OnBudget Painting is on a Mission to Make Old Homes Paint Healthy Again

Painting homes with lead-based paints was common practice up until the mid-1970s. When the first guidelines were issued under the Hazardous Products Act back in 1976, the use of lead-based paints was limited, but didn’t stop altogether. The 2005 regulations, which put extra restrictions to lead used for the background level of exterior and interior paints, obliged paint manufacturers in Canada to comply. Lead paints nearly disappeared from the market – although not entirely, but the question remains. What happens with the old houses, which have already been painted with lead paints?

“It’s a major problem,” OnBudget Painting CEO Evan Berry explains. “We are talking about thousands of homes just in this area which were built before the mid-1970s and the paints used were lead based. One even greater headache is that most of these homes have been repainted since and so the lead paints are hidden behind new layers of coatings. That’s if the painters Toronto homeowners chose didn’t pay attention to lead. People living in these houses may not even know their walls and doors were first painted with lead-based paints. Identifying if a paint is lead-based or not is already hard enough – imagine not knowing what’s hiding behind the current paint.”

What is lead paint? Why it was used?

Lead paints contain lead, which is a toxic metal and, thus, harmful. When lead dust is inhaled, health problems may include headaches, muscle pains, nausea, difficulty to focus, high blood pressure, and more. Why it was used in the first place? Lead helps paints remain durable for longer and look fresh. It’s resistant to moisture and accelerates the paint drying process. Lead paints become a hazard when they crack, peel, get damp or damaged.

The lead-based paint risks – the children at stake

“As a specialized in-house painting company, we know the high risks. We also know that old paints in old homes are bound to peel and crack. Water damage may happen, further increasing the possibility of the paints getting damp and chipped. These things increase the health risks, especially when children are involved. You see, lead paints were not only used in domestic applications but also in public, like playgrounds and railings. And don’t forget that some old houses have playgrounds in their backyard too. Children have a tendency to chew surfaces, which may contain lead. So, it’s a good thing that we are experienced in both interior and exterior painting services. It’s also important that we are the home painters Toronto residents can trust to properly remove lead paints.”

Evan Berry explained that although there are ways to remove lead paints, this is not always possible or prudent to do. On the other hand, there are ways to make old houses healthy again.

“Look, we are in the painting business – hence, in the business of making homes beautiful. And our job involves many tasks before we even get to the point of applying primers and colors. I am talking about the preparatory stage, which is important for the good adhesion of the paints and the smoothening of the surface, anyway. But there are times – let’s say, after some water leaks, when drywall repair will simply not do. In such cases, drywall must be replaced. Same thing with lead. If some doors, windows, or sections of drywall cannot be entirely and properly cleaned, it’s best to replace them than having some lead residues on the surface. It’s important for consumers to remember that the hazards are higher when the lead paints crack and become damaged, leaving dangerous dust in the air which is inhaled. As you can see, our latest mission involves much more than painting homes to modernize, refresh, and beautify them. It’s a mission to make interior and exterior environments healthy and so keep families healthy. Both achieved with one task – two birds with one stone, if you will.”

As Berry said, the signs of lead paints are hard to recognize. The appearance of the cracked paints resembles that of an alligator and when the paint is damaged, there’s dust which feels like chalk. And that’s when the lead paint is on the surface – not under a layer of more recent paints. But why take the risks when there are solutions, and OnBudget Painting Toronto already on this mission?

About OnBudget Painting Toronto

OnBudget Painting serves the GTA, ON CA. The services include interior, exterior, residential and commercial painting services and everything that comes with them – like drywall repair, deck finishing, popcorn ceiling removal, anything required. The company has the experience and the OnBudget way to make a difference.

SOURCE OnBudget Painting

For further information: Get to know more about the work of the company by reaching out to the team at OnBudget Painting Toronto. https://www.onbudgetpainting.ca/, [email protected], 85 North Park Road Unit 306, Thornhill, ON L4J 0H9, 647-722-9720