How to clean up paint chips from lawn and driveway
March 26, 2018 12:21 PM   Subscribe

Demolished an old weathered structure built of scrap interior doors. The structure was probably 20-30 years old, but some of the painted doors would likely have been older. White paint flaked off all over the lawn. Not sure if it's lead paint, so it's probably best to assume it is. How to clean it up?

The area of lawn affected by the big paint chips is about 10 x 10 feet. The biggest chips are a little larger than a quarter, plus there are certainly lots of small chips and paint dust in the lawn as well.

There is also a busted concrete pad (about 4 x 6 feet) with paint dust and tiny paint chips, each the size of a sesame seed, in the cracks all over it.

(Photos of paint chips on grass and concrete areas here)

The lawn is fairly thin, scrubby-looking grass even in summer. Right now it is mostly dead from winter.
It will likely rain tomorrow. I can put tarps over the paint-chip area to shed off the rain, though.

There will be kids & babies playing on this lawn by next summer.

How best to clean it / make it safe?
Thanks!
posted by pseudostrabismus to Home & Garden (14 answers total)
 
If it were me, I'd shop-vac the area.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 12:28 PM on March 26, 2018 [6 favorites]


Response by poster: I considered shop-vaccing... but my concern was that doing so would fill the shop-vac with superfine lead dust, which would then shoot out the back end of the shop-vac the next time we use it inside the house. Is that a reasonable worry?

(Sorry to thread-sit, I'll go away now)
posted by pseudostrabismus at 12:32 PM on March 26, 2018


10x10? Rent a shop vac from a Lowes or Home Depot, or borrow a friends. This will take you less than a half hour to vacuum, bag and safely dispose.

edit- just saw your post above. Vacuum it, put waste in a garbage bag, clean out the inside of the vac with a soapy damp towel, and throw the towel away too. You are over thinking this. Lead is not good, but it's not going to kill you either.
posted by jeff-o-matic at 12:34 PM on March 26, 2018 [5 favorites]


There are shop vacs with HEPA filters that are meant to handle lead paint dust and debris. They're expensive, but it might be worth it if you're going to have more projects like this one.
posted by hydrophonic at 12:46 PM on March 26, 2018 [3 favorites]


Sure it can, jeff-o-matic. Lead and violence are like BFFs.

After you shopvac (yes to the trashbag, soapy damp towel), you should be able to get a lead test kit for free or cheap. Test! Do lead remediation if necessary.
posted by aniola at 12:51 PM on March 26, 2018


Way over bean plating it. Shop vac it up. Dump the shop vac in a can, lined with a black leaf bag and toss it out. You don't want to sit around eating those chips, no. It's harmless otherwise.
posted by humboldt32 at 1:08 PM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]


If you're concerned about the dust, wear a mask while you work and take a shower after. But you're an adult, your brain isn't still developing. And this is just one mild-to-moderate (at worst) incident, not an occupational thing where you're going to get exposed again and again. I wouldn't worry. The biggest problem will be sucking up the paint without also sucking up a bunch of dirt.

Children are much more succeptible lead poisoning. That lead-and-violence correlation comes from chronic exposure during childhood. One exposure as an adult is orders of magnitude less serious, unless it's enough lead to give you acute poisoning, which this isn't.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 1:28 PM on March 26, 2018 [3 favorites]


And yeah, you can test the soil around the old shed area after it's rained a couple of times. Test some soil from elsewhere around your house too, as a control. It's not expensive and probably worth doing if you will have kids rolling around in the dirt.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 1:31 PM on March 26, 2018


Best answer: Lead is not good, but it's not going to kill you either.

My friend had the exact same issue - chipping paint off a garage over a yard area used by kids -, except she was renting and the homeowner ‘solved’ the issue likely with the same cavalier attitude and a shop-vac. There were no visible paint chips, garage siding was painted over. Her 3-year-old ended up with markedly elevated lead levels; as per the pediatrician/lead safety team that was sent by the county, likely because of contaminated yard soil. Elevated lead levels are very scary in small children.

Ultimately, they ended up moving out because the homeowner wouldn’t do proper abatement, which in this case would have meant covering up the area with landscaping or new sod. The harm in the child is done; you can easily read up on the scary effects early childhood lead poisoning is associated with.

If it were me, I’d talk to an expert. Our county has a lead abatement office that advises on stuff like this - maybe yours does, too? - there’s some advice here.

FWIW I would not let my small kids play on this area. Of course it’s not a big deal for kids 5+ and adults; but for small children, it very much is.
posted by The Toad at 2:13 PM on March 26, 2018 [7 favorites]


Tenty-or-Thirty years ago was the early nineties. Lead paint was banned in 1978. It's probably not lead paint, and you can get a test kit (check the expiration dates!) at home depot or lowes or whatever and then proceed based on the findings.

Non-lead paint doesn't need to be handled with anything more than a shopvac.

If it *is* lead paint, you do want to clean it up promptly lest you get significant soil contamination, but your state or city (or both) undoubtedly publish guidance for how to handle the situation. Ask at your local building department or your state's contractor/painter licensing agency.
posted by janell at 2:49 PM on March 26, 2018 [2 favorites]


The structure was 20-30 years old, but it was made of salvaged doors. The doors could very easily be pre-1978.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 2:52 PM on March 26, 2018


Hardware stores carry inexpensive lead test kits, or you can get one online. If I were in your shoes I would test the paint first to help decide how to conduct the cleanup.
posted by exogenous at 3:29 PM on March 26, 2018


Best answer: I really wish uneducated people would stop cavalierly commenting on lead posts. You specifically say kids and babies will be playing out there so you do need to take it seriously; lead is very serious in kids under 5. Doors are one of the most common places to have been painted with lead and a 30year old structure of salvaged doors is likely to have at least one lead door. Definitely get some tests and check whatever remains but know unless you test every door you can't be sure. Renting a professional grade HEPA filter shopvac and cleaning it after (including throwing away the filter) is probably your best bet if you want to attempt a DYI; in MA at least you can take a class in how to do this properly. Note a regular HEPA filter is not good enough. Wash yourself and your clothes carefully afterwards- don't mix the clothes with your kid's laundry and clean your washer after. As mentioned above, test your soil after a couple of rains. I know UMass tests soil for a minimal fee. If it comes back high you'd need to talk to a professional about remediation. Thank you for taking this seriously!
posted by john_snow at 4:35 PM on March 26, 2018 [10 favorites]


Definitely take it seriously, and test the paint and area according to guidance from your local authorities.

If your locality allows nonprofessional remediation, you can (and probably should) simultaneously pick up the paint with a shop-vac. There are HEPA filters available for certain models, as well as HEPA collection bags. Those of us that need to remediate similar types of issues (dust allergy in a family member in my case) will use both the HEPA bag and the HEPA filter for that double-filtered goodness. HEPA filters specialize in ultrafine particle capture. The point isn't necessarily to remediate it yourself, but rather to see if you can collect the material before it becomes a more significant issue. Be sure to discard the bag, filter, clothes you were wearing, shop-vac itself, etc., if lead is detected in any test as appropriate. Then you still need to continue with testing and professional remediation if it tests positive. The shop-vac is only a stopgap measure to reduce the severity of the issue.
posted by jgreco at 4:20 AM on March 27, 2018 [1 favorite]


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