Testing Liberty Blue, Johnson Brothers or Homer Laughlin China with A LeadCheck Swab (Video)
Here are some posts related to the 6-minute video (below): Can I test my dishes with a LeadCheck Swab https://tamararubin.com/2017/02/leadcheck-dishware/ Johnson Brothers Posts https://tamararubin.com/category/johnson-bros/ Homer Laughlin Posts https://tamararubin.com/category/homer-laughlin/ Liberty Blue Posts https://tamararubin.com/category/liberty-blue/ Chip In https://tamararubin.com/2017/01/chip-in/ This video was originally filmed as a Facebook Live video (so there may be moments where I am responding to…
English 1976 Liberty Blue saucer with Boston’s Old North Church: 44,100 ppm Lead. This should NOT be used for food!
Published: June 20, 2018 So many families have these dishes! They are truly works of art, and a piece of history (even though they were mass-manufactured only about 40 years ago.) My understanding, from doing a little online research, is that this line with the “Historical Colonial Scenes” was manufactured in 1976 for the United…
Do Franciscan Potteries vintage dishes have unsafe levels of lead? Does Mexican pottery that is marked lead-free have unsafe levels of lead? (video)
Here are the blog posts related to the video below: Franciscan Ivy. Franciscan Desert Rose. Mexican “Lead-Free” Pottery. Comments to the “viewers” in this are from the original posting of the video as a Facebook Live video! Video is about 6 minutes long, and also shows you how to stretch one LeadCheck swab out to…
#LeadSafe: Rae Dunn “Rest” Ceramic Spoon Rest, Artisan Collection by Magenta
Rae Dunn “REST” Spoon Rest, Artisan Collection by Magenta. Tested with an XRF instrument in 2018. 89 +/- 21 ppm lead. Considered safe by all standards. Non-detect for cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As) and mercury (Hg). Here’s an affiliate link* for this product on Amazon. While this is low lead and considered safe by all standards, I…
#LeadFree: 1967 Pontiac Firebird Hot Wheels Toy Car by Mattel
#LeadFree • #HotWheels • #Mattel Made in Malaysia c. (Year made): ? Tested with an XRF instrument in 2017. Most newer toy cars like this that I have tested have been lead-free. I think new Hot Wheels cars are a really good toy choice across the board! To see more toy cars I have tested, click…
#LeadFree: 1967 Ford Shelby GT-500 Hot Wheels By Mattel
#LeadFree • #HotWheels • #Mattel Made in Malaysia c. (Year made): ? Tested with an XRF instrument in 2017. Most newer toy cars like this that I have tested have been lead-free. I think new Hot Wheels cars are a really good toy choice across the board! To see more toy cars I have tested, click…
#LeadFree: 2014 Pullback Toy School Bus, Made In China
Pullback toy; school bus by “KinsFun”. Tested with an XRF instrument in 2014: No lead, mercury, cadmium or arsenic BUT (most toy cars I test are like this) as high as 36,600 parts per million GOLD! In the yellow paint! WTH!? Made in China. Here is my Amazon affiliate link to this exact toy. If you…
#LeadFree: Mini Star Leather Baby Shoes With Puppy Dogs
These Mini Star brand leather baby shoes (with a puppy dog design) were tested with an XRF instrument in 2013. They were negative for lead. Exact date of manufacture is unknown. Click here to see more baby shoes that I have tested. Here’s an example of a new shoe from this company (on Amazon).* *Amazon…
Do brand new baby shoes have lead in 2018? (Video)
#AskTamara Question: Do brand new baby shoes have lead in 2018? Answer: Yes, they do! (They can, they may… but most shouldn’t!) Watch this short video (just 2 minutes & 55 seconds!) to learn about how to find safer choices in baby shoes for your little ones! To see more baby shoes I have tested, click here!…
#Leaded: Vintage/Antique Glass Marbles, Yellow and White Swirl
Yellow and White Swirled Glass Vintage Marble: 2,364 ppm Lead! The amount of lead that is considered toxic in the substrate of a newly manufactured item intended for use by children is anything 100 ppm lead or higher. Tested in 2014 with an XRF instrument. Year of manufacture and brand: unknown. Once I learned that even…
#Leaded: Glass Pokeman Marble, c. 2013
Pokeman Marble. Tested with an XRF instrument in 2013. Apprx 36,000 ppm lead (on the “painted” design). The amount of lead considered toxic (and therefore illegal) in a newly manufactured item intended for children (after 2010) is anything with paint or coating testing positive for lead at 90 ppm or higher. I don’t know what…
Vintage Hammer With Green Paint & Wooden Handle: 24,600 ppm Lead in the green paint. 90 ppm is unsafe for kids.
