Lead Poisoning Prevention: What Every Parent Should Know! Who can get lead poisoning? Children from 6 months to 6 years old are the main victims of lead poisoning. But anyone who eats, drinks, or breathes something which has too much lead can get lead poisoning. Lead tends to build up in the body over time. So someone who takes in only small amounts of lead can gradually develop lead poisoning. A pregnant woman should also know that lead carried in her blood can pass to her unborn child. How does lead affect health? A child who consumes a dangerous amount of lead may seem to be well. But lead can affect the brain, causing learning disabilities and behavior problems. Lead can also affect the blood, kidneys, and other parts of the body. As lead poisoning becomes serious, some children have stomach aches, loss of appetite, or loss of interest in play. Some children may also become overly active or fussy and irritable. A blood lead test can help find out if someone has taken in too much lead before there are any outward signs of illness.

Ask your doctor or clinic about this test. Lead-based house paint was used in most homes before l950. Lead was still used in some house paints until 1978. Paint on your window frames and on porches is very likely to present a risk for children. Small children put things in their mouths. They chew on window sills, they eat paint chips, and they suck on their hands. Lead from crumbling paint gets into household dust, and anything that gets dusty (like toys, pets, and fingers) can then become a source of lead poisoning. Older furniture (cribs, play pens, chairs, etc.) and painted toys may have lead paint. Old or imported ceramic dishes may be decorated with lead glazes. Food that comes in contact with a lead glaze will pick up some of the lead. Many children will eat almost anything. Dirt, including soil from flower pots, plaster, ashes, and charcoal all may have lead. Caution: Only trained workers may remove or work with lead paint. Everyone else, including pets, must keep out of the work area until the job is complete and the area is carefully cleaned.

Dust and fumes from lead paint removal can be dangerous. A well balanced diet contributes to good health in many ways. Foods that are high in calcium, iron, and vitamin C can help protect your children from lead poisoning. Your children should eat less of the foods which are high in fat and oil, since these foods make it easier for the body to absorb lead. To protect against lead dust, be sure that your children wash their hands before eating. Food that falls on the floor should be thrown away. Care of Walls, Windows, and Trim--Maryland regulations do not allow dry scraping, sanding, or burning of lead paint, because these methods create health hazards. Do replace old windows and wood trim that have deteriorated. Do use only safe methods for removing old paint. Carefully contain and dispose of the hazardous debris and dust from lead paint removal. Dust Control-In older houses, lead from old paint can mix with household dust. Special cleaning will lower this hazard. Clean rugs each week with a vacuum.

Damp mop floors with a high-phosphate cleaner, such as automatic dishwashing detergent. Whirlpool Tub Inline HeaterMix one tablespoon of detergent with a gallon of hot water. Cargo Van Rental San Diego One WayDust furniture and other surfaces with a damp cloth and high-phosphate cleaner.Satin Infant Car Seat Covers Use of Toys, Furniture, and Containers--Older items, such as a crib or toy, which may have been painted with lead paint should be removed from your home. Metal containers, such as pewter or brass pitchers, may have lead and should not be used for food or beverages. Old or imported ceramic containers or dishes which have been coated with lead glazes should not be used. All children between 6 months and 6 years of age should be checked for lead.

Many children have blood lead tests as part of their regular care by a doctor or clinic. These tests are very important for children who live, or who spend time, in older buildings which may have lead paint. Be sure to ask your doctor or clinic about testing for your child. If a test for lead is high, more tests and a doctor's exam will be necessary. Be sure to follow directions carefully. You can help limit the effects of lead poisoning by getting good medical care for your child and by keeping things which have lead away from your child. Contact Information:MDE Lead Poisoning Prevention Program410-537-3825 or 1-800-633-6101, Ext. 3825We get a steady stream of customers asking us for advice about paint stripper use and how to remove varnish from wood. Here’s some practical information about stripping paint from wood, designed to help you choose the right product. You might be the lucky owner of a lovely period home. Or have an old wood floor that you’re sure will come up beautifully with a bit of work.

