Lead and your unoccupied home

At one point we loved lead. We had lead in our petrol, lead in our water pipes, lead in our paint and even lead in our make-up. From the Ancient Egyptians through to the Tudors, lead was used to varying degrees in cosmetics with varying impacts to users’ health. While the large quantities of lead used to produce white lead face paint (favoured throughout the “Age of Enlightenment”) would be extremely damaging to the wearer’s skin (not to mention their health in general), it is thought that the Egyptians’ eye make-up (which only contained small amounts of lead) could actually have been beneficial to their health. The ancient culture’s use of low levels of lead salts is now believed to have been deliberately done to protect against eye disease (BBC, 2010), while one of the effects of the more recent society’s use (conversely) “caused the eyes to swell and become inflamed”.

One thing is certain; unlike the Egyptians, we more modern humans have been slow to grasp the concept of “everything in moderation”. From the 1970s (onwards) lead use in petrol, paint and water pipes has been widely banned across Europe; but this doesn’t mean that we are now safe, as older properties are still likely to have lead on external paintwork and hidden within the plumbing. In the case of pipework, smaller pipes were often made from lead and typically the underground service pipe (conveying water from the main to your home) is most likely to be of lead construction in a pre-1970 home. In hard water areas this is less of a problem, as scale forms inside the pipes to protect us from lead contamination. Soft water areas are more likely to have a problem and if lead piping is suspected then steps should be taken to replace them as soon as possible.

When it comes to lead paint, which is often found on windows/doors and metalwork, you need to be aware of how it can harm you. Lead is hazardous to health when inhaled or swallowed, so don’t sniff or lick your paintwork if you suspect that it contains lead! Essentially, aged and flaking lead paint presents a danger as does any removal method that might generate dust or fumes. You can purchase a testing kit to help you identify lead in paint, or you can employ a specialist to test for you. Once identified, you have a number of options open to you. Firstly, you could paint over lead paint with coats of modern paint. This obviously will not remove the problem, but it will temporarily reduce any immediate risk. If you want to remove the lead paint completely, the process involved is more complicated, owing to the extra safety measures required.

If you plan to let out your unoccupied home, you have a responsibility to make it safe and liveable for your tenants. If you believe there may be issues with piping or paint, it is vital that you undertake renovation work to set these issues straight. While your second home is unoccupied or undergoing renovation, you might have difficulty finding the house insurance unoccupied cover you require. In this case, you will need to seek a specialist non-standard home insurance provider. A specialist insurer will be able to provide you with a competitive quote for insurance unoccupied house cover or renovation insurance, according to your needs. Because your home is seen to be at higher risk while empty or being repaired, many insurers will see you as non-standard and refuse to insure you. A specialist insurer will not only be able to offer unoccupied insurance cover, but is also likely to give you much more compatible terms.