Vintage Hammer: 24,600 ppm lead paint (green) on the metal. [& That’s what is LEFT, given the amount of wear on this piece it is likely that the lead level on this paint was originally much much higher!] Tested with an XRF instrument in 2014. To see more tools I have tested, click here! As…
Hammer With Rubberized Grip [Purchased at Harbor Freight]: 45 ppm Lead + 174 ppm Arsenic.
This hammer was tested in 2017, however I do not know the year of manufacture or vendor. My husband confirmed that he purchased these at Harbor Freight a few years ago. One thing this hammer demonstrates is that “Made In China” doesn’t necessarily translate to “high-Lead”, although I’m not too keen on Arsenic in my…
Bank of America Promotional Tool From 2012 Builder’s Tradeshow: 2,491 ppm Lead [90 ppm is unsafe for kids.]
Nesting mini-screwdriver / hammer set. I got this at the National Builder Show in February of 2012. The vendor gave one to each of my kids. Metal part of hammer = no lead. Screwdrivers = no lead. Rubberized handle: 2,491 ppm lead. To see more tools I have tested, click here! As always, if you…
Testing the paint on a reusable glass milk bottle with a LeadCheck Swab (Video.)
Here’s a little (3-minute) video where I test the paint on a Garry’s milk bottle (Garry’s is an Oregon based company) with a LeadCheck swab. There is also a photo below showing how many swab tests I was able to get out of the liquid from one LeadCheck swab by using q-tips. This picture also…
#LeadFree: Straus Family Creamery Reusable Glass Milk Bottle
Straus Family Creamery (in Marin County, California) managed to do what other creameries have not managed to do somehow… the black paint on their new (2018) reusable glass bottles is negative for lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) when tested with an XRF instrument! The great thing that this demonstrates is that it is actually possible…
Red markings on Lady Lane Farms glass milk bottles, Garry’s Meadow Fresh: 20,500 ppm Lead (90 is unsafe for kids).
Originally posted: June 16, 2018 Updated: January 14, 2020 – Update at bottom of post. When the red paint on these reusable glass milk bottles was tested with an XRF instrument it was positive for lead at levels as high as 20,500 +/- 500 ppm and for cadmium at 1118 +/- 48 ppm. To learn…
Email today to Lady Lane Farm, Garry’s Meadow Fresh Milk – Oregon
Saturday, June 16, 2018 – To: Info@LadyLaneFarm.com – From: TamaraRubin@mac.com – Subject: Your bottles are painted with lead paint – I recently discovered that the red paint on your reusable glass milk bottles is lead paint. It is more than 20,000 ppm lead. – There is no regulation on this at all, so – to…
2006 Nursery Songs Book With Built In Xylophone: 62,500 ppm Lead [90 ppm Lead is unsafe.]
Nursery Songs book with built in xylophone. First published in 2006 by The Five Mile Press Pty Ltd, e-mail: publishing@fivemile.com.au. Tested positive as high as 62,500 ppm LEAD!!!!!! (when tested with an XRF instrument.) The component that was the highest lead was the yellow xylophone key. New legislation was signed and put in place in the…
#LeadSafe: Vintage 1970s Archie Comics
Vintage 1970s Archie Comics. – 16 ppm lead when tested with an XRF instrument. Safe by all standards. New books are generally lead-free! 90 ppm lead and higher is considered unsafe for any newly manufactured items intended for use by children. – To see more vintage books I have tested click here. As always, if…
1953 Walt Disney Little Golden Book, Hiawatha: 535 ppm Lead (90 ppm Lead is considered unsafe for kids.)
1953 Walt Disney Little Golden Book: “Hiawatha” This book tested positive for 535 ppm Lead when tested with an XRF instrument. Items intended for children are considered unsafe (and illegal if newly manufactured) when they test positive for lead at 90 ppm lead (or higher) in the coating or 100 ppm lead (or higher) in…
1958 Little Golden Book – 208 ppm Lead; 90 ppm is unsafe for kids. Stick with 1980s (and newer) books.
When tested with an XRF instrument this 1958 Little Golden Book (1958! Same age as my husband!), tested positive for 208 ppm Lead (Pb). Newly manufactured Items intended for use children today (in 2019) are considered unsafe (and illegal if newly manufactured) when they test positive for lead at 90 ppm lead (or higher) in…
Pre-2015 Oxo Ice Cream Scoop With Rubber Handle: 1,481 ppm Lead in the metal scoop.
This OXO brand ice cream scoop tested positive for lead at 1,481 parts per million (in the bare metal part of the scoop – the part that touches your food.) I tested this in September of 2014, so while I don’t know the exact year of manufacture it was before this date. This grayish metal…
2018 purple vintage style Ball jars: 63 ppm Lead (safe by all standards). Personally I avoid the tinted ones.
XRF Test Results for Purple Tinted Ball Brand Canning Jars Published: June 14, 2018 When these new purple ball jars were tested with an XRF instrument they tested positive for a very low level of lead (just a trace and within the realm of what might be considered safe for a modern item intended for…