Deleading

[themotionsick.livejournal.com]

I am curious about deleading a home in Somerville. Has anyone had any experience with deleading their home? How long did it take? Did you go through full removal or encapsulation? What did it cost? Did you have a positive experience with your deleader? Did you have a post-deleading inspection to determine the success of the operation?

Thanks.

Comments

Problems

[masswich.livejournal.com]

We used Alpine for a relatively minor deleading recently. Good quality carpentry, cared about the look of the final product. But wouldn't use them again.

Why not? They failed the dust wipe tests (the test you need to prove the house doesn't have lead anymore so you can get back in) several times. We ended up in a hotel for an extra 2 weeks above what we had planned for. They did cover the cost of it, but the inconvenience was too much to take.

I have generally heard its a good idea to clean an extra time, even after you have a "clean" house, because the samples are only taken in a few places and there still could be lead kicking around. Cleaning lead also requires special techniques or its useless. You need to use disposable cloth/paper towels for every couple of square feet and preferably also use a phosphate-based cleaner like TSP. If you use a mop you're just moving the lead around the floor.