4 tips how to remove asbestos in your home, Home Care guide, Online property advice
4 Tips how to remove asbestos in your home DIY style
24 May 2021
Do the structures of your house contain asbestos? The only way to find out if this deadly killer is in your home is to find out how it looks like, smells like, and the risks it poses to you and your family. If you want to carry out a DIY project that involves asbestos removal, you need to know the following details:
How asbestos looks like
There are three main types of asbestos known to man. They are:
- Amosite – it is also known as brown asbestos and its fibers are more deadly compared to the rest. Amosite can be found in laggings, insulated boards, and sprayed coatings.
- Chrysotile – this asbestos is white in color and can be found in toilet seats, roofing, floor tiles, and cement products. It is less harmful compared to the other asbestos, but it is still deadly.
- Crocidolite – is a really thin type of asbestos that is blue in color. Due to its thinness, it is the most dangerous type of asbestos to disturb because its fibers will remain in the air longer than the rest.
However, we would like to mention that asbestos is not easily spottable to the naked eye. It is impossible to look at building materials and products like floor tiles, cladding, insulation, partition, cement products, and paints and determine if they contain asbestos or not. Your priority is to do asbestos testing.
The only sure way to detect asbestos is by using a microscope.
How asbestos smells like
Unfortunately, asbestos does not have any smell. If you walked in a room full of asbestos fibers in the air, you would inhale them without being aware of their presence.
Health effects of asbestos
When the asbestos fibers are released in the air, they break down into smaller finer particles that are airborne. If a person inhales the asbestos particles, they find they find their way to the lungs where they attack the lining causing inflammation and irritation.
The health conditions associated with asbestos include:
- Pleural effusions- a condition where fluids collect in the air sacs of the lungs
- Cancer of the kidney, throat, and the gastrointestinal tract
- Asbestosis- This is permanent damage of the lung caused by asbestos
- Mesothelioma- a kind of cancer that affects the lining of the chest and stomach
- Lung cancer
Now that you have all the important information about asbestos, how will you remove it?
4 tips how to remove asbestos
- Carry out an asbestos survey
The first thing you need to do is determine for sure whether your house structures contain asbestos. The best way to confirm the presence of asbestos is by carrying out an asbestos survey. The asbestos survey should be carried out by a qualified expert like KD Asbestos.
The surveyor will come to your home and gather important information about the structure including when it was built and the length of its construction period. From the information, the asbestos surveyor will be able to tell the type of materials the house may have been built with.
The surveyor will also inspect your home and determine the hot spot areas that the asbestos can be found.
- Wear personal equipment
After confirming that your home has asbestos, you need to act as fast as possible to beat the effects of prolonged exposure to asbestos as we discussed above. Ensure that before you begin the process of removing the materials containing asbestos from your home, you wear protective gear.
A respirator or dust mask is the most important item you should have among your personal protection equipment. Make sure that you also wear safety glasses and gloves to protect your eyes and skin.
- Avoid power tools
When removing the asbestos materials, do not use any power tools to drill the surface. The asbestos fibers may be released into the atmosphere and put you at high risk of exposure.
Avoid drilling and cutting the asbestos surfaces at all costs.
- Avoid drinking, smoking, or eating
Do not eat, smoke, or drink anything in the work area of your DIY project. You may ingest or inhale some asbestos fibers that may be floating in the air.
We recommend that you wash your face and hands with water and soap before meals after removing the asbestos.
Comments on this 4 Tips how to remove asbestos in your home DIY style help article are welcome.
Building Articles
Residential Architecture
Why asbestos was used in so many building products
Comments / photos for the 4 tips how to remove asbestos in your home advice page welcome
