Perils of Buying Old Homes

Perils of Buying Old Homes: The Paint Can Hurt You

Although lead-based paint no longer in use, it remains a real issue for homeowners and Realtors. In the early 1990s, the Housing and Community Development Act made it so that a seller was required to disclose existing lead-based paint to the purchaser in order to complete the sale. Lead had been used as a paint additive for over a century before it was linked to serious illness in 1978. That year, the addition of lead to paint would be made illegal. Because any structure built prior to 1978 could potentially have a lead-based paint hazard, the huge scope of the problem involving pre-existing construction made it take a long time to be made into law, and even then the law only addressed notification that lead paint was present.

What Harm Can It Do?
Having lead paint in the home environment can expose the family to lead poisoning. Children under six years of age run the highest risk of developing lead poisoning from lead paint because their growing bodies absorb many of the minerals they have contact with, regardless of whether it is something needed calcium or very dangerous lead. High levels of lead can lead to brain and organ damage, behavior problems, hearing problems, and can seriously damage the nervous system. These problems can occur in adults and children, and additionally in children, normal growth can be impaired.

Any home built prior to 1978 that has cracked, flaking, or chipping paint should be considered a hazard. It should be repaired as a high priority. If paint containing lead was used around the window or door frames, normal usage of these items may be creating a surprisingly large amount of dust that contains lead. Lead dust is potentially toxic and can be almost impossible to get rid of. Vacuuming, sweeping, and dusting can cause it to reenter the air and it just gets stirred up more whenever you touch it. The lead-contaminated dust can be tracked out into the yard where it will contaminate the soil around the home. This could pose a further risk for children and pets.

In order to determine whether your home has a lead paint problem, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends that homes built prior to 1978 get a paint inspection done by a professional. That will let you know the degree of safety of the lead content of every painted surface and will reveal any areas or sources of serious danger.

Even though there are testing kits available that let homeowners to run the testing themselves, an inspection by a licensed professional is highly recommended by the EPA to discover problems that may be missed by someone who lacks professional experience. In some states there are specific rules and regulations about the steps required for resolution of a lead paint problem, and the professional inspectors will be able to advise the homeowner of these requirements and let them know the next step in the process of removing lead paint from their home.

Article presented courtesy of Colorado's best Denver home experts at Automated Homefinder.