# Lead-safe painting in an older home

Canonical: https://colorswatchlab.com/guides/lead-safe-painting/
Author: Color Swatch Lab Editorial Team
Published: 2026-10-27
Updated: 2026-10-30
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> Homes built before 1978 may contain lead-based paint, and the EPA estimates about three-quarters of those homes still have some. If you hire someone, federal rules require a lead-safe certified renovator for most paid work in pre-1978 homes, child-care spaces and preschools. The rule generally does not cover you painting your own home, unless you rent it out, run child care there, or renovate to sell. Either way, the EPA’s advice is the same shape: keep children, pregnant women and pets out, contain the dust with plastic, wet-sand or use a HEPA-attached tool instead of dry sanding, and clean with a HEPA vacuum and wet wiping before you take the plastic down. Do not burn paint off or use a heat gun above 1,100°F.

## Why a paint job in an older house is a different job

Lead-based paint was widely used before it was restricted for housing. The EPA’s page on reducing exposure at home says about three-quarters of U.S. homes built before 1978 still contain some lead-based paint. Children can live in those houses when the paint is intact and the house is cleaned, because the hazard is not the painted wall at a distance. It is dust and chips. Friction surfaces, windows, doors and stairs, make dust when they rub. Peeling paint makes chips. A renovation makes both, quickly, and the dust does not stay in the room where you scraped.

The EPA’s advice if you do not know: find out the year the house was built. If it is before 1978, either hire a certified inspector or risk assessor, or assume the paint contains lead. This site cannot tell you that your particular wall is safe. A year and a test can.

## Who the law actually binds

The EPA’s Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting rule requires that contractors doing renovation, repair or painting for compensation in pre-1978 homes, child-care facilities and preschools be certified and follow lead-safe work practices. The EPA’s homeowner FAQ is explicit that the rule does not impose those requirements on you for a renovation in your own home.

The DIY page adds the exceptions, and they are easy to miss. The rule does apply if you rent out all or part of the home, if you operate child care in the home, or if you buy, renovate and sell houses for profit. In those cases you need the certification, or you need a certified firm, before the work starts. “It’s my property” is not the test. “Who is exposed, and am I being paid” is closer.

A separate point: the EPA says not to do lead abatement yourself. Abatement is permanent removal or permanent covering of lead hazards, and it belongs to certified abatement contractors. Repainting over intact paint, or repairing a small area of damaged paint with lead-safe methods, is not the same project as stripping every surface in the house to bare wood. If someone has told you the house needs abatement, that is not a weekend sanding project.

## If the paint is intact, the job may be cleaning, not scraping

The EPA’s exposure page says children can live safely with lead-based paint when it is in good condition and surfaces stay clean. Their housekeeping list is specific. Wipe hard surfaces weekly with a damp sponge or paper towel. Do not use steel wool, scouring pads or abrasive cleaners that can wear paint down. Wet-mop floors. Do not dry-sweep, power-buff, or use a vacuum with a beater bar on a floor that has paint chips or visible dust; use a HEPA vacuum for that dust, and do not shake rugs. Look at windows, doors and stairs, where paint rubs. If you find peeling, clean the chips up with a damp paper towel, bag them, and wipe again.

Small repairs, which they define as under 6 square feet, should be fixed soon, and without sanding if you can. If you must sand, wet the area, sand only what you need, and clean up thoroughly. A full-room scuff-sand of a pre-1978 wall is not a “small repair.”

## If you do repaint it yourself

The EPA still recommends lead-safe methods when a homeowner decides to do the work, even when the rule does not legally apply. The homeowner FAQ and the DIY page agree on the shape of the job.

- **Keep children, pregnant women and pets out** of the work area the whole time, not only while you are scraping. Dust settles after the noise stops.

- **Contain the room.** Cover floors and furniture you cannot move with heavy plastic and tape. Seal doors. Seal heating and cooling vents so the system does not pull dust into the rest of the house. The EPA’s remodeling page makes a related point about windows: painted sashes in pre-1978 homes can release lead dust just from opening and closing, so a “small” window job is still a dust job.

