Yellow Vinyl Coated Garage Bike Storage Hook (c. 2002, Home Depot): 4,440 ppm Lead [90 is unsafe in kids items.]

When tested with an XRF instrument, the yellow vinyl-coated steel garage / bike storage hook (purchased new at Home Depot in 2002) had the following readings:

Yellow “rubberized” component tested

• Lead (Pb): 4,440 +/- 83 ppm
• Barium (Ba): 213 +/- 37 ppm
• Chromium (Cr): 903 +/- 133 ppm
• Bromine (Br): 18 +/- 5 ppm
• Zinc (Zn): 215 +/- 21 ppm
• Copper (Cu): 47 +/- 26 ppm
• Iron (Fe): 311 +/- 52 ppm

All metals detected are listed above – if a metal was not detected by the XRF, it is not listed. All testing is done in “Consumer Goods” mode unless otherwise stated.

As with all tests on this blog, readings were done for a minimum of 60 seconds, unless otherwise noted.

Results are science-based and replicable. 

For context, the amount of Lead that is considered toxic (unsafe) in a newly-manufactured item (made today) and intended to be used by children is anything 90 ppm Lead or higher in the paint or coating and anything 100 ppm Lead or higher in the substrate. As a result these (older rubberized / vinyl coated) hooks should not be considered safe for children to use or play with.

Takeaway / My Advice:

The amount of Lead found in this hook is quite concerning.

If you have bike hooks / storage hooks like this, that are older (or of unknown vintage) in your garage, you might want to make a habit of wearing disposable gloves, or at least washing your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water after handling them. You may also want to consider replacing them with newer (recently-manufactured) hooks – which are likely to have lower Lead levels (or even be negative for Lead).

To see more vinyl-coated storage hooks I have tested, click here.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you for reading and for sharing my posts!

Your shares of my posts help me to continue reporting these results in a forum that is free and available to the public (not behind a paywall.)

Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama