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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]What did you do, OP?  Why not just repaint the baseboards?  I personally would be more worried about the strong chemical smell of the poly for the next week or so. [/quote]
Hi -- sorry, I didn't know that this thread was still active. I had the shoe molding (not the entire baseboard) removed by a contractor who is EPA certified to deal with lead. He then touched up the peeling areas with latex paint, which then re-seals any lead paint that might have been exposed. They also used the appropriate tools to remove any paint chips.

I feel like I probably went overboard -- the contractor said that a lot of people get overly worked up about lead exposure. But with a toddler who loves to push his little cars along the floor...it just makes me feel better. Ultimately,  it's just money, right? :-\

To the new poster -- it's my understanding (BUT PLEASE CHECK THIS) that the type of light hand-sanding you're talking about is not a danger -- it's when you start to use power tools to sand that you might expose more lead dust (I guess because it sands deeper?) Using a heat gun is also dangerous because of the potential for lead vapor.

This source, which looks pretty reputable, says that misting the surface with water before sanding reduces lead danger.

http://www.nchh.org/Portals/0/Contents/Guide_to_Working_Safely_RLP.pdf

There are lead testing kits you can get to test your baseboards. You have to make sure every layer of paint is exposed before you do the test swab. [/quote]

I'm the PP who asked about sanding baseboards. Thank you (and thanks for letting me hijack your post) and to the PP.  [/quote]

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