If we’ve learned anything in the past year, it’s that home improvements don’t just build home equity, they can also dramatically improve your quality of life. Remodeling is more popular than ever in 2021, and so is testing homes for lead-based paint. Read on to learn why this isn’t just another trend.
- Lead is truly dangerous, especially for kids. According to the EPA, this heavy metal can affect almost every organ and system in your body. Children under six are most susceptible to lead, which can affect the brain and nervous system even in very low doses. That means even breathing in the dust of lead-based paint or touching it and then touching the mouth can have an impact on their development.
- Home test kits don’t provide enough information. Lead-based paint testing kits are available at most hardware stores, and they can be useful if you simply want to know whether lead is present or not. However, they don’t indicate the level of lead present, and peeling or chipping off paint for sampling can be hazardous without proper training. These tests kits also don’t account for human error — not testing all the painted surfaces in the house, for instance.
- It’s required information for contractors. If you’re planning on bringing in professional help to do remodels on your pre-1978 home, it’s highly recommended to test for lead-based paint first, so that you can hire a contractor who is trained to work safely around it. Oregon requires that any contractor working in an environment containing lead-based paint needs to have special training in order to do so safely.
- Buyers need to know. Federal law requires that homeowners disclose any known lead-based paint when they sell the home. Get your home tested so that you can provide buyers with all the details — which painted areas are safe, which contain lead, and how to abate it if present. For home buyers, more information is always better, and will give them the confidence they need to put an offer in on your home.