Test with a kit.
Not your kid.
Get the Full Kit
Not sure which kit to get?
Take the 2-min quiz →- Drip tests
- 3,600+
- Spray tests
- 500+
- Verified reviews
- 180+
- Avg rating
- 4.5 ★
Lab-grade chemistry. 30-second result.
Fluoro-Spec fluorescence spectroscopy uses an advanced reagent to react exclusively with lead ions and emit a visible glow.
38/38
Lead particles detected in field tests. Zero missed.
0/9
False positives in non-lead control samples.
<30s
Time from spray to visible glow if lead is present.
60ml
Reagent per Full Kit. Enough to test your whole home + another.
EPA Clearance
The only glow-based kit cleared for sale.
FluoroSpec is approved for commercial sale by EPA under TSCA Sec 5 LVE L-25-0206. Issued after a multi-year engagement with the EPA. No other UV-glow lead kit on the market holds this approval. Competing products using sodium rhodizonate or xylenol orange are not listed on the TSCA Inventory.
Peer-reviewed science
Published in Analytica Chimica Acta.
The MABr fluorescence method behind FluoroSpec was published by Van Geen et al. (2024) and co-authored by Eric Ritter. It detects individual lead-based paint particles ≥40 µm visible to the naked eye -- no lab instrument required. White paper FS-WP-001 documents the field results.
Complete kit
Everything in one box. No extras to buy.
Every Full Kit ships with a 30ml drip bottle, a 30ml spray bottle, a calibrated 365nm UV flashlight, and a spray extending ring for the spray bottle that reduces reagent use per test so you get hundreds more tests out of it. One flat price, unlimited tests, delivered to your door.
Where do you actually want to start?
Pick the situation that matches yours. Each one's a complete walkthrough. What to know, what to test, what to do next.
Everything about
A baby on the way (or just here)
Prenatal vitamins · formula · baby food · your own diet during pregnancy. The 0 to 6 brain window and what feeds it.
Start the journey → Everything aboutLead in your house
Paint, dust, windows, water, soil, toys. The walk-through every renter and homeowner should do once. Pre-1978 priority.
Walk the house → Everything aboutDishes, cookware, decor
Imported. Vintage. Hand-painted. Hand-me-down. Which categories fail. The 30-second drop test for any piece.
Audit the kitchen → Everything aboutAdults 55+ and grandkids
Cardiovascular risk · cognitive decline · bone resorption. Your lifetime lead burden, the kid in your house, the audit you owe both of them.
Read the senior track → Everything aboutYour first test, start to finish
Just bought a kit? The first ten surfaces in priority order, what counts as a positive, what to do when something glows.
Walk the first test → Everything aboutµg/day, the only number that matters
Pick the foods your kid eats. Get total micrograms of lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury per day. 1,343 foods, 4 metals, free.
Open the calculator →Or work through the linear journey →
Three steps to an honest answer.
-
Step 01
Spray or drip onto the surface.
Use the drip bottle for contained items. Dishware, jewelry, plumbing solder, painted trim. Use the spray bottle when scanning for lead dust on floors, windowsills, or large surfaces. The surface must be dry. Water dilutes the reagent and washes the signal away.
-
Step 02
Wait 30 seconds.
The reagent binds to lead ions on contact and forms fluorescent perovskite microcrystals. No reaction happens unless lead is present. Iron, rust, soap, and pigment cannot trigger a false positive. Unlike color-change swabs, the chemistry is specific to lead.
-
Step 03
Shine the UV light and read the glow.
Green glow = lead present. No glow = clean. The included 365 nm flashlight excites the crystals. You read the result with your own eyes in real time. No app, no shipping to a lab, no waiting.
The two-bottle system
Every Full Kit ships with both bottles, a 365 nm UV flashlight, and a printed reference card. The chemistry is the same. The dispensers are tuned for what you are testing.
Spray bottle
For dust and unknown surfaces.
Use it to find lead chips in dust, and for when you don't know exactly where to test. One spray, wait 30 seconds, shine the UV. Glow means lead.
The Spray Kit →Drip bottle
For just about everything else.
Dishware, jewelry, toys, plumbing solder, and any specific item you can hold. One drop, 30 seconds, UV light. Glow means lead.
The Drip Kit →What you can test.
One spray or one drop, then 30 seconds under UV. These are the five vectors where lead most often shows up in a household.
33 million US homes still contain lead paint.
And 18 million of those have an active lead hazard.
The CDC has lowered the safe blood-lead threshold five times since 1970, and it keeps moving down. The dust on a windowsill is invisible. Standard hardware-store swabs were built to test paint chips, not the dust at the threshold of harm.
33M
US homes with lead paint
0 µg/dL
No safe level of lead in blood
5x
CDC threshold revisions, all downward
18M
Of those have an active lead hazard.
Pick your kit.
Most popular
Full Fluoro-Spec Test Kit
The complete household lead test. One kit covers every common source.
- ✓Spray + Drip Tip Bottle
- ✓365nm UV Light
- ✓Non-Toxic Visual Reference Card
- ✓Spray Extender Ring
- ✓30-day unconditional money-back guarantee
$99
Buy Now →
Best deal
Double Fluoro-Spec Test Kit
Two of everything. Best for families, moving into a new home, or gifting.
