Is there lead in your paint? 1978 is the year to remember!

If your home was built before 1978, it is likely that there was lead-based paint used.  This applies to both the interior and exterior surfaces.  You cannot tell by looking at it to make that determination, in fact it may have been painted over several times.  This, however, does not eliminate the needs to determine if lead is in the paint, it must be tested to know for sure.  We can make some early assumptions to determine if testing is required.

The age of the home is probably the most important consideration in determining if there is lead in your paint. Check out these statistics:

Year home Was Built                 % of homes withLead-Based Paint

Before 1940                                86 percent

1940 – 1959                                 66 percent

1960 – 1978                                 25 percent

All Housing                                 35 percent

In 1978, the Consumer Products Safety Commission banned the sale of lead-based paint for residential use. Existing supplies may have been available for sale so the exact cutoff date is not clear, but 1978 is a good year to work with.