The presence of asbestos in Australia is an unfortunate fact of life. This is because the harmful mineral was used as a common construction material from the 1940s all the way to the 1980s. If your house was built during this time, you might have to be on the lookout for asbestos. In this post, we’ll take a look at the places you might find asbestos in your home, and what you should do about it.
First, some good news
The good news, is that if left undisturbed, asbestos does not pose a risk to humans, as the fibres have to be inhaled to have an effect. However, once inhaled, the mineral can be very harmful, and can cause a range of serious health problems ranging from lung cancer to mesothelioma.
Asbestos in your home
As we said above, if your home was constructed between the 40s and 80s, or had renovation work performed on it during this time, there is a risk that there might be asbestos present. Generally asbestos encountered in domestic settings is either loosely or firmly bound.
If your house is an older one, you may find firmly bound material in the following places:
- Vinyl floor tiles or coverings
- Cement flue pipes
- Artificial brick cladding
- Weatherboards, or fibre cement cladding placed in your home’s exterior (AC or fibro)
- Bathroom or eave linings, cement tile underlay or any other flexible building boards
- Corrugated cement used for roofing purposes
- Textured paint
Loosely bound asbestos, (also called friable asbestos) may be found in the following places:
- As insulation on hot-water pipes
- Used as insulation in older domestic heaters or stoves
- In insulation products placed in your ceiling (Mr Fluffy)
Only use professionals
If you suspect in any way that asbestos might be present in your home, you should take care to not try and remove the substance on your own. This is because any incorrect handling of asbestos might cause the fibres to be released into the air, increasing the chance of contamination in your home.
Instead, don’t hesitate to contact us to help you with the identification and safe removal of asbestos in Brisbane or Sydney. Our asbestos removal services are fully licensed and geared towards helping you quickly and efficiently.
