Tips For Choosing A Lead Inspector In San Diego

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By Phyllis Schroeder


If you are buying a home, then it is recommended that you hire a home inspection company to test it for any hazardous material before you make the purchase. If the house was constructed before 1978, it could be dilapidated and needs testing. It is also required that buildings that are located new busy roads be tested because of potential pollution. Below are some tips to help you hire a reliable lead inspector in San Diego.

If you have young children around, you should be particularly cautious because they are very vulnerable heavy metal poisoning. If you are buying an old house, ensure that you ask about its year of construction because it could have been built when lead was still being used in paints and other building materials. This is very common in houses that were constructed in the 1970s or earlier.

The government outlines requirements for buying and renting properties. Among the key conditions is that you know the state of the building before renting or purchasing. This information can be found at the National Lead Information Center, which catalogs all data relating to such tests. This is meant to protect people from the hazardous effects of this metal.

When you are hiring an inspector, ensure that it is not the same company as the one you hired for the abatement. If that is the case, there will be a conflict of interest, and you may not get the best results from the test. When the companies are not related, the report they give will always be clear and precise.

The company should use state-approved laboratory. The analysis of dust samples should be done in a high standard environment to avoid contamination and mixed results. The government licenses labs to ensure that they are in compliance with health and environmental guidelines when doing these tests. If they do not have their own laboratory, then they should outsource the services from a licensed test center.

There are different testing techniques, and each has its pros and cons. The most common test method involves during different areas to collect dust samples. These are then sent to a lab for further analysis. While this method takes time and is costly, it is the most reliable because it can identify even faint traces of the metal.

Use of x-ray is also becoming quite common. In this case, a hand-held x-ray fluorescence equipment is moved over the surface to detect any presence of lead. This gives instant results, but it has a downside: it is not often accurate. This means lab test may be required in certain cases.

Home inspection companies need to have radioactive materials licenses. This indicates that they have the experience and the expertise for handling radioactive material. As such, you do not have to worry about them causing harm to the environment.

When you are looking for an inspector, ensure that you sit down with your prospective vendor and discuss your interests. Make sure that you are comfortable with the methods they use and their means of giving reports.




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