Board of Health

Healthy Lifestyle

Health Commissioner

Health Department

General Information

Specialized Cleaning to Remove Lead Dust

 

    -  Specialized cleaning reduces lead dust in your home.  

    -  Supplies needed:

   -  2 Buckets ( one for cleaning and one for rinsing)

   -  Rags and/ or paper towels

   -  Scrubby pad ( used to clean the stubborn stuff)

   -  Rubber gloves

   -  Trash bags

   -  Detergent (one that contains phosphate is best, (Cascade Dishwasher detergent, or Electrolsol), or TSPl work well.   

    -  Mixing the solution: 

   -  mix 1/4 cup of the powder detergent in a gallon of warm water.  

    -  Surfaces to clean:  

   -  Window troughs, window sills, window jambs, baseboards, porch surfaces, hard floors, toys, (especially if used outdoors.), porch floors. If you have vinyl windows clean them.  

    -  Disposal: 

 -  Rags and paper towels, scrub pads throw them in the trash, never reuse.

 -  Dirty water is to be flushed down the toilet.

 -  Clean the buckets, and gloves to use again. 

    -  Vacuum :  

 -  Vacuuming can be done before cleaning to remove debris from window troughs

 -  Carpets should be shampooed several times per year.

After cleaning window troughs you may want to apply a coat of paint to the surface to produce a smooth easily cleanable surface. Collect paint chips and place them in the trash.

-  When disturbing paint in your home DO NOT:

-  dry scrape painted surfaces

-  dry sand painted surfaces

-  use a high temp heat gun to remove paint

-  use a grinder to remove paint

-  painters masks do not protect you from lead dust

-  power wash your house. This can spread lead paint chips into the yard.

         -  Lead safe practices: DO THESE

-  WET scraping paint, (use a spray bottle with water to wet the surface)

-  WET sand the surface (use a spray bottle with water to wet the surface)

-  Use plastic sheeting to seal off rooms which are being remodeled

-  Use plastic sheeting to seal furnace vents

-  Use a garden hose to wet down large areas before scraping/sanding

-  Use drop cloths to catch paint chips and throw the paint chips in the trash

-  Do not let children or pregnant women in the work areas until cleaned

-  Use a HEPA filtered vac to clean the work area (borrow ours)

-  Maintain all paint in an intact condition

-  Write lead safe practices into contracts with contractors who you hire

-  Rent HEPA filtered sanding\/grinding equipment if possible

-  Wash work clothes separately from the families clothes

In addition to specialized cleaning, there are other actions you can take to reduce lead hazards in your home. Teach children to wash their hands often. This will remove lead dust from their hands. Hand washing should be done throughout the day but especially before meals, after playing and before naps and bedtime. Hand washing is a good way to reduce germs that can cause illness. One way to get children to wash hands long enough to kill germs and remove lead is to get them to recite their ABC's during hand washing. If they are too young to know them, you can recite the alphabet for them while they are washing their hands.

For more information on Lead Hazard Reduction, click here:  www.hud.gov/offices/lead/

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