Hidden Asbestos Dangers Lurking In Your Home

Are you thinking about doing some home renovation? Did you know that there could be hidden dangers lurking in your home right now? The older your home is and the more original building materials are in your home, the more likely it is that some of those materials contain asbestos. Unfortunately, it's often impossible to tell whether or not a particular item contains asbestos or not if you're simply looking at it. You'll need to send samples in for testing to find out if the material is dangerous and is in need of special asbestos removal. Some things that could contain asbestos but that you might not otherwise expect include the following:

Flooring: If you have floors that appear to be made of vinyl, linoleum, or asphalt tile materials, your floors could contain asbestos. Asbestos was used as one of the ingredients in flooring materials as recently as 1980. As long as you leave this flooring in place, it should pose little to no danger to your health. However, if you do plan to remove it and install new flooring during the course of your home renovation projects, proper asbestos removal procedures will need to be followed. 

Wallpaper: Wallpaper seems benign at first, but it is another product that contained asbestos at one time. Vinyl wallpaper made in the 1980s or before may contain a portion of asbestos. Before you simply start tearing down old wallpaper, you'll need to have it tested for potential asbestos content. If it does contain asbestos, it would be hazardous to simply pull it down on your own. You'll need to hire a professional to remove the wallpaper and make sure that it's disposed of properly. 

Ceiling tiles: If you have a finished basement with a drop-down ceiling to hide the assorted pipes and wires that would otherwise be visible, you could have asbestos there. If your kitchen has tiles that were glued directly to the ceiling, there may also be asbestos lurking there. With the loose tiles in the drop down ceiling, proper asbestos removal by a professional may be extremely quick and easy. But if you have the type of tiles that were glued to a surface, the removal process will obviously be more difficult. If you can see a manufacturer stamped on the tile anywhere, this can help you to identify whether or not you actually do have asbestos. Otherwise, the only way to be sure is to have a sample professionally tested by asbestos removal companies like Mac-Bestos Inc


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