How to set up for RRP / lead decontamination

[birddog]

I have a CT 15 and am planning to use the cleaning set accessory (RS-HW D 36-Plus (577258)) to clean up some small pieces of lead paint and dust from an area of carpet that runs along one wall of my house (most of it is coming from the baseboard.) I haven't used the ct to decontaminate an area before so there has been some trial and error with the new cleaning set, which I first tried out yesterday on non-contaminated carpets. My main concern is on how to minimize leakage from the cleaning set tools (e.g., duct tape all the valve doors shut). Does anyone have any tips on setting up their CTs prior to decontaminating activities?

Also this may be a dumb question, but I have to ask -- the exhaust is the same as the blower port, right? I was a bit taken aback by how strong the exhaust is for a hepa system. I guess I never thought about it until I was worried about blowing lead dust around inside the room. Unfortunately I don't think my extra hose is long enough to where I can blow the exhaust outside. But I want to make sure I'm not missing anything and that yes, the dust from the cleaning tools is first passing thru the HEPA filter and then hopefully clean air is blowing out the exhaust. I am a bit paranoid after I talked to festool today about a 36mm antistatic hose that leaks around the sleeve and was told that their accessories are not made to be leakproof and that it was ok to duct tape it to provide a better seal.

Thanks for any suggestions or advice!

 

[Cheese]

That's the reason you spend 2-3 times the $ on a HEPA vac as compared to a Shopvac, Rigid or whatever. With HEPA certification you can be sure that the exhaust of the vacuum will not be spewing garbage into the air, There is a reason HEPA certified vacs cost more than the usual shop vac.

I've journeyed from purchasing the cheapest vac available to purchasing the best HEPA vac available. My health and the health of my wife and our pets are worth at least that bump in price.  [smile]

 

[birddog]

That's the reason you spend 2-3 times the $ on a HEPA vac as compared to a Shopvac, Rigid or whatever. With HEPA certification you can be sure that the exhaust of the vacuum will not be spewing garbage into the air, There is a reason HEPA certified vacs cost more than the usual shop vac.

I've journeyed from purchasing the cheapest vac available to purchasing the best HEPA vac available. My health and the health of my wife and our pets are worth at least that bump in price.  [smile]

Thanks! Out of curiosity what's the best HEPA vac you have used? I was surprised that Miele compact vacs (which is what I use for vacuuming, with their HEPA filter) are about as expensive as some HEPA vacs. I think Miele claims their vacuums are sealed, but I didnt want to chance it when I have kid nieces that come over.

 

[Frank-Jan]

Hi, I'm still a bit confused about the issue, if there's an airleak in the hose, wouldn't there be air sucked into that leak instead of blow out it? (the way the tool end is attached is that the ribs of the hose thread into a plastic part that slides into the toolend, and that is hold together with the ring that is snapped onto the tool end, so it can rotate without unthreading itself)

 

[squall_line]

Depending on all sorts of strange fluid dynamics, accelerating an airstream through an opening and having a leak could theoretically produce an outflow rather than an inflow, which is quite counter-intuitive, for sure.

I've found that the end of the hose can still twist off despite the best efforts of the connector, especially with heavy use as a cleanup wand.

All that said, unless the baseboards were once painted and now bare wood, the amount of lead dust created by this task is likely less than the amount of lead dust created when the paint chipped in the first place.

So, yes, use HEPA, be careful, etc, but vacuuming up some old paint chips doesn't sound like a full on Remediation project unless the project also includes stripping the rest of the old paint.  If anything, the use of a beater brush would cause more issues with creating dust than just using a hose and brush or some sticky tape.