The only way to really know if your home contains a lead-based paint hazard is to have the paint, dust, and/or soil tested. If you are worried about existing lead hazards in the home, you can hire someone to perform a "Lead Risk Assessment". They won't test all of the paint in your house, but they will test for lead hazards (chipping and peeling paint, dust, soil). They should collect dust samples, soil samples, and paint samples from chipping or peeling paint. If you are planning to do renovations, you can hire a Lead Inspector or Lead Risk Assessor to tell you if the paint you are planning to disturb is lead-based paint. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment keeps a list of certified Lead Risk Assessors and Inspectors in their Lead Services Directory. (For more information, Call: (303) 692-3261, visit the Colorado Department of Health and Environment's Lead Services Directory, or contact Lead-Safe Denver.)

If hiring a risk assessor is too expensive,
you can do one of several things:

1. Assume that all of the paint in your home is lead-based paint and follow guidelines for renovations and painting around lead-based paint (call Lead-Safe Denver for more information or download the EPA pamphlet ’Reducing Lead Hazards When Remodeling Your Home’.
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2. Clean windowsills, window troughs, and floors regularly to keep lead dust levels down.
   
   
3. Purchase a lead spot-tester at a hardware store. These testers contain a chemical that changes color when it touches lead. They are not always accurate, and you have to make sure you touch it to all of the paint layers, not just the top layer.
   
   
4. Purchase a test kit to collect a dust wipe and send it to a testing laboratory. One company that offers this service is Hometest.com.