You may have found a fabulous piece of old furniture smothered with nasty, brown, shiny varnish that’s begging for some TLC, or you might suspect there’s something really special under all those layers of ancient paint on your doors. Whatever you want to do, you’ll need to get all that rubbish off the surface to reveal the stunning wood beneath. Thankfully contemporary stripping products are relatively simple, effective and safe to use. Much better than the bad old days when your only choice was pure caustic soda, nasty stuff! You can strip any kind of wood, even heavily-carved wood, as long as you use the right products and materials and follow the instructions meticulously, particularly if you want to strip something expensive, rare or precious. There are three ways of removing paint from wood: sanding, a hot air gun and chemical paint strippers. As Kirsty Allsop says on the Channel 4 Homes website: “Chemical strippers, available from DIY stores, are good for intricately carved wood.

You will need to follow the manufacturer’s instructions as these vary. Make sure you keep the area you’re working in well ventilated. Protect the floor with dust sheets or thick newspaper. To get a chemical stripper into nooks and crannies on intricate woodwork, use wire wool. Also, check the manufacturer’s instructions to see if you need to neutralise the stripped woodwork.” Solvent paint remover takes off all kinds of finishes, even contemporary ones. They are usually very gentle on the wood and won’t damage it, which is why they’re used in the antique trade. There’s no discolouring and solvents get the wood cleaner, deeper down into the grain. On the downside, you tend to use more of it so it can end up more expensive than a caustic stripper. Solvents can also cause burns, smell awful and must only be used in a very well-ventilated space. Last of all, you might have to work a bit harder to remove heavy paint build-ups than with a caustic paint stripper. Caustic paint removers take off most finishes and are particularly good at getting rid of thick layers of paint and varnish.

They give off fewer fumes than solvent-based paint strippers, are cheaper and tend to work faster. On the other hand caustic products usually contain a very strong alkaline which may react with chemicals in the wood resulting in staining or scorching of the wood. This is more common with dense woods such as mahogony and some types of oak, especially old oak. Caustic substances also cause burns if you get them on your skin. What’s the best paint stripper for wood? You can always test drive a few different products to see which best suits the job and matches your capabilities. Just carry out testing in inconspicuous areas and keep your test areas small. Most paints manufactured before 1960 contain lead, so if you’re stripping something older than that it’s wise to check. You can pick up a lead testing kit at your local decorating centre or DIY store. If you find lead the British Coatings Federation have produced a leaflet about how to deal with it, which you can read here: “Old Lead Painted Surfaces – A Guide on Repainting and Removal for DIY and Professional Painters and Decorators”.

Chemical paint stripping and varnish stripping products partially dissolve the paint or varnish. You can buy paste and gel paint stripping products, handy because they’re so thick that they stick to vertical surfaces, perfect if the item you want to strip can’t be moved. We highly recommend Panther Paint and Varnish Remover, one of the best wood strippers on the market for day to day paint and varnish removal on flat surfaces. It’s great for removing varnish from wood, and paint. It’s a remarkable product, highly effective and incredibly fast, removing as many as six layers in just five minutes. It’s a gel, sticking conveniently to vertical surfaces.  And it’s ideal for removing water, oil and solvent-based paints, varnishes and lacquers. We also love Peelaway One and Peelaway Seven, both used to restore antiques and decorative items like carved fireplaces, coving and ceiling roses. They work by dissolving the paint and pulling it out of the nooks and crannies.

Peelaway 1 is better suited to paint aged 30 years and older, the old-style metal and lead based types.  Peelaway 7 works better on modern paints dating from the last 30 years or so. For some projects you might need to bring both into play, using Peelaway 7 on the newer layers and Peelaway 1 on the deeper layers. Like many paint remover products it’s caustic, so always try a test patch first. Here’s a link to an old blog post in which we give the Peelaway paint remover a rigorous trial.Now it’s time to choose your wood finish. We have a huge selection of amazing products designed to breathe new beauty into your wood, whether it’s a gorgeous old floor, a splendid piece of antique or vintage furniture, a pine door or rococo picture frame. Here are some ideas to help you get creative with your good-as-new wood:We’re always delighted to help. Just get in touch. Otherwise, we wish you the best of luck with your next wood stripping project. Tags: paint remover, paint stripper, remove paint from wood, varnish remover