@learning1 Just be aware that she is on Reddit. And she understandibly gets a bit defensive when people poo poo her work.
I have personally found her helpful in limited quanities. I had to unfollow her because I couldn't take some of the tactics she employs. I totally appreciate how near and dear to her heart this is and I truly appreicate her work. But I can't follow her on social media anymore. I didn't like the call outs to random companies, when its clear that like a 20 year old is just running the company socials and she tries to engage and shame them online. I also don't like how her instagram slides make you re-route to her website. I understand this is to increase her website views and make money. I get that and I don't have a problem with her making money. But I can't stand the "Don't you want to know if there is lead in a stanley cup?!?" and then you have to go back to the website to see the results. I wish she would just make a second slide with the results instead of clearly re-routing us back to her website.
So I did have to mute her on instagram for a time and limit the posts I see from her. It was just causing me too much anxiety. My personal response has been to read some of the products that she reviews and make informed decisions from there. For example, she has showed which home tests are more reliable and demonstrates how to use them correctly, which I think is really valuable. So I have purchased those to test our older house. I also clean any paint chips like you mentioned immediately with water. Painting over the lead is IMO the best way to deal with flaking paint. Espeically around doors and windows in an old house. No sanding drywall for us personally because we know the paint is leaded. But we do put holes in the wall for picture frames. I just have my husband wear a mask, my child is not in the room, we vacumm the hole and then wipe it down with a wet wipe. We also jsut founda hepa air filter in a buy nothing group so we might use that. Also if am I going to purchase a product, I will go to her website and see if there is a lead free alternative she likes. I bought some glass dishes she likes when I needed new ones. I bought a glass cutting board she recommended when I needed a new one etc.
But somtimes I make the decision to do something anyway. For example, the stanley cups and other stainless steel cups don't have lead inside where your water is, the button on the bottom is leaded and then they paint over it. So if the pain isn't damaged, there is no possibility for lead. I bought a silicone "boot" that covers the button of the cup to prevent chips to the bottom and I handwash the cup so there's no leaded product going inside the dishwasher and I keep my cute cup. I find her website a useful tool (though I wish she would hire a web developer to make it all look a bit tidier, it definitely looks home made). And I think her heart is in the right place. I just can't follow her on social media. I don't find the "call outs" and public shaming to be very helpful or professional and I don't see that they've ever made an actual difference. If a company is gonig to change, it will be over a long period of time through lots of respectful emails. Some rando on the internet doing "gotcha!" lead tests and posting to socials is not going to change a product and a lot of time I think her sorched earth approach probably gets the hackles up of a company's legal team and they advise to not engage or continue the conversation with her because of legal liability. She is very clearly willing to put in the work, but the "name and shame troupe" is a bit much imo and doesn't seem to have ever worked and it adds to my anxiety.
I have to use her resources in small doses and modify my life where I can. For what its worth, I don't think any place in the world is lead free. I think she just posted a video of her testing bricks in a English pub and it was positive for lead. So even in a country that has "outlawed" lead for 100 years, it can still be found. Lead is in our ground water and in our soil. Things like sweet potatoes and carrots absorb the lead into our food and its been found in salt. Her website will take you down the rabbit hole on those topics. But for me, our family could not give up peanut butter for the glass jar kind like she strongly recommends. Its just not easily available/afforable. We also still eat sweet potatoes in moderation but I peel the skin off. I did purchase some toddler pouches from Serinity because they do test thier soil. So over all, she has made me more aware than I was before. But getting in too deep, was not practical. She is a resource. But she is not the end all be all (and to be fair, she has not claimed to be). Her style is a bit too much of gotcha journalism for my mental health to handle. Sorry to go on a long rant here. This topic is huge and you'll see a lot of opinions. I struggled with this alot durring my PPD/PPA and so I had to find a balance before it got worse for me. She is a Mom who has dedicated her whole life to this topic. I appreciate her work but I also cannot do everything she recommends and I disagree with her methods of communication sometimes. It sounds like you are also a loving mom who is trying her best. We are all in this and trying to reduce lead exposure for our kiddos while also still living in a world very broken in its lead policies. I hope that is helpful to you!
