How To Tell If Your Attic Has Asbestos

Loose fill insulation if your attic or wall insulation is in batt or blanket form whether it s fiberglass cellulose or another material you generally don t have to be concerned about asbestos.

How to tell if your attic has asbestos.

Step 1 determine the age of your house. There isn t necessarily a surefire way to tell if your insulation has asbestos unless it s labeled or you have an expert take a look. Do not try to remove insulation that could contain asbestos yourself. Unfortunately it has been linked to forms of cancer and lung disorders.

If you re unsure if your insulation contains asbestos play it safe and contact a professional to inspect it. Asbestos might seem like a problem of the old times but little do most people know that it is still present in a lot of homes across the u s. Consequently if your attic insulation looks like wool you should have a sample tested in order to make sure you are safe within your home. Also you need to consider if any disturbance of the insulation possibly by a contractor doing work in your attic may result in the fibers being deposited into other areas of your.

To determine if your building has asbestos check areas where the material was most commonly used like the roof bathroom and basement. The small fibers that come off of asbestos can kill you. If your building was constructed after 1995 it likely won t contain asbestos but if it was made between the 1940s and 1980s there is a good chance that it does. Asbestos is actually a natural fiber so if your attic insulation looks like wool there is a slight chance that it will contain asbestos.

A quick visual inspection can tell you whether or not you should get your insulation tested for asbestos. Asbestos has been directly linked to causing mesothelioma and lung cancer as a result of breathing it in.