How To Tell If Your Attic Insulation Has Asbestos

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.

How to tell if your attic insulation has asbestos.

With many homes from that era still standing it is no surprise to run into asbestos in some capacity. Several years ago asbestos was commonly used in everything from shingles to floor tiles and asbestos insulation was used in many homes that were built in the 1950s and 1960s. The libby mine was closed in 1990. 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.

If you do not go into your attic handle or disturb the insulation it is likely that you will not be exposed to asbestos fibers from vermiculite insulation. Asbestos is actually a natural fiber so if your attic insulation looks like wool there is a slight chance that it will contain asbestos. The date of the building or material can also tell you a lot about asbestos risk. In case your home was constructed before 1990 it could have been built using insulation containing asbestos.

If you re unsure if your insulation contains asbestos play it safe and contact a professional to inspect it. In case your home was constructed after then it does reduce your chance of containing asbestos in the insulation. Loose fill insulation could have asbestos. There are many different kinds of wool like insulation that are man made and do not have asbestos but if your attic insulation looks like wool than it is best to be safe and have it tested by a professional.

The types of insulation that were most commonly made with asbestos are loose fill also called blown in insulation. 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. Asbestos insulation is a very common problem that many people have to deal with at some point. It was used in construction materials including roofing materials asphalt shingles roofing felt adhesives putty caulking and patching materials.

Asbestos insulation was widely used as an insulation material in most residential commercial and public buildings constructed between 1920 and 1986. 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. Do not try to remove insulation that could contain asbestos yourself. Check the manufacturer and product name on the insulation label and do a web search to find out if it contains asbestos.