.Poppy.
03-06-22, 15:06
My house was built in 1920, and I looked over my home buying documents and they all state the seller "was not aware" of any lead based paint in the home, but based on the age, of course it must be there. We've done construction on the home, taking down walls, sanding doors and windowsills, etc. and while we have tried to wear masks and contain the dust, it's still very messy and that dust gets everywhere.
I tried to be logical and look at the CDC site and home building websites, hoping that they would say high amounts or lengthy exposure is what to look out for, but of course did not find that. All said even small amounts could cause an issue. All said that even if you're not busting up walls, just regular home dust can have lead in it, or if your paint starts to crack or peel that could as well, etc.
This is probably a silly fear to have, seeing as I grew up in a historic farmhouse and we did renovations, so I've already been exposed. And right now in my current house, I've certainly already been exposed and we are done knocking things down and are just repainting everything, so in theory it should be mitigated at this point moving forward, but again, I've already been exposed.
I'm trying to clean my house, but there is just dust everywhere and it's so hard to clean because I don't yet have kitchen cabinets so nowhere to put things as I clean.
And then, of course, I am thinking about old dishes and what if they had lead paint and I've been eating off of them (I have a set that my mom gave me, from the 70s).
I'm not even just worried about myself, but my dog and cat live there as well and what if they stepped on dust or licked it, or breathed it in and I make them sick? I wish I had considered this fear a couple of weeks ago when my dog was at the vet school and I could have asked them then.
This wasn't a fear I originally had, as I was told that unless you are chewing on the walls (which neither I nor my pets do), you will be fine, but it seems that the professionals disagree.
I have a physical scheduled for next week so am thinking about asking my doctor about it then, but I'm so afraid of the answer and I also can't believe I was so reckless and stupid.
I tried to be logical and look at the CDC site and home building websites, hoping that they would say high amounts or lengthy exposure is what to look out for, but of course did not find that. All said even small amounts could cause an issue. All said that even if you're not busting up walls, just regular home dust can have lead in it, or if your paint starts to crack or peel that could as well, etc.
This is probably a silly fear to have, seeing as I grew up in a historic farmhouse and we did renovations, so I've already been exposed. And right now in my current house, I've certainly already been exposed and we are done knocking things down and are just repainting everything, so in theory it should be mitigated at this point moving forward, but again, I've already been exposed.
I'm trying to clean my house, but there is just dust everywhere and it's so hard to clean because I don't yet have kitchen cabinets so nowhere to put things as I clean.
And then, of course, I am thinking about old dishes and what if they had lead paint and I've been eating off of them (I have a set that my mom gave me, from the 70s).
I'm not even just worried about myself, but my dog and cat live there as well and what if they stepped on dust or licked it, or breathed it in and I make them sick? I wish I had considered this fear a couple of weeks ago when my dog was at the vet school and I could have asked them then.
This wasn't a fear I originally had, as I was told that unless you are chewing on the walls (which neither I nor my pets do), you will be fine, but it seems that the professionals disagree.
I have a physical scheduled for next week so am thinking about asking my doctor about it then, but I'm so afraid of the answer and I also can't believe I was so reckless and stupid.