Customer Reviews

First Alert LT1 Premium Lead Test Kit

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This test kit works really well and is easy to use, but you must follow directions and not swab items that need to soak in vinegar first. We swabbed a metal item and got a false positive. When we soaked that same item (as instructed) the test came out negative.

The problems with this kit are two, in my opinion. For starters, the instructions are not clear. You are given two ways of performing the test (the rapid one which works for surfaces and the longer one, which takes submerging in vinegar the object you want tested). For water or food I could not find clear instructions. At one point you are told that in order to test water you need to perform the rapid test. But for the rapid test, you are only told how to test surfaces, not fluids.
The second problem is that while the test boasts it can test food and water, the reality is that it can't. Any liquid that is not clear or white cannot be tested since when the test is positive the swab you use is supposed to turn yellow or brown. Now, I wanted to test an imported ayurvedic supplement (which the FDA warns it may contain lead). How exactly am I supposed to do this if the substance to be tested is brown to begin with? The same goes with food. You are not told clearly how to do it, and if you try to use the rapid method (rubbing the activated swab against a surface or dipping it in the fluid) and you are testing anything beyond dairy, then your results cannot be trusted!
All being said, the test did detect some lead in the spoons I had been using, so the kit works for some cases. It just didn't work for what I really bought it for.

I've just finished using this test kit and I'm very happy I bought it. My Grand-daughters received some nesting dolls as gifts and we were all concerned whether or not they contained lead. I took one from each set and made a little cut with an exacto knife to be sure I would be testing through all layers of the colored paint. No reactions on the first areas I tested. Then, I cut & tested an area on the lower part of one of the dolls and it turned black. A thin line of black. I happened to be testing where there was black paint and I wondered if the black paint had "bled" but the swab had a very defined thin line of black.....remember, I cut with an exacto knife. If it had been the black paint the entire tip of the swab would have been affected. We have a door with lead strips that I know are actual lead so I decided to test the door. As expected, the tip of the swab turned black.

The nesting dolls have been destroyed. I now totally trust the First Alert Kit. You have to read the directions thoroughly and do EXACTLY what they tell you. I highly recommend this kit.

I purchased a 24-kit and was only sent sufficient test solution for 12 tests.
The kit consists of a tiny plastic bottle of testing solution and 3 or 4 Q-tips, not exactly rocket science.
I have attempted to contact the company several times to request the promised quantity and I have
never received a response. Near as I can tell, this is a company run out of some guy's garage in Canada.
Don't think that a reliable company stands behind this product.

Despite some of the negative reviews, I went ahead and purchased this test kit to test the chipped paint on my bathtub. I read the instructions carefully, then tried the quick test method. It seemed to work just fine. I've saved the 3 remaining tests, in case I need to use them later.

While I can't verify that the test works since everything that I tested came out negative, I will say that the kit provides only a tiny vial of the test solution and the vial was less than half full. So I was only able to test 5 surfaces before I ran out of the test solution.

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.

As a mother this is a great product for testing things to make sure that my little one is safe. It worked really well and has detailed instructions along with clear results. I would definitely recommend this kit!

Buying an old house is a lot of work and you hear about lead paint, lead in the pipes and and asbestos. This test enabled us to check and be certain that we weren't encountering lead in our every day activities.

There are 2 different technologies for instant lead testing. I am suspicious of both and since I have a PhD in chemistry, my suspicions should mean something. I tested a white paint surface with 2 kits: one was positive and one was negative. So now what? If you need to know for sure, you will have to use a commercial lab. You might also want to read the Consumers Report article on the topic. For now, I will assume lead is present and act accordingly