Lead paint
Lead pigments were largely removed from household paints in the 1960s, and the small quantities of lead used as drying agents had gone from decorative paints by the early 1980s. The guidance for the public issued by the British Coatings Federation, the paint industry's trade body, therefore treats wood and metal painted before the 1960s as likely to carry lead, usually beneath later coats, and recommends testing before the renovation of any house more than about forty years old.
Lead is absorbed by breathing or swallowing dust and flakes. Young children and pregnant women are most at risk, and neither should be present while old paint is disturbed.
The first rule is that sound old paint is left where it is and painted over. Removing it creates more exposure than leaving it. Removal is justified only where the paint is flaking or chipping, or where a child could chew it.
Where it does have to be disturbed, the federation's guidance is:
- Not to sand it dry, or use any other dry method.
- Not to burn it off with a blowlamp or gas torch, or heat it until it gives off fumes.
- To rub down sound surfaces wet, with waterproof abrasive paper, and wipe the residue away with a damp cloth.
- To take off paint in poor condition with a chemical stripper, or by softening it with a hot-air gun or infra-red stripper without scorching it, scraping it straight into a container.
- To cover or remove furnishings, wear overalls, gloves and a particulate mask, and keep other people out of the room.
- To wash down the area afterwards, and to use a vacuum cleaner only if it has a HEPA filter.
- To seal the debris in heavy-duty plastic bags, which a householder may put in the ordinary dustbin, and never to burn it.
Test kits are sold for home use. A positive result shows that lead is present; a negative one is not reliable. A specialist laboratory gives a firm answer.
The government's own leaflet on the subject, published in 2013, was withdrawn on 26 April 2024 as out of date.
Asbestos in textured coatings
Textured decorative coatings on ceilings and walls — stippled, swirled or combed, and often known by the brand name Artex — were widely applied in British homes, and some contained asbestos. The Health and Safety Executive states that the use of asbestos in building has been illegal since 1999, and that it can be present in any building built or refurbished before 2000. A textured coating of that age has to be assumed to contain it until tested.
An intact coating releases no fibres and is safe to live with and to paint over. The danger is in sanding, scraping or drilling it. A ceiling of this kind is never sanded smooth. A sample can be tested by an accredited laboratory, and removal, or covering with new plasterboard or a skim of plaster, is work for a contractor trained to handle asbestos. The executive's account of why asbestos is dangerous and where it is found gives the general rule: material thought to contain it is not disturbed.
Fumes
Solvent-based paints, white spirit and chemical strippers give off vapour that causes headaches and dizziness in a closed room. Windows are opened while they are in use and until the smell has gone, and the vapour of white spirit is flammable. The label on each tin shows its solvent content, as explained under types of paint.
Leftover paint
Community RePaint, the national paint reuse network, reported in 2022 that more than 50 million litres of paint are wasted in the United Kingdom every year, most of it incinerated, and that the average household has about 17 part-used tins.
The rules for getting rid of it follow from a ban on sending liquid waste to landfill:
- Liquid paint is not put in the household bin or poured down a drain.
- Many household waste recycling centres do not accept paint while it is liquid. Each council publishes what its sites take.
- Where liquid paint is refused, it is dried out first — by leaving the lid off a nearly empty tin, or by stirring in sawdust, soil or a paint-hardening powder — and then taken to the recycling centre as solid waste.
- Empty, dry metal tins are recycled with scrap metal at the same sites.
- White spirit, brush cleaner and paint stripper are hazardous waste and go to a recycling centre that accepts chemicals.
Usable paint has a better destination. Community RePaint collects it through participating recycling centres and passes it on to charities, community groups and households.
Keeping paint
Paint kept for touching up lasts for years if the lid is sealed tightly and the tin is kept where it will not freeze. Water-based paint that has frozen, smells sour or will not stir back to a smooth liquid is finished.