So – you’re looking for a home in Dutchess, Putnam, Westchester, Orange, Ulster, Fairfield, and Litchfield counties. You finally found one that you’ve absolutely fallen in love with. Until you find out the home has lead paint. Now, what do you do?
It’s going to be ok – we at George Apap Painting can help you manage this. First, we acknowledge that what we call “lead paint” may contain lead, mercury, or a number of other heavy metals. These metals were added to the paint to improve the performance, and they did. Lead paint tends to last a long time, resist mold, be very durable and has many other great attributes for paint performance, whether interior or exterior. The obvious negative is lead can be very dangerous. We say “can be” because you have to actually disturb the lead in order for there to be any danger. If the lead is encapsulated and intact, it will not harm you. It is not radioactive, etc. Therefore, if we can make sure that your lead paint is safely encapsulated, and can then determine you are in no danger.
The two most common ways of getting poisoned by lead are breathing it or ingesting it. Breathing lead dust is typically due to some sort of construction or disturbance of the lead paint that is not handled correctly. Perhaps the most common is when old paint is scraped and sanded without proper containment, and the homeowner breathes in the dust. This danger occurs not just during the construction, but if the dust is not properly collected. You can potentially exhaust the dust back into the air every time you vacuum because your household vacuum is not equipped to handle the very small lead dust particles.
Another common source of lead exposure is ingestion. This may occur when a child actually eats lead chips. More commonly it’s going to be from lead dust that is generated from the friction points of windows and doors. This dust accumulates on the ground and a child may touch their hands or toys on the ground, then to their mouth. This is actually a very common exposure for children.
All these dangers can be minimized and even eliminated with proper precautions. Interior or exterior painters and every other trade that disturbs lead paint must follow certain protocols established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). George Apap Painting is EPA certified and follows all the appropriate precautions. Whether you go with us or another contractor for your next interior or exterior painting job, make sure they are EPA certified. This can minimize and even eliminate the danger from interior or exterior painting and other construction activities. The other major issue is lead chips and lead dust generated from friction points on windows and doors. This can also be eliminated, or at least greatly minimized, by proper encapsulation of the lead. Typically, this involves removing the lead paint from those friction points and encapsulating all other lead paint surfaces.
To learn more about how to safely live in a home with lead paint, or to get the interior or exterior of your home painted in Dutchess, Putnam, Westchester, Orange, Ulster, Fairfield, and Litchfield counties or beyond, contact George Apap Painting.