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Lead paint advice

5 replies

onthenightfeed · 26/03/2026 07:51

Last year we bought our first home (over 100 years old) and have been renovating it ourselves bit by bit with help from my parents as we have a 3yo and small baby. I’ve been following more home reno insta accounts and just been watching Lead Children on Netflix and it’s suddenly made me really paranoid about lead paint in the house which I hadn’t really considered previously!!

I’ve just tested a couple of areas that were making me worried and they were fine but some lovely built in pine cupboards in my baby’s bedroom that my mum lovingly chemically stripped and THEN SANDED! have come up positive!!!! this was done ages ago and baby’s clothes have been in there!?! obviously it’s way too late for the whole seal off the area to decontaminate business, as the dust particles are surely all throughout the house already now????

Does anybody have any advice on this? How on earth do I go about ensuring the whole house is clean from it? Are my kids in danger or is it blown a bit out of proportion these days as surely this was the case in houses for generations?

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Geneticsbunny · 26/03/2026 08:46

Are they bare wood now? I would paint or varnish to seal the lead in. However the levels are low and it won't be an issue unless your child is licking the wardrobe.

Elbowpatch · 26/03/2026 08:51

Presumably, if she chemically stripped the cupboards first, virtually all the lead paint was gone before she started sanding.

I wouldn’t worry about it.

onthenightfeed · 26/03/2026 13:00

@Elbowpatchyeah she did chemically strip them first but the drawer fronts at the bottom were particularly stubborn so they had a good sanding to get the last of it off.

@Geneticsbunnythey are bare wood yeah so I think I will give them a matt varnish just for peace of mind (as tbh I wouldn’t put it past a baby/toddler to lick them 😅)

thanks both for putting my mind at ease! and now I have the testing buds I will definitely be more proactive in checking before sanding as we carry on through the house ☺️

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Geneticsbunny · 26/03/2026 13:03

Wood always needs finishing even if it is just waxing. It protects it from stains and damage.

onthenightfeed · 26/03/2026 13:15

@Geneticsbunnyah good to know, thanks!

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