Home Lead Tests and Kits Have Benefits as Well as Limits – What You Need to Know

With so much recent news about toys and other products containing lead, people have become wary. Some have bought home lead tests. According to Consumer Reports Safety blog at blogs.consumerreports.org/safety/2007/10/cr-and-the-cpsc.html consumers should understand the limits of these home tests. While Consumer Reports still comes down on the side of finding benefits in home lead kits, there are some items containing lead which the home tests will miss.

Here’s the latest scoop:

The best lead testing kits:
Homex Lead Check, Lead Check Household Lead Check Kit and Lead Inspector.

What the tests won’t detect:

Any products where lead is beneath the surface. Examples would include jewelry or painted toys, especially inexpensive metal jewelry, which can be coated with a shiny surface that hides the lead lurking underneath. In short, do not rely on lead tests to reveal which pieces of jewelry, from rings to bracelets, contain lead.

What parents need to know:

Twenty percent of children’s metal jewelry contains high levels of lead! Buy your child any jewelry with caution and only from a reputable store or dealer. In this case, cheap may not be worth the savings. Go with the real thing, pure gold or silver, and put the item away for safekeeping until your child is older, if you don’t think he or she is old enough to have real gold or silver items.

About the tests:

They can be a pain, not easy to use or take hours to get results. Consumer Reports suggests users practice reading and understanding the directions before use. One test, Lead Inspector, is recommended for red or pink items.

A list worth bookmarking and checking regularly:

The CPSC recall list at www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prerel.html From ceramic bowls to toys, you’ll find the latest updates and recalls here.

What you can do to help:

If you use a lead test or lead kit and it detects lead, report it here: custhelp.consumerreports.org/cgi-bin/consumerreports.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php

These simple snippets of info ought to help protect your family and friends. Pass it along to anyone who might need the info. Finally, don’t forget to have old pipes checked for possible lead. Here’s to a safer future!