Home Owners – Lead Paint & Asbestos Testing
As a Charlotte-area home owner, why would you be interested in having a lead paint test or asbestos test performed on your house? Get The Lead Out® would like to clarify the real reasons why a Charlotte home owner should be educated about lead paint and asbestos. Both lead paint and asbestos are dangerous materials, especially for small children and pregnant women.
Lead Paint in Your Home
Because Charlotte is an older city, many of the homes in our area were built prior to 1978 and lead was routinely used in paint. As well, asbestos was routinely used in household items like roof shingles, tile flooring adhesive, pipe wrapping, and some other items.
Common renovation activities like sanding, cutting, and demolition can create hazardous lead dust and chips by disturbing lead-based paint, which can be harmful to adults and children.
To protect against this risk, on April 22, 2008, the EPA issued a rule requiring the use of lead-safe practices and other actions aimed at preventing lead poisoning. Under the rule, beginning April 22, 2010, contractors performing renovation, repair and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in homes built before 1978 must be certified and must follow specific work practices to prevent lead contamination.
Get The Lead Out® professional lead-based paint testing services start at $400 for a home at 1,500 total square feet. Our $400 basic lead paint test includes professional testing with one of our licensed, experienced Lead Assessors, along with a comprehensive inspection report that will contain the lead-based paint findings from your home presented in language that you can understand. Our testing protocol will uncover any lead paint found in your house. Of course, we have other pricing levels for larger homes.
Asbestos in Your Home
Get The Lead Out® can assist clients with the identification, assessment, and management of asbestos. Our expertise, training, and up-to-date regulatory knowledge allows us to provide comprehensive and complete asbestos testing and consultation. We will make sure that the inspection will include a complete visual examination and the careful collection and lab analysis of samples. If asbestos is present, the report will provide a written evaluation 
describing its location and give recommendations for correction or prevention.
Until the 1970′s, many types of building products and insulation materials used in our homes contained asbestos. These items include:
- Resilient floor tiles (vinyl asbestos, asphalt and rubber)
- Patching and joint compounds for walls and ceilings
- Textured paints and textured ceilings
- Steam pipes, boilers and furnace ducts
- Cement sheet, millboard and paper used as insulation
- Door gaskets in furnaces, wood stoves and coal stoves
- Soundproofing or decorative material sprayed on walls
When these products are disturbed, tiny asbestos fibers are released into the air. When asbestos fibers are breathed in, they may get trapped in the lungs and remain there for a long time. Over time, these fibers can accumulate and cause scarring and inflammation, which can affect breathing and lead to serious health problems.
A basic residential Asbestos Test with Get The Lead Out® costs $250 plus $15 per sample. The number of samples taken from your home depends upon the materials and factors that our Asbestos Inspector uncovers.
For both asbestos testing and lead paint testing, please call Pete Hubicki at Get The Lead Out® at 704-376-3594 or email peteh@gettheleadout.biz. We can help give you simple peace of mind in knowing if your home contains lead paint or asbestos. And if lead paint or asbestos are found in your home, we can help you understand how to proceed.