Lead dust going home on work clothes

Work on a house with old lead paint can leave lead dust on everything a worker wears and carries. That dust can travel home on skin, hair, clothes, shoes, tools and the truck, and it's hazardous to children and others in the house. Hand washing with soap and water alone doesn't remove lead residue, so the work happens in a set order before you go home.

On the job

• Bring as little as you can. Anything you take to the site can pick up lead. Bring food and water in disposable containers.
• Keep the dust down. Clean up with a HEPA vacuum or wet methods, and never dry sweep.
• Clean up with lead-removal products. Use lead-removal wipes or washes on hands and skin before you leave.
• Change before you leave. Take off the work clothes and shoes at the site, keep street clothes stored apart from them, and shower there if you can.
• Keep the gear on site. Leave contaminated work clothes and equipment at work rather than taking them home.

At home

• Work shoes stay outside. Take them off before you go in and keep them in a closed plastic bag. Never wear work shoes inside.
• Shower right away. If you couldn't shower at work, shower as soon as you get home.
• Clean often, and clean wet. Clean the truck and the house often. Use wet methods on hard floors and furniture and a HEPA vacuum on carpets and fabric, with cleaning supplies kept apart from the rest of the house.

Tell the doctor

Tell your health care provider you work with lead, especially if you're pregnant or trying to become pregnant. Everyone in the household should tell their own providers that they live with someone who works with lead. Parents of children who spend a lot of time in the house should tell the children's doctors too. If your work doesn't include regular lead testing, ask your doctor whether you should be tested.

Lead paint in homes built before 1978 covers the hazard in the houses themselves.

An annotated example

What to do next

Pack a change of clothes and shoes for any job on a house with old paint, and keep lead-removal wipes in the truck. Tell your doctor, and your family's, that you work around lead.