Before the Crew Opens the Walls, Ask How They'll Handle the Dust
Part 5 of 5 in our National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week series, October 25 to 31, 2026
A contractor is at your door with a quote for new windows and trim. The price works. Your preschooler is napping in the next room. You’re about to agree without asking the question that matters most in an older home: how will they keep the dust contained?
What the RRP rule requires in older homes
If someone is paid to disturb paint in a home, childcare center or preschool built before 1978, federal rules require:
- a certified firm
- a certified renovator on the job
- lead-safe work practices throughout
The rules exist because cutting, sanding and scraping old paint releases lead dust, and children are usually exposed through dust they can’t see rather than chips they can. Good containment stops it spreading. Cleaning up afterwards can’t fully undo it.
Small jobs and big jobs
Very small repairs, such as touching up a few square feet of paint, can fall outside the rules. Window replacement and demolition never do, however quickly the crew expects to finish. If the scope includes windows, doors, large areas of scraping or opening up walls, lead-safe practice applies.
If a contractor brushes off containment because “it won’t be much,” treat that as a warning sign.
Four questions to ask a lead-safe certified contractor
- Who is the certified firm, and who is the certified renovator on this job?
- How will you keep dust inside the work area and out of bedrooms, hallways and the heating and cooling system?
- Will you assume there’s lead paint on these surfaces, or test them first?
- How will you handle the plastic sheeting, debris and final cleanup before children go back into the room?
Write the answers on the quote. If they’re vague, the quote isn’t finished.
Assume or test
Certified renovators have two responsible options. They can assume lead paint is present and work to lead-safe standards throughout, or they can test each component first. EPA-recognized kits such as LeadCheck let them confirm, surface by surface, that regulated lead paint is not present on wood, ferrous metal, drywall or plaster before they cut or scrape.
Either approach is fine. No approach isn’t. Ask which one they’ll take, and if they plan to test, which kit they use.
What good lead-safe work practices sound like
- Certification details for both the firm and the renovator
- Containment that matches the size of the job
- A clear decision to assume lead paint or test for it
- A proper cleanup plan, not just a shop vac
If the work is in a rental or a childcare setting, the rules and the risks are the same, and so is the need to ask.
Ask before the plastic goes up
The quote can wait ten minutes. Ask who’s certified, how the dust will be contained, and whether they’ll assume lead paint or test first. Then decide.
Contractors and certified renovators can find out how LeadCheck supports lead-safe work under the RRP rule at leadcheck.com or luxfermagtech.com, or call 800-503-4483.
This is the final part of our NLPPW 2026 series. Catch up on all five: Part 1, Built Before 1978? Lead Paint Could Still Be in Your Walls; Part 2, “We Got Tested” Is Not a Complete Sentence; Part 3, Your Toddler Looks Fine. Ask About a Blood Lead Test Anyway.; Part 4, Stop With the Sander in Your Hand.