Many houses built before 1978 have used lead in their construction, and the older your home is, the more likely lead was used in its construction. One of the most common forms lead takes in contaminated homes is in lead-based paint. Lead can also be found in the pipes of a house as well. If you think that your home could possibly have lead in it, it’s important to get your home inspected.
When your home is inspected it will undergo a series of tests to identify whether or not your home has lead in it. The inspector will collect samples of all painted surfaces in your home to send to a lab to get tested. If an inspector finds out that your house is contaminated with lead, they will recommend that you get a hazard screen or risk assessment done. A hazard screen is not as intensive, and if the hazard is deemed to be intensive, you will have to have a risk assessment done anyways. A hazard screening is appropriate will homes with extremely low levels of lead in them, however. During a risk assessment, an extensive series of testing will be done on the home to determine whether your home is contaminated. Risk assessments will sample not only paint in your home, but also the dust that collects in your home. A risk assessment will be able to tell you how severe contamination in your home is. After a risk assessment is performed, and if it is found that there are high levels of lead in your home, you will need to contact a professional lead abatement service.
Leaving lead in your home is extremely dangerous, especially after having a risk assessment done and seeing that the lead levels in your home are dangerously high. If you need to have lead removed in your home, be sure to contact a trusted professional to remove the lead from your home.
