First Alert LT1 Premium Lead Test Kit

I purchased this test kit to check for lead paint on exterior shutters of an old house. I read the instruction booklet and performed the leach method test. It worked well, showing that I had 10 parts per million of lead in that sample.This was sufficient for my needs. I paid about $12 for this kit versus the $30 price of a lead test product sold in Home Depot.The instructions are clear on how to use the product. The statement on the front of the package, "Test Any Surface For Lead!" is a bit of an overstatement. As someone else pointed out, you can't test food or colored liquids.

Our dog and myself had been having some issues and I thought there might be a correlation with the painted bedroom set (Made in China)in our Master Bedroom. Some of the headboard was faded, where our dog licks it occasionally. Yes, he is the center of the universe and has slept between my wife and I for fourteen years, since he was a puppy.Anyway, I scraped some paint chips from various areas of the bed and let them sit in white vinegar, per the instructions, for 4 hours. I then poured the strained vinegar into the plastic test tube a quarter of the way up. I took half a Q-Tip that I cut in two and dipped it into the solution and dropped it into the test tube with the vinegar. I closed the lid and I tipped it once per the instructions and was happy to find out the paint had no lead in it. You will have to supply your own white vinegar.I then went out to my fishing box and got a lead weight. I cut a slice into it. I took the other half of the Q-Tip I had used before and dipped it into the solution. I rubbed it on the lead weight and the Q-Tip turned a very dark brownish black. So, I know this thing works.Two other things regarding other reviews:1. You can check paint the same way as I checked the lead weight, but their secondary instruction states that the result will be far superior by using vinegar, especially with darker colored paints. The reason stated is you don't want the dark paint to give a false reading. Depending on the amount of lead, the Q-Tip can be anywhere from a light yellow to a black, whereas no lead will reflect a white Q-Tip.2. Some people complained about the solution bottle being too narrow to get the Q-Tip in and out. The reason why is so when you pull the Q-Tip out, it leaves most of the solution in the bottle, as it does not need much of it to test for lead. For this reason, though they supply two Q-Tips for four tests, there is enough solution to probably do 6 or even 8 tests, but you will have to supply the extra Q-Tips. Hope this info helped.

I really liked the idea of being able to test my gorgeous, new (to me) china dishes that I just picked up at Goodwill for $12. For dishes, you pour vinegar in it anywhere food would touch. Good thing I had vinegar on hand since I didn't know that. You then let it sit, uncovered, for 4 hours while it stinks up your house. Definitely leave it in a bathroom since I'm not sure if you can leave it unopened outside. Next step, you pour your vinegar into the enclosed test tube, dip one side of Q-tip into the test solution, drop it in the test tube, recap, invert and wait. Flaw #1 to this is that the test solution bottle is itty bitty. About the size of your fingernail tiny. I wrestled with that bottle for the better part of 10 minutes trying to open it. First Alert DEFINITELY needs to make the bottle bigger, even if it only has the same amount of solution. There was nowhere to grab to open it. Flaw #2 is that the test tube is smaller than a Q-tip so you cannot recap and invert it like it says. Make sure you cut your Q-tip in half before you start so you can follow the directions. And DEFINITELY do your mixing and testing outside if you can, lest your kitchen smells like vinegar egg farts like mine now does.

I assume it’s accurate, and I hope that it is. Vintage steel cabinets tested positive and all my windows tested negative.You will get the smallest possible amount of test fluid. You can probably get more than 4 tests out of it, but there’s no reason it’s this expensive. The materials in lead-test kits are inexpensive; the markup comes only because if you need to test for lead, you’re options are limited.

While I think this might be a good test for most things, save yourself the hassle and questioning, and just use a mail in service if you’re testing paint. Especially red paint.It is easy to use and did give us a result, but it was still questionable, since you can get a false positive for other heavy metals. A mail away lab may cost a few dollars more, but results are fast and unquestionable.

I agree with others who said instructions were not very clear. But I will never get a second use out of this product because I couldn't open it. My daughter tried to help me get the top cap off the vile of the test liquid because we didn't want to break it. Sure enough one twist too hard and the vial broke, leaving glass pieces on the counter. Thankfully we didn't get cut.I was desperate to test a Christmas gift item and submerged the Q-tip in what liquid i could find left trying to avoid the broken pieces of glass. The item tested negative for lead, that is if I trust the results.

I got this kit to test painted surfaces in an old house. I like that you can use each swab to test either the surface or a sample, so I can see if the top layer of paint has lead or remove a sample of all the old paint layers to see if lead lurks underneath. The latter requires soaking the sample in vinegar, which is a bit of a pain but worthwhile, I think, since you receive a more comprehensive answer. The test gives a range of colors that correspond to lead levels--a helpful feature if you are weighing the pros and cons of DIY lead abatement. This kit includes 4 swabs and a small vial of indicator solution. I have also used Q-tips with the indicator solution instead of the provided swabs, and I got the same results.

Don't know why there are bad reviews on here. Excellent product if you follow directions. Worked well on china.

Used before on jewelry that came up black (positive for lead) and this time all good, gives you peace of mind.