To worry over the neighbour’s lead paint?

[SilverMoons]

OCD sufferer with a 4 month old here. Please give me a reality check.

We've moved into an 1800s building which has been converted into flats. We share a staircase and landing with one other flat (our front doors are maybe 10ft away from each other).

Our neighbour is prepping to sell so is redecorating and has been sanding down their walls. I’m assuming that there’ll be layers of lead paint there given the age of the property.

Would you worry about them sanding and possibly tracking lead dust from their flat into the communal areas (which we then track back into ours)? Or is this my anxiety getting out of control?

I’ve fixated on lead exposure postpartum since coming across Lead Safe Mama (iykyk) and I’ve probably lost all perspective.

I’d be more worried about lead pipes in an old building than that.

I would imagine the oldest layers of paint have been long removed - you don't get a good finish if you just keep adding new paint on top of old. Just because the building was constructed in the early 1800s doesn't mean the decor has never been changed since. Also even if there was old lead paint on there, the actual quantity of lead that could drift down towards your flat is negligable, utterly miniscule.

I think you're worrying unnecessarily, honestly.

Lead paint was banned from sale in the UK in 1992, having been phased out since the 1960s, so unless the property has not been redecorated for over 30 years, any paint coming off will not be lead based.

Talk To your GP and HV about your anxiety and consider medication
Consider talk therapy you can self refer
Stop looking up batshit alarmist nonsense online it’s causing you to catastrophize and making you anxious

Congratulations on new baby and I hope you go see GP and or HV soon
Anxiety can be managed and monitored by GP and you’ll feel so much better with medication and talk therapy

Lead paint would be gloss/wood paint, not emulsion/wall paint. So only potentially an issue if they are sanding down/heat gunning woodwork. It can be done safely. Perhaps have a word about what they’re doing and how they are cleaning up.