- ✓2x drip + 2x spray bottles
- ✓2x UV lights + 2x reference cards
- ✓Saves $62 vs two Full Kits
- ✓30-day unconditional money-back guarantee
$99
Buy Now →
The Drip Tip Bottle Test Kit
Precision testing for specific items. One drop, 30 seconds, clear answer.
- ✓Drip bottle
- ✓365 nm UV light
- ✓Reference card
- ✓30-day unconditional money-back guarantee
$50
Buy Now →
The Spray Bottle Test Kit
Wide-area coverage for dust, floors, and windowsills. When you need to sweep a whole room.
- ✓Spray bottle
- ✓365 nm UV light
- ✓Reference card
- ✓30-day unconditional money-back guarantee
$50
Buy Now →
Every kit includes the 96-page Lead Framework PDF, free.
Not sure which kit to get? Take the 2-minute quiz.
12 quick questions. Your answers map to a real µg/day exposure estimate, compared to the FDA reference dose for your household. We tell you your Lead Risk Score and the kit that fits.
What customers found in their homes.
Media sent in by real FluoroSpec users. Same glow, different places. The bright green is lead reacting in real time under UV.
FluoroSpec vs the alternatives.
The three common ways to test for lead at home or through a lab. What each one actually does.
| FluoroSpec | Pro XRF | LeadTest swabs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Result type | Visible glow | Numeric | Color change |
| False positives | None (0/9 in field tests) | None | Rust, soap, pigment |
| Reads dust | Yes | Limited | No |
| Tests per dollar | 4,100+ / $99 | 1 / $300+ | ~10 / $30 |
| EPA registered | Yes (TSCA LVE L-25-0206) | Yes | No |
| Time to result | <30 seconds | Days | Minutes |
§ 09 · LEAD DATABASE
4,700+ items, tested with XRF, with verdicts.
Look up the dish, mug, water bottle, or thrift-store find sitting in your kitchen right now. Every entry includes the XRF reading, the verdict, and what the number actually means for food contact.
Not lead safe
Yeti Rumbler Tumbler (Black)
190,455 ppm Pb
Lead free
Owala Pink Stainless Bottle
0 ppm Pb
Not lead safe
Vintage Pyrex Glass
XRF detected Pb1936
Not lead safe
1936 Bunnykins Bowl
vintage decoration'78
Not lead safe
Garfield McDonald's 1978
painted decorationholly
Not lead safe
Vintage Holly Glass Mugs
painted holiday glass
Browse all 4,700 items →
Or read the primer on what these XRF numbers actually mean for your kitchen: XRF vs leach vs FluoroSpec.
Free mail-in soil XRF test with any kit.
Send Eric a soil sample. He runs it personally on a $50,000 Niton XL5 Plus and emails the results back, usually within a week. Lead, cadmium, arsenic, and 20+ other metals quantified in parts per million. A $100 value, free with any FluoroSpec kit.
30 seconds to a real answer.
One kit covers paint, dust, dishware, toys, and plumbing. Ships in 2 days. 30-day money-back, no questions asked.
Get the Full Kit
Before you buy.
How accurate is it?
FluoroSpec uses the same fluorescence chemistry that detects lead at parts-per-million levels in lab settings. It is approved for commercial sale by EPA under TSCA Sec 5 LVE L-25-0206 and detects below the HUD floor-dust standard of 10 µg per square foot.
What if it glows on something safe?
False positives are rare and usually trace to a small set of materials (some uranium glass, certain mineral pigments). The reference card lists them. When in doubt, request the free soil-style XRF mail-in for a quantitative reading.
How is this different from a hardware-store swab?
Rhodizonate swabs need a paint chip with raw paint exposed. The actual exposure path is dust at the threshold of harm. FluoroSpec reads the dust directly. The swab is asking a different, narrower question.
Is the chemistry safe for kids and pets?
The reagent is non-toxic at the dilutions used and wipes off most surfaces with water. The kit ships with full handling instructions. Keep the bottle out of reach the same way you would any household cleaner.
What does the soil test cover?
Lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, chromium, and 15+ other metals quantified in parts per million on a Niton XL5 Plus XRF analyzer. You get a written report by email, usually within a week.
Money-back guarantee?
30 days, unconditional. Return it (or don’t) for a full refund for any reason. No restocking fees, no questions asked.
Still not convinced? Read what other customers say.
★★★★★
Sprayed the windowsill in our 1948 house. The whole trim line lit up green. Called the abatement people the next day.
Marisa K., Portland OR
★★★★★
Found three mugs in my cabinet that lit up under the drip. Goodwill rim, vintage Fiestaware, and one I bought in Mexico. Tossed all three.
Dan R., Austin TX
★★★★★
My toddler had elevated blood lead. The kit found the source in an afternoon. Painted dresser in her room, the previous owner had stripped and repainted with what turned out to be old leaded paint underneath.
Jess T., Cleveland OH
★★★★★
Sent in a soil sample from our garden bed. Got a full XRF report back with lead at 380 ppm. Built a raised bed instead.
Kira H., Brooklyn NY
★★★★★
As a home inspector this thing is in my truck every day. Faster than a swab and it actually catches dust contamination.
Marcus L., licensed inspector
★★★★★
Tested the turmeric I brought back from a trip. Glowed. Found out later that brand had been recalled in two countries.
Priya N., Seattle WA