Lead in dust.

Lead dust is the number one way kids get exposed to lead. It is invisible, settles on floors and sills, and ends up in little mouths through ordinary hand-to-mouth behavior.

Dust is the main exposure path.

When lead-based paint deteriorates, it sheds microscopic dust. Friction surfaces — window sashes that slide, doors that rub, painted floors that take traffic — constantly grind paint into powder. Soil tracked in from outside adds more.

Young children crawl, sit on floors, and put their hands and toys in their mouths dozens of times an hour. That hand-to-mouth behavior is exactly how lead dust gets ingested. A child does not need to chew on a windowsill to be exposed — the dust on the floor is enough.

There is no safe level of lead in a child’s blood. Because lead dust is invisible, the only way to know whether a surface is contaminated is to test it.

Where lead dust collects.

HUD sets clearance thresholds for lead in settled dust. If a wipe sample exceeds these, the surface is considered hazardous:

• Floors — especially near windows and in baby crawl areas. HUD limit: 10 µg per square foot.
• Window sills — the flat interior ledge. HUD limit: 100 µg per square foot.
• Window troughs — the channel the sash slides in, where friction grinds paint. HUD limit: 400 µg per square foot.
• Doorways and entryways — track-in zones for outdoor soil.
• Baby crawl areas — anywhere a child spends time on the floor.

Any of these can pass a visual inspection and still hold dangerous dust. You cannot see lead dust without a test.

How to test for lead dust.

Lab-grade dust testing uses Ghost Wipes sent to an accredited lab. For at-home checks, FluoroSpec is the spray-on alternative — a fluorescent reagent that lights up under UV when lead is present.

1. Pick a high-risk surface. A floor near a window, a window sill, a window trough, or a doorway.
2. Cover a wide area. One spray pass across the surface — you want enough coverage to catch dust anywhere on it, not a single dot.
3. Wait 30 seconds. Let the reagent react with any lead in the dust.
4. Shine the UV light. In a darkened room, sweep the UV flashlight across the sprayed area. Bright fluorescent spots indicate lead.
5. If positive, remediate. Damp-mop with a HEPA-filtered vacuum and clean wipes. Never dry-sweep — it just spreads the dust.

Repeat after any cleaning to confirm the dust is actually gone.

Test for invisible dust.

The Detect Lead kit includes FluoroSpec spray, a UV flashlight, and lab-grade Ghost Wipes — everything you need to check the floors, sills, and troughs where kids actually pick up exposure.