How to deal with lead paint on old floors
Standard sanding is unsafe when old wooden floors test positive for lead paint, leaving homeowners unsure of how to proceed without poisoning themselves or their families. Because hiring professionals is often too expensive, people are forced to look for DIY alternatives or other remediation methods they have no prior experience with.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Covering the floor with 1/4 inch underlayment and troweled floor patchDid this help you?
- 2Painting over the lead paintDid this help you?
- 3Attempting liquid paint strippingDid this help you?
- 4Enclosing or encapsulating the lead paint by framing and drywalling stacksDid this help you?
- 5Using self-leveler or an uncoupling membrane to cover and encapsulate the paint before tilingDid this help you?
- 6Washing clothes separately on a heavy cycleDid this help you?
- 7Throwing out items that were directly touching the contaminated basket linerDid this help you?
- 8Applying a liquid deglosser and encapsulating paint to avoid sandingDid this help you?
- 9Hiring professional painters with strict instructions not to sand the trimDid this help you?
- 10Moving the family out of the house for a few days during the painting processDid this help you?
- 11Moving to a newer home built after lead paint was bannedDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“My kid peeled new paint off the wall and behind it just happened to be lead the biggest problem I’m having is he dropped all the paint chips into the dirty clothes basket should I wash the clothes or throw them out.”source ↗
“When I tested the actual pieces that were on my clothes they tested negative but then I tested the actual area and it was positive so I’m a little unsure.”source ↗
“Trust me i wish i could sell this house. The market is just so bad where I live”source ↗
“I already washed a few things so now I fear I contaminated my washer😅”source ↗
“I feel guilty having him in this house where all of these doors and trim have lead paint and are generating lead dust at rubbing points.”source ↗
“I am at the point where I don’t know if I can continue even living in this home due to all the problems that I’ve dealt with over the years with this property, this just being the icing on the cake”source ↗
“All I know is I need this lead paint covered up and I don’t wanna take any risk.”source ↗
“Honestly, though, I lived in an old house that tested positive for lead when I had a toddler and another baby on the way. We actually decided to move. It wasn’t the only reason we moved, but it was definitely a factor.”source ↗
“The light green paint on the column and chimney stack, as well as the dark green paint on the slab contain lead.”source ↗
“The slab is chipped away in places, cracked, and uneven.”source ↗
“The already sub 6 foot headspace should be considered.”source ↗
“I have no experience with tiling or laying any floor but, due to money concerns, DIY is probably my only option.”source ↗
“i just tested the original floor, and all 3 different color spots its all lead paint. so now i think sanding is not an option if we dont want to poison ourselves.”source ↗
“who has experience iwth lead paint on floors? what did you do with it? what do you recommend?”source ↗
Where this came up
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