When it comes to maintaining your home or commercial property, a failed lead inspection can feel like a punch in the gut. But don’t despair! You’re not alone in facing this challenge.
It’s a problem many people overlook until it’s too late — but what do you do now that your home or building has failed the lead inspection?
One common question that comes up is: Can I just paint over a failed lead inspection area? It sounds like an easy fix, right? Slap on a new coat of paint, and you’re good to go.
But before you reach for the paintbrush, let’s dive into this blog to learn about it.
What Happens in a Lead Inspection?
To understand the complexity of painting over a failed lead inspection area, it’s essential to first know what that inspection entails. A NYC lead inspection company typically conducts tests to identify lead-based paints in homes or buildings built before 1978. Lead paint can be hazardous, especially to children, pregnant women, and pets. Lead dust or chips that come from deteriorating paint are the primary source of exposure.
A failed lead inspection means that somewhere in your home or office, lead paint is present, and it poses a risk to your health. At this point, the priority shifts to remediation, or removal, to ensure the safety of the space.
Can You Just Paint Over It?
You might be thinking that painting over the lead area will solve the problem, especially if the paint looks fine. After all, a fresh coat of paint covers imperfections, so why wouldn’t it cover the lead?
However, this is where the situation gets tricky.
Here’s the problem: Painting over lead paint does not remove the hazard. Lead remains under the fresh coat, and if the paint starts to chip or peel over time, the lead particles can become airborne. This is dangerous, especially for young children or pregnant women who might inhale lead dust.
Additionally, the paint you apply won’t be able to stop the underlying lead from deteriorating. Over time, the failure to address the root issue will only make the problem worse, potentially exposing your family or employees to higher levels of lead exposure.
What Are the Real Solutions?
So, if painting over lead-painted surfaces isn’t a viable solution, what should you do?
There are a few primary remediation methods that a lead inspection company would recommend.
1. Lead Paint Removal
This is the most direct way to deal with lead paint. Removal involves scraping, sanding, or using chemical agents to eliminate the lead-based paint from the affected surfaces completely. It’s thorough, but it can be a messy and costly process.
2. Encapsulation
In cases where removal isn’t feasible, encapsulation might be an option. This involves covering the lead paint with a special encapsulating product that seals the paint and prevents it from deteriorating further. It’s a much less invasive solution, but it doesn’t eliminate the lead, so regular inspections are required to ensure the encapsulation remains intact.
3. Enclosure
Another solution is enclosing the lead-painted area with a physical barrier, like drywall or paneling. This method is especially useful for surfaces that are unlikely to be disturbed, like walls that are behind furniture. However, this option also requires periodic inspection to ensure the enclosure stays intact.
Also Read: Lead Safety Tips for Urban Families: Childproofing Your Home
Why Painting Over Lead Paint Can Be Dangerous
The reason painting over a failed lead inspection area is a poor idea comes down to the fact that lead exposure is an invisible and insidious danger. You can’t see lead dust, and it doesn’t always show itself immediately. Over time, lead can accumulate in the body, causing serious health problems such as developmental delays in children, neurological damage, and even kidney damage in adults.
Even if your new coat of paint looks beautiful, the underlying lead contamination is still there. So, while it might seem like an easy fix, it’s not worth the potential risk to health and safety.
Address the Problem, Don’t Hide It!
The real solution to a failed lead inspection is not simply painting over it but finding a way to remediate the lead hazard properly. Whether that means full removal, encapsulation, or enclosure, the goal is to eliminate the risk, not just mask it.
While it might be tempting to ignore the issue, especially if it seems like a minor problem, this is one area where cutting corners could cost you in the long run.
If you’re in need of a professional NYC lead inspection company, don’t wait any longer. Trust Manhattan Lead, an experienced team of certified experts, to help you navigate the complexities of lead-based paint in your home or business. We’ll work with you to create a customized solution to remove or encapsulate the lead hazards, ensuring a safe and healthy environment for everyone. Get in touch with us today!
