Lead test kits

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Lead test kits

What's behind our lead test kit Ratings?

Experts at our National Testing and Research Center tested 4 models in lead test kits to see which ones perform best.

We look for:

Tests per kit
The number of individual tests that can be performed using one kit.
Type of test
Lead test kits use one of two chemicals--sodium sulfide or rhodizonate--to detect lead by color change.

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Professional inspections of your home for lead paint and radon can cost hundreds of dollars. That’s why you’ll find do-it-yourself kits in many home centers and hardware stores. If you're looking for information about lead test kits, Consumer Reports is your best resource. Consumer Reports’ lead test kit reviews will give you honest advice that you can trust. Use our lead test kit buying guide to discover which features are most important to consider. We also provide unbiased Ratings and lead test kit reviews to help you choose the best lead test kit for your needs.

Lead test kit buying guide

Professional inspections of your home for lead paint can cost hundreds of dollars. That's why you'll find do-it-yourself kits in many home centers and hardware stores. Our tests of lead test kits confirm that some are a good first step in identifying whether there's a problem, but we also found confusing instructions, challenging procedures, and inaccurate results. We tested seven kits; some were faster and easier to use than others.

Lead-based paint in homes was outlawed in the United States in 1978; many homes built before then probably have some. Lead paint can gradually deteriorate into flakes, chips, and fine dust that's easily inhaled or eaten by small children, even when it's covered by many layers of unleaded paint. Lead poisoning has several effects, which can include brain damage and diminished mental and physical development.

Lead can sicken people of any age, but young children are at greatest risk; hundreds of thousands of children in the U.S. have elevated levels in their blood, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. We hired a licensed lead inspector to scan for lead in three pre-1960 homes owned by Consumer Reports staff members. The homeowners then used do-it-yourself lead test kits. Most of the kits quickly indicated whether lead was present.

The kits we tested detected lead levels as low as 2,000 parts per million (ppm) in our home-based tests. In our lab tests, some lead test kits detected lead at levels below 1,000 ppm. None of them falsely identified paint in a Consumer Reports lab painted in 1990 as having lead. Some kits can be a reasonable first step in detecting lead, as long as you follow instructions precisely.

All lead test kits require practice. Exposing the layers of old paint took strength, dexterity, and lots of practice. Home lead test kits use one of two chemicals to detect lead by color change. But correctly "reading" color changes when lead levels were low also took practice.

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