Creating a Lead-Free Home Environment

The most effective strategies a family can implement to create a lead-free home environment are (1) getting rid of potential source(s) of exposure and (2) adopting lead-safe cleaning and lifestyle practices that reduce household lead dust.

#1 Getting Rid of the Source

When determining where a child may be exposed to lead, consider potential lead sources in a child’s home as well as places the child visits frequently such as a daycare, preschool, or a friend, neighbor or family members’ home. Lead dust may also be hiding in someone’s car if they have a job or hobby that involves using lead. 

  • If sources of lead are found in a child’s home, families should get rid of the source or store it out of the child’s reach. Lead-safe cleaning measures should also be used to ensure their home is free of lead dust and residue. Lead from sources such as lead-based paint, contaminated soil or water require more work to remove. Continue on to Topic 4 and 5 of this lesson to learn about how to test for lead in paint, soil, and water and how to get rid of it. 
  • If the exposure source is coming from outside of the child’s home, it is advised that families keep children away from this possible source until it has been positively identified. Families should inform the Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) if they have suspicions about a potential lead source from a neighbors home or child care center.

Without testing different sources in the child’s environment, it can be hard to determine where the source of a child’s lead exposure is coming from. However, if a child’s blood lead level starts to decline after the removal of a potential source, families may have found one exposure source, and should continue to monitor their child’s blood lead level. For help finding the lead source, contact HI-CLPPP at 808-733-9055. 

#2 Cleaning and Lifestyle Practices

Young children tend to play on the ground and put their hands or other objects that may be contaminated with lead into their mouth. For this reason, it is important to keep a child’s environment lead-free.

Wash Hands

Families should wash their child’s hands and face after playing outside and before eating to prevent their child from ingesting lead dust. Toys, pacifiers, teethers, stuffed animals, and other objects that children put in their mouth should be washed regularly. Family members should also wash their hands regularly throughout the day, especially after working in the yard, garden, or after touching lead-containing products or items.

Keep the House Clean!   

The older a home is, the more likely it contains lead. Lead dust is created when painted surfaces like windows or doors bump or rub together, and when paint cracks, peels, or is disturbed during home repair. 

To avoid spreading lead dust at home, families should use specific cleaning measures:

  • Hard floors should be cleaned using a disposable or washable wet mop, an all-purpose floor cleaner or soap and water, and a two bucket (wash bucket and rinse bucket) mopping method. When water in the wash or rinse bucket becomes visibly grey or dingy, it should be refilled to prevent reintroducing contaminated water back onto the floor. 
  • Hard surface items such as walls and windowsills can be wiped down with soap and water or an all-purpose cleaner. Rags, paper towels, and cloths used for cleaning should be discarded after use. 
  • Carpeted floors and fabric furniture should be cleaned using a vacuum with a “HEPA” or “Allergy” filter bag. Vacuum slowly and thoroughly and vacuum from both directions to cover the same area at least twice. Dispose of the vacuum bag or filter after use. Steam cleaning can also help to remove lead from carpet. 
  • Clothing and other soft items such as curtains, bedding, and toys can be machine washed separately from non-contaminated items and an extra rinse cycle should be run afterwards to prevent spreading lead dust to other items. 
  • Avoid tracking soil into the home by leaving shoes and slippers outside and using door mats. Family pets can also track in lead from contaminated soil on their fur and paws. Clean up right away if soil is tracked inside. 
  • Areas of peeling paint also need special care. Be sure to keep all paint in excellent shape and clean up dust frequently. If the paint in a home tests positive for lead or families suspect that their home contains lead-based paint, they should call the DOH – Lead-Based Paint Program at 808-586-5800 for more information. They can provide a directory of consultants and contractors who are certified by the EPA and the State of Hawai‘i to remove or stabilize lead-based paint safely. In the meantime, young children and pregnant women should be kept away from chipping and peeling paint and areas of home repair and construction. 

Limit Soil Exposure 

Yards and home gardens can contain contaminated soil, putting children at high risk for swallowing lead. To prevent this from occurring, children should be kept away from areas of bare dirt. Families can also maintain dense landscaping, gravel, or permanent cover, such as concrete close to building foundations, roads, and driveways to prevent children from playing in soil where higher contaminant levels can be found. In addition, families who have a home garden or plan on starting one should follow these guidelines:  

  • Use planter boxes or raised garden beds if you home garden has not been tested and use soil that has been commercially packaged and labeled for growing food crops. A permeable geotextile fabric can be used between the untested soil and the overlying clean soils to ensure the two layers don’t mix.
  • Plant gardens at least 10 feet away from building foundations, roads, and driveways to avoid soil contamination from chipping exterior paint, roofing nails, and fumes from leaded gasoline.
  • Do not use tires, single-use plastics, old railroad ties, treated wood, and other similar materials in your garden due to potential contaminants.
  • Wash all fruits and vegetables from the garden with clean, running water before bringing them into the home, and again with 1% vinegar solution or soapy water to remove any remaining soil particles. Do not compost the produce peelings and unused plant parts for use back in your garden.

Use Cold Water

Run cold water for at least 30 seconds if the faucet has not been used for more than 6 hours. Do not cook, drink, or make children’s formula from the hot water tap.

Provide Children A Healthy Diet 

Iron: lean beef or chicken, eggs, dried beans, iron-fortified cereals; Calcium: milk, yogurt, cheese, tofu, canned salmon or sardines with the bones; Vitamin C: Papaya, pineapple, strawberries, tomatoes, broccoli, green leafy vegetables.

More lead is absorbed on an empty stomach, so children should be fed regular meals and snacks throughout the day. Foods and snacks rich in iron, calcium, and vitamin C are especially important because they help to decrease lead absorption. Iron-rich foods should be given with foods high in vitamin C to ensure that iron is completely absorbed. Processed foods like French fries, potato chips, bacon, or anything fried should be avoided.  

Avoid Bringing Home Lead

Family members can be exposed to lead through certain jobs and hobbies that generate lead dust and fumes. You cannot see lead dust, but it can be carried home in a car or on clothes, shoes, skin, and hair. Recommendations to prevent bring home lead include:

  • Avoid bringing personal items into your work area or taking work items home.
  • Wear protective clothing at work so lead dust doesn’t get on your clothes. ​
  • Shower and change clothes before coming home or getting into your car, especially if it doubles as your family car.  
  • Bring work clothes home in a plastic bag and wash separately from the rest of your families clothes. Run an extra rinse cycle afterwards. 

See HI-CLPPP’s Prevent Take-Home Lead Fact Sheet for more information.

Renovate Safely

Work that disturbs old paint can create dangerous amounts of lead dust. To keep families safe during home construction, a lead-safe certified contractor should be hired. They are legally required to be trained and certified for lead remediation in homes built before 1978. 

Families can also choose to do home repairs and renovations themselves. However, do-it-yourself home repairs should only be done by family members who have basic home repair skills and are experienced and knowledgeable about how to prevent the spread of lead dust. Landlords who do home repairs or renovations that disturb lead paint are required to use certified lead-safe firms or consultants if the home was built before 1978. 

See Working With Lead Paint Fact Sheet for more information on how to renovate safely.