Lead in my house

[Anonymous]

We’ve been having some health issues and we started testing things for lead. Surprisingly our water consistently comes up positive for lead.

I’m not sure what to do? Has anyone else tested? Our house is a late 90s home (built new, not a tear down) in loudoun county. All faucets are brand new within the past 5 years. What’s going on? Is it our faucets? How can we test the supply coming into our home? Loudoun county reports say that their water is lead free.

Also- lots of other things tested positive too like steel water bottles, costume jewelry and nearly every earring my kids own (which was supposedly stainless steel).

[Anonymous]

That's terrible and I'm sorry to hear it. First off, start drinking bottled water (maybe get a water delivery service) immediately (and don't forget to use the safe water for cooking too). I would guess the county is testing water at their facilities. But the lead might be coming in from the main pipes that carry it out of the main facility and to your house. I would doubt the faucets are a problem if they are 5 years old max (though are there disparities in lead levels if you test the water from each faucet? That might give you a clue). Who did your testing? Was it all home kits you did yourself? The lead safe momma website might be a helpful resource about testing.

Also, curious what kind of health issues you've been having. Have you all had your lead levels checked? Make sure you get precise lead levels ,(not just a test that tells you if you are over or under the "safe" cutoff, which is much too high IMO).

[Anonymous]

OP here. I tested my work's water this morning (just with a regular water test, not the lab ones) and it's testing positive too (not as dark as mine at home though). Bottled water however tests negative.

[Anonymous]

If built in 90's you don't have lead pipes in your house. It must be from main water line. call your water supplier and ask them if they use lead pipes and, if so, whether they test for lead. You say positive but how high is the reading?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If built in 90's you don't have lead pipes in your house. It must be from main water line. call your water supplier and ask them if they use lead pipes and, if so, whether they test for lead. You say positive but how high is the reading?

The water supplier is Loudoun Water and they say they don't have lead in the pipes.

No I don't have lead pipes, but maybe the solder or my faucets? We're getting more testing done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If built in 90's you don't have lead pipes in your house. It must be from main water line. call your water supplier and ask them if they use lead pipes and, if so, whether they test for lead. You say positive but how high is the reading?

The water supplier is Loudoun Water and they say they don't have lead in the pipes.

No I don't have lead pipes, but maybe the solder or my faucets? We're getting more testing done.

Plumbing solder in a home built in the 90’s is 100% lead free.