Effectiveness of a One-Time Professional Cleaning for Lead

Project Funder: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

Project Partner: Vermont Housing and Conservation Board

Project Contact: Jonathan Wilson, jwilson@nchh.org, 443.539.4162

Project Description

One-time professional cleaning of lead-contaminated dust and debris was conducted in 37 units with deteriorated lead-based paint and dust lead hazards. These study units were a subset of a larger cohort of the nearly 3500 housing units that were enrolled in the Evaluation of the HUD Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Grant Program. The cleaning intervention significantly reduced dust lead loadings on floors, windowsills, and window troughs immediately following the work. These reductions did not persist at six months and one year post-intervention, however. Although window trough lead loadings declined over 50% from pre-intervention to one year post-intervention, the loadings rebounded markedly from the geometric mean at clearance. These results demonstrate that a single professional cleaning of dust and debris without addressing potential sources of lead dust (such as deteriorated lead-based paint) or repeating the cleaning are unlikely to result in significant and sustained reductions in dust lead loadings.

Resources

An Evaluation of One-Time Professional Cleaning in Homes with Lead-Based Paint Hazards [pdf]

Additional Studies Related to Lead Cleaning

Achieving dust lead clearance standards after lead hazard control projects: an evaluation of the HUD-recommended cleaning procedure and an abbreviated alternative. Dixon S et al. 1999

Efficiency of final cleaning for lead-based paint abatement in indoor environments. Grinshpun SA et al. 2002

Comparison of home lead dust reduction techniques on hard surfaces: the New Jersey assessment of cleaning techniques trial. Rich DQ et al. 2002

Evaluation of cleaning methods applied in home environments after renovation and remodeling activities. Yiin LM et al. 2004.

Removal of lead contaminated dusts from hard surfaces. Lewis RD et al. 2006

Cleaning efficacy of high-efficiency particulate air-filtered vacuuming and “dry steam” cleaning on carpet. Yiin LM et al. 2008

Do new wipe materials outperform traditional lead dust cleaning methods? Lewis RD et al. 2012

 

Latest page update: September 26, 2017.