Hardware store shares insight on home lead safety amid temporary school closure

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- For the first time in its history, concern over a high level of lead will shut down a Milwaukee Public School. The closing at Trowbridge School starting Monday is temporary, but all this talk about lead has families starting to look at their own homes with wonder.

Like MPS buildings, we know a lot of homes in Milwaukee were also built before 1978, when the lead paint ban began. If you're in an older home, a big question right now is, what do you need to know about lead paint to stay safe?

Ken Converse at Bliffert Lumber and Hardware says if your home was built before 1978, expect it's got some lead in it, but that's not necessarily cause for alarm.

"The lead paint normally isn't going to be an issue if it's just on the wall, but if it's flaking off, if you're sanding or scraping or remodeling, then it can get into the air. You can breathe it in, you can ingest it," said Ken Converse, Manager, Bliffert Lumber and Hardware.

Converse said painting over any lead paint can help.

"You'll encapsulate it and seal it in. The big issue is when you start to remove it. So, anytime you do a remodeling project or anytime you're sanding or scraping anything. That's when you should be careful about it," said Converse.

We found two test kits for lead here - one that checks surfaces and the other water. Both are under $20, and both are easy to use.

"What you want to do is take a sample of your paint chips and mix it with water and then you drop that water onto the swab, and it'll tell you, it'll change color and tell you if there's lead present in that sample," said Converse.

A quick search through the store found some other items you'll want to use if you're doing any D-I-Y projects in your home that could expose lead paint.

"And then that filter is gonna catch the really fine particulates," said Converse.

Converse said wearing a mask can protect you too, so you can use a sander with a vacuum attached.

"You want to make sure that you gather all that dust from that construction. Wear a respirator when you do it so you're not breathing in any of the dust and use a HEPA rated vacuum," said Converse.

It is important to collect even the smallest particles of dust, especially in older homes, and when you do, make sure you tape up the bag you're putting them in.