Find an Asbestos Removal Contractor you can trust near you.

If your house is built before the 1980’s it’s likely to contain some form of asbestos material which when disturbed can release some harmful fibres whose inhalation can lead to a number of fatal diseases and health issues like lung cancer and asbestosis. If you suspect that your house contains some asbestos materials, the best step to take is to call in a qualified asbestos consultant to carry out a thorough inspection of the area so as to identify the potential asbestos containing materials in your property.

The result of the testing done will bring a peace of mind as it’ll confirm whether or not the material actually contains asbestos. In the event whereby the testing result shows that the material does not contain asbestos, this will significantly reduce your renovation or demolition cost. So if you’re wondering how asbestos testing can be done, simply continue reading.

Identifying asbestos is as simple as just looking at the material with the naked to check if it contains the harmful substance. The presence or otherwise of a potential asbestos containing material can only be confirmed by laboratory testing. A qualitative identification of asbestos in a bulk sample is the best method for testing for asbestos. This asbestos testing process involves taking a look at the fibres under a polarized light microscope and under varying conditions to determine the kind of asbestos it is, if present. The result of the testing, if positive, will identify the type of the asbestos discovered and this can be either white or chyrsotile asbestos, brown or amosite asbestos or, blue or crocidolite asbestos. However in the event whereby the sample doesn’t contain any asbestos, the test result will show NAD or No Asbestos Detected.

Asbestos is a perfect example of a silent and hidden killer. The harmful fibre it releases is not only totally invisible to the eye, but also absolutely odourless, therefore can’t be smelt. As a result, you can walk into a room completely filled with asbestos and you still won’t suspect a thing. If you live in an old building ( built before the 1980’s) in the UK, it’s very possible that there’s some asbestos in the house.

Asbestos causes up to 5000 deaths in the UK on a yearly basis. When asbestos materials are disturbed, they release asbestos fibres, which when inhaled can result in lung cancer, asbestosis as well as mesothelioma which are all painful and fatal diseases. And perhaps even more importantly, you won’t notice any symptoms of having these diseases until after several years after your first exposure to asbestos fibres.

Therefore, to reduce these numbers, there’s a crucial need to to know how to identify asbestos so as not to put both ourselves and loved ones at risk.

There are three types of asbestos which includes blue or crocidolite, brown or amosite, and white or chrysotile. So they can easily be identified by their respective colour names, right? Wrong! Asbestos fibres can not be seen with the eye, it can only be detected under a microscope. They’re very tiny and light, and once disturbed and in the air, they can float can days. Asbestos are commonly found in several building materials such as cement products, floor tiles, paints, adhesive, partitions, cladding, insulation, doors and lots more. With its wide acceptability in the past, any building product you can probably think of could contain asbestos.

An asbestos survey is a property inspection to check for the presence of asbestos. A professional will go around your building and look at and take samples of any materials that they think may contain asbestos. These will then be tested to see if asbestos is present.

There are two types of asbestos survey, a Management Asbestos Survey and a Refurbishment and Demolition Asbestos Survey. A Management Asbestos Survey is mainly conducted to check if any materials containing asbestos pose a risk to inhabitants during everyday use of a building. A Refurbishment and Demolition Asbestos Survey is designed to check for any asbestos exposure risks before building work is started on a property.

A typical Homebuyer Report or Building Survey Report doesn’t usually involve checking for asbestos. Your surveyor may let you know that there are certain parts of the property that are likely to contain asbestos, but they won’t do any testing. This means that, if you want to be sure about whether a property contains asbestos, you need to get an asbestos survey.

Asbestos is very dangerous if inhaled. It can cause a variety of lung-related diseases. Asbestos will generally not be released into the air unless it is disturbed. You should be very careful if you suspect there may be asbestos in your home and have a survey carried out to check that it is not being released into the air.

In some situations, it is possible to remove asbestos from your home without holding a licence. However, unless you’ve had training on working with asbestos, it’s not a good idea to do the work yourself. In these cases, you’ll need to make sure you wear complete protective clothing, including a face mask and overalls, and disturb the material as little as possible. You’ll also need to find out the best place to dispose of your asbestos here [https://www.gov.uk/asbestos-in-home], and get rid of your protective clothing in the same place.

However, in many cases you’ll need a licence to do an asbestos removal job, so will need to call in a professional. This is also almost always the safest way to remove your asbestos too, so is generally the best option to go for.

There is no legal requirement to have an asbestos survey done to sell your house. However, some mortgage lenders, estate agents and insurance companies may require one. Many home buyers and/or valuers will want to know before submitting an offer for your property.

Asbestos fibres are very small, so they’re not possible to identify with the naked eye. However, they’re common in particular materials of a certain age, so you can work out if there are any parts of a building that are likely to contain asbestos.

Start by checking the date that the material you suspect contains asbestos was installed. If it was in 2000 or after then you don’t need to worry, it definitely doesn’t contain asbestos. However, if it was fitted before 2000 it may contain asbestos, particularly if this was between 1940 and 1980.

Materials that used to commonly contain asbestos include ceiling tiles, guttering, soffits, fascia, external cladding and facades, vinyl flooring, artex, cement roofs and insulation.