Posted on 26th Dec 2010 @ 12:30 PM

 By Edward Marsh

With today's technology the word home test kit has become a common place phrase in our society. From asbestos to then radon and then we went to mold and even home drug dusting kits. Now with the new laws we now hear the words LEAD TEST KITS. This is not by mistake or is it unintended but due to the new laws that went effective this year that are all under the RRP (Repair, Renovate, and Paint Rule) banner that was created several years ago by the EPA. Lead can sicken people of any age, but young children are at greatest risk; hundreds of thousands of them in the U.S. have elevated levels in their blood, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. The most common place for children to pick up lead contamination is from lead dust being ingested into the body via airborne or by touching contaminated items.

This article is to bring you up to date on a few different types of lead testing kits that are available on the market today:

1- ABOTEX LEAD INSPECTOR - One of the common kits that you will see more widely advertised and works as a swab test that is very easily used by a homeowner. The test will indicate if there is lead on the surface being tested by turning pink or red depending on the concentration of lead. The downside of this unit is that it is not as instant as one would think. It can take up to two hours to detect the lead on the swab. Also there is a strong odor released when the two chemicals in the swab are mixed to do the test. We strongly suggest that you have plenty of ventilation and that you wear protection when using this kit.

2- FIRST ALERT - This kit is much like the Abotex Lead Inspector kit as far as it is a swab based kit. One of the downsides that we noticed was that you had to perform more than one test to create a baseline to see if the results are equal. This procedure is an expense that you must use more than one test to get the results on a single surface. The downside is that you still have a bottle of solution that you must dip the swab in and then rub the surface being tested, this does not allow for a controlled test. Also, the price is on the slightly high scale for only a four swab kit compared to other swab type kits.

3- LEADCHECK INSTANT LEAD TEST KIT - The LeadCheck lead test kit is most likely the easiest, Instant result lead paint detection kit to use. The swab contains the chemicals inside the swab tube used for the process. The chemicals are in two individual glass tubes much like an ammonia inhalant, once the tubes are cracked a quick shake to mix the chemicals and rub the swab on the area to be tested. There are no chemicals or odors to deal with and the test results are visible within about 10-30 seconds. THIS LEAD TEST KIT IS ONE OF THREE THAT ARE NATIONWIDE ACCEPTABLE FOR USE WITH THE NEW RRP RULE FOR LEAD PAINT RENOVATIONS AND LEAD SAFE WORK AREAS.

4- DLEAD TEST KIT - This is the newest Lead Paint Detection kit that is on the market that is EPA recognized for use with the new RRP Lead safe work practices. The test kit has just hit the market and is now becoming available for general sale.  We have noticed that the biggest downside is that there are several components of liquid vials and equipment needed to get the same results as the Lead Check Instant lead detection kit.

The above listed test kits are the most popular on the market. By all mean you will find other kits available for purchase with other pros and cons than what we have listed here. If you are a Certified Renovator through the EPA be aware that the only widely available lead test kit on the market today in the LeadCheck INSTANT Lead test kit. This test kit comes with the verification cards with the test kit in order to confirm that each test kit is working and has acceptable results in order to keep a lead safe work area.