Think about the Earth When Renovating Your Home

What You Need To Now About Asbestos

3 May 2017

Hector Meyer

Asbestos is a very effective and affordable fire retardant and this made it an extremely popular choice for home builders in the past. However, as time went on the true dangers of using asbestos in homes became more and more known. Now there are laws in place regarding asbestos which prevent it from being used. Asbestos can lead to severe lung problems and even cancer. This article will give you advice on some of the things you should be aware of about asbestos so you know how to spot it and what to do about it.

Asbestos can be found in a lot of different parts of a house

Some of the areas of an older home that can contain asbestos include vinyl flooring, blown-in insulation in the attic, certain types of linoleum, window glazing, siding material, roofing material, HVAC insulation, plaster and certain ceiling material.

Older homes can have asbestos

If you are going to be looking for a home anytime soon then you want to consider that homes that were built in the 1970's or earlier then there is a good chance that there was asbestos used to some extent during the building of that home. This is why you want to make sure you have a house inspected for asbestos to make sure you know what you are dealing with before you follow through with making an offer on the home. Asbestos has now been outlawed so you don't have to worry about dealing with asbestos issues in these homes.

Don't try to remove asbestos by yourself

If you feel there is asbestos in your home or you decide to buy a home that has asbestos, you don't want to attempt to remove it yourself. You are actually much better off leaving it completely alone until you can have a professional come out to remove it for you. When you don't disturb it the asbestos will stay in place. However, once it gets disturbed then all those little particles will make their way into the air in the house and this is where you and anyone else in the house will be at risk of asbestos exposure. The professionals will have all of the special gear and training needed to safely remove the asbestos in a way that will make sure everyone remains healthy after the process and that the house will be habitable for your household members.

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About Me

When my husband and I bought our first home, we bought a "fixer-upper" to work on for a few months before we moved in. Once we started discussing the improvements we would make to it, I realized that my husband had no idea how different building materials affected the earth and would affect the air we breathed in our home. Thankfully, he did understand that energy-efficiency was important for both the earth and our budgets. To make sure we made all of the right decisions that would help us create a healthy, eco-friendly home, I put a lot of research into building methods and materials that helped us create a wonderful, safe place we now live in. I want to help others build healthier, more eco-friendly homes, so I want to share what I have learned on a blog. Come back soon for tips!