean up afterwards. It's not kryptonite.

"Remi" wrote in message
news:J9vYg.141500$1T2.115979@pd7urf2no...
Hi. I've recently moved into an older house and I want to repaint some
rooms. I also need to strip some paint. Is there a test to determine if
the old paint contains lead? Also, if I find there is lead in the old
paint, what should I do? Thanks.


Why do you need to strip some paint? Is it already peeling? When I worked on
my old house, the standard advice was that if the paint was intact, simply
paint over it. In other words, why open a pandora's box if you don't have
to?

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
"Remi" wrote in message
news:J9vYg.141500$1T2.115979@pd7urf2no...
Hi. I've recently moved into an older house and I want to repaint some
rooms. I also need to strip some paint. Is there a test to determine if
the old paint contains lead? Also, if I find there is lead in the old
paint, what should I do? Thanks.


Why do you need to strip some paint? Is it already peeling? When I worked on
my old house, the standard advice was that if the paint was intact, simply
paint over it. In other words, why open a pandora's box if you don't have
to?

Little kids like to hang on the window woodwork. When they get big
enough the are able to chew on that woodwork. Lead paint tastes sweet,
so they continue.

Painting over it is OK if it is done properly. It's called "encapsulating".

"Stubby" wrote in message
...


JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
"Remi" wrote in message
news:J9vYg.141500$1T2.115979@pd7urf2no...
Hi. I've recently moved into an older house and I want to repaint some
rooms. I also need to strip some paint. Is there a test to determine if
the old paint contains lead? Also, if I find there is lead in the old
paint, what should I do? Thanks.


Why do you need to strip some paint? Is it already peeling? When I worked
on my old house, the standard advice was that if the paint was intact,
simply paint over it. In other words, why open a pandora's box if you
don't have to?
Little kids like to hang on the window woodwork. When they get big enough
the are able to chew on that woodwork. Lead paint tastes sweet, so they
continue.

Painting over it is OK if it is done properly. It's called
"encapsulating".

If kids are doing that, the parents are the lowest kind of trash. The kids
should be moved to homes where they are wanted, not ignored. Or, the
babysitter should be doused with gasoline and incinerated, outdoors, of
course.

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message

Or, the babysitter should be doused with gasoline and incinerated,
outdoors, of course.

Why outdoors? If done indoors, it solves both the babysitter problem and
future lead paint problems.

JoeSpareBedroom spake thus:

"Stubby" wrote in message
...

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:

"Remi" wrote in message
news:J9vYg.141500$1T2.115979@pd7urf2no...

Hi. I've recently moved into an older house and I want to repaint some
rooms. I also need to strip some paint. Is there a test to determine if
the old paint contains lead? Also, if I find there is lead in the old
paint, what should I do? Thanks.

Why do you need to strip some paint? Is it already peeling? When I worked
on my old house, the standard advice was that if the paint was intact,
simply paint over it. In other words, why open a pandora's box if you
don't have to?

Little kids like to hang on the window woodwork. When they get big enough
the are able to chew on that woodwork. Lead paint tastes sweet, so they
continue.

Painting over it is OK if it is done properly. It's called
"encapsulating".

If kids are doing that, the parents are the lowest kind of trash. The kids
should be moved to homes where they are wanted, not ignored. Or, the
babysitter should be doused with gasoline and incinerated, outdoors, of
course.

That's a bit harsh, dontcha think? Kids of all colors and socioeconomic
levels do weird, crazy, stupid things. For some colorful examples, I
refer you to David Sedaris' book, /Naked/. (Among other things, he liked
to lick car windshields and dashboards.)


--
"In 1964 Barry Goldwater declared: 'Elect me president, and I
will bomb the cities of Vietnam, defoliate the jungles, herd the
population into concentration camps and turn the country into a
wasteland.' But Lyndon Johnson said: 'No! No! No! Don't you dare do
that. Let ME do it.'"

- Characterization (paraphrased) of the 1964 Goldwater/Johnson
presidential race by Professor Irwin Corey, "The World's Foremost
Authority."

"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
.com...

JoeSpareBedroom spake thus:

If kids are doing that, the parents are the lowest kind of trash. The
kids should be moved to homes where they are wanted, not ignored. Or, the
babysitter should be doused with gasoline and incinerated, outdoors, of
course.

That's a bit harsh, dontcha think?

Not at all. I wasn't all over my son like a "minder" escorting a journalist
through a Soviet bloc country. But, there was no way he'd be gnawing on
paint. That's simply bull****.

JoeSpareBedroom spake thus:

"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
.com...

JoeSpareBedroom spake thus:

If kids are doing that, the parents are the lowest kind of trash. The
kids should be moved to homes where they are wanted, not ignored. Or, the
babysitter should be doused with gasoline and incinerated, outdoors, of
course.

That's a bit harsh, dontcha think?

Not at all. I wasn't all over my son like a "minder" escorting a journalist
through a Soviet bloc country. But, there was no way he'd be gnawing on
paint. That's simply bull****.

Well, goody for you and your son. But I'm curious why you think that
such behavior is indicative of anything other than the kid's own urges
and idiosyncracies. Do you really think that poor or "unwanted" kids are
more likely to gnaw upon windowsills?


--
"In 1964 Barry Goldwater declared: 'Elect me president, and I
will bomb the cities of Vietnam, defoliate the jungles, herd the
population into concentration camps and turn the country into a
wasteland.' But Lyndon Johnson said: 'No! No! No! Don't you dare do
that. Let ME do it.'"