- **Do not make dry dust.** Wet-sand or wet-scrape. Mist the surface. If you use a power sander or grinder, it needs a shroud and a HEPA vacuum attached so dust is caught at the tool. The renovation rule prohibits contractors from open-flame burning, from high-speed sanding or grinding without that HEPA attachment, and from heat guns above 1,100°F. The DIY guidance points homeowners to the same safer tools: wet-dry sandpaper, a sanding sponge, a mister, plastic, a HEPA vacuum, and a heat gun only if it stays under 1,100°F. Chemical strippers can contain their own hazards. Follow that product’s instructions, and do not assume “chemical” means “lead-safe and non-toxic.”

- **Protect yourself.** The DIY page says to consider a disposable N-100 respirator, disposable coveralls, a hat, shoe covers, eye protection and gloves. Wash your face and hands every time you stop. Wash work clothes separately. Do not eat, drink or smoke in the work area. An ordinary dust mask is not what that page names.

- **Clean before you take the plastic down.** HEPA-vacuum the surfaces, wet-wipe them, and wet-mop, with plenty of rinse water. Then remove the plastic. Taking the plastic down first, or shaking it out in the hallway, undoes the containment. Bag debris. Do not track it through the house on your shoes.

- **Then prep and paint as usual** on a surface that is clean and sound. Washing, patching and priming are [how to prep walls](https://colorswatchlab.com/guides/how-to-prep-walls-before-painting/) and [when to prime](https://colorswatchlab.com/guides/when-to-prime-before-painting/). Peeling still has to come off back to a firm edge, or the new paint fails, but the way you take it off is the lead-safe way above, not a dry scrape onto the floor. Ordinary peel causes are [why paint peels](https://colorswatchlab.com/guides/why-is-paint-peeling/).

## What this page is not

It is not a certification course, and it is not medical advice. If a child or a pregnant woman may already have been exposed, talk to a doctor about a blood-lead test. The EPA pages linked below are the ones to read in full before you buy plastic and start. If the work is large, or the paint is failing across a lot of wall, hiring a lead-safe certified firm is the path the EPA recommends first, not the path you fall back to after a dusty afternoon.

Paint you remove does not go in the household trash as ordinary chips, and it does not go down a drain. Local household-hazardous-waste rules apply, and PaintCare’s list of accepted products is about leftover usable paint, not lead debris from a scrape. Disposal of ordinary leftovers is a different article: [how to dispose of leftover paint](https://colorswatchlab.com/guides/how-to-dispose-of-leftover-paint/).


## FAQ

### Do I have to hire a certified renovator to paint my own older house?

Usually no. The EPA says the renovation rule does not cover homeowners working on their own home. It does cover you if you rent the home out, run child care there, or renovate houses to sell. Hiring a contractor for pay does trigger the rule in pre-1978 housing.

### How common is lead paint in older homes?

The EPA says about three-quarters of U.S. homes built before 1978 still contain some lead-based paint. Intact paint plus routine wet cleaning is the condition they describe as livable. Dust from damaged or sanded paint is the hazard.

### Can I sand the walls if I wear a dust mask?

Dry sanding is what the EPA tells you to avoid. Wet the surface, or use a power tool with a HEPA vacuum attached. The DIY guidance names an N-100 respirator, not a generic dust mask, among the gear to consider.

### Is it safe to scrape peeling paint in a pre-1978 house?

Peeling paint is both a paint failure and a possible lead hazard. The EPA says to clean chips up wet, and to fix small areas, under 6 square feet, preferably without sanding. Contain the work, keep children and pets out, and clean with a HEPA vacuum and wet wiping before you open the room.

### Can I remove all the old paint myself?

The EPA says not to do lead abatement yourself. Abatement is a certified trade. Repainting with lead-safe dust control is a different, smaller job. If you have been told the house needs abatement, hire a certified abatement contractor.

## Sources

- [Reduce the Risk of Lead Exposure at Home (US EPA)](https://www.epa.gov/lead/protect-your-family-exposures-lead)
- [Lead-Safe Renovations for DIYers (US EPA)](https://www.epa.gov/lead/lead-safe-renovations-diyers)
- [How can homeowners protect themselves from lead dust? (US EPA)](https://www.epa.gov/lead/how-can-homeowners-protect-themselves-and-their-families-exposure-lead-dust-if-they-plan-doing)
- [Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program (US EPA)](https://www.epa.gov/lead/lead-renovation-repair-and-painting-program)
- [Remodeling Your Home and Indoor Air Quality (US EPA)](https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/remodeling-your-home-and-indoor-air-quality)