- Characterization (paraphrased) of the 1964 Goldwater/Johnson
presidential race by Professor Irwin Corey, "The World's Foremost
Authority."

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
"Stubby" wrote in message
...

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
"Remi" wrote in message
news:J9vYg.141500$1T2.115979@pd7urf2no...
Hi. I've recently moved into an older house and I want to repaint some
rooms. I also need to strip some paint. Is there a test to determine if
the old paint contains lead? Also, if I find there is lead in the old
paint, what should I do? Thanks.

Why do you need to strip some paint? Is it already peeling? When I worked
on my old house, the standard advice was that if the paint was intact,
simply paint over it. In other words, why open a pandora's box if you
don't have to?
Little kids like to hang on the window woodwork. When they get big enough
the are able to chew on that woodwork. Lead paint tastes sweet, so they
continue.

Painting over it is OK if it is done properly. It's called
"encapsulating".

If kids are doing that, the parents are the lowest kind of trash. The kids
should be moved to homes where they are wanted, not ignored. Or, the
babysitter should be doused with gasoline and incinerated, outdoors, of
course.

You are entitled to your opinion. However as a licensed real estate
broker, I can inform you of the thinking behind the legislation.
Because lead paint was common and widely used before its hazards were
known, many children are endangered. As a matter of public policy, we
put in place laws which attemp to protect these kids.

Stubby wrote:


JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
"Remi" wrote in message
news:J9vYg.141500$1T2.115979@pd7urf2no...
Hi. I've recently moved into an older house and I want to repaint
some rooms. I also need to strip some paint. Is there a test to
determine if the old paint contains lead? Also, if I find there is
lead in the old paint, what should I do? Thanks.


Why do you need to strip some paint? Is it already peeling? When I
worked on my old house, the standard advice was that if the paint was
intact, simply paint over it. In other words, why open a pandora's box
if you don't have to?
Little kids like to hang on the window woodwork. When they get big
enough the are able to chew on that woodwork. Lead paint tastes sweet,
so they continue.

Painting over it is OK if it is done properly. It's called
"encapsulating".

Lots of us have had kids and we teach them not to
hang on window woodwork. We also teach them not
chew on woodwork.

I doubt that lead paint tastes sweet. This idea
probably originated because the old name for
certain salts of metals were called "sugar of ---."

"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
.com...
JoeSpareBedroom spake thus:

"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
.com...

JoeSpareBedroom spake thus:

If kids are doing that, the parents are the lowest kind of trash. The
kids should be moved to homes where they are wanted, not ignored. Or,
the babysitter should be doused with gasoline and incinerated, outdoors,
of course.

That's a bit harsh, dontcha think?

Not at all. I wasn't all over my son like a "minder" escorting a
journalist through a Soviet bloc country. But, there was no way he'd be
gnawing on paint. That's simply bull****.

Well, goody for you and your son. But I'm curious why you think that such
behavior is indicative of anything other than the kid's own urges and
idiosyncracies. Do you really think that poor or "unwanted" kids are more
likely to gnaw upon windowsills?

I never mentioned "poor", although lower income families often live in
places which, for any number of reasons, are not well-maintained and contain
more lead problems (peeling paint, for instance). But, you already knew
these things.

Badly supervised kids are an entirely separate subject. No competent parent
allows a kid to chew on painted surfaces, even if it's new wood with only
modern paint on it. If they *do* allow it to happen more than once, it means
they're incompetent.

"Stubby" wrote in message
. ..
JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
"Stubby" wrote in message
...

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
"Remi" wrote in message
news:J9vYg.141500$1T2.115979@pd7urf2no...
Hi. I've recently moved into an older house and I want to repaint some
rooms. I also need to strip some paint. Is there a test to determine
if the old paint contains lead? Also, if I find there is lead in the
old paint, what should I do? Thanks.

Why do you need to strip some paint? Is it already peeling? When I
worked on my old house, the standard advice was that if the paint was
intact, simply paint over it. In other words, why open a pandora's box
if you don't have to?
Little kids like to hang on the window woodwork. When they get big
enough the are able to chew on that woodwork. Lead paint tastes sweet,
so they continue.

Painting over it is OK if it is done properly. It's called
"encapsulating".

If kids are doing that, the parents are the lowest kind of trash. The
kids should be moved to homes where they are wanted, not ignored. Or, the
babysitter should be doused with gasoline and incinerated, outdoors, of
course.
You are entitled to your opinion. However as a licensed real estate
broker, I can inform you of the thinking behind the legislation. Because
lead paint was common and widely used before its hazards were known, many
children are endangered. As a matter of public policy, we put in place
laws which attemp to protect these kids.

I don't disagree with the laws at all.

On Sun, 15 Oct 2006 16:47:58 -0700, David Nebenzahl
wrote:

JoeSpareBedroom spake thus:

"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
.com...

JoeSpareBedroom spake thus:

If kids are doing that, the parents are the lowest kind of trash. The
kids should be moved to homes where they are wanted, not ignored. Or, the
babysitter should be doused with gasoline and incinerated, outdoors, of
course.

That's a bit harsh, dontcha think?

Not at all. I wasn't all over my son like a "minder" escorting a journalist
through a Soviet bloc country. But, there was no way he'd be gnawing on
paint. That's simply bull****.

Well, goody for you and your son. But I'm curious why you think that
such behavior is indicative of anything other than the kid's own urges
and idiosyncracies. Do you really think that poor or "unwanted" kids are
more likely to gnaw upon windowsills?

Once, or regularly?