How To Tell If Asbestos In Attic

Buildings made between the 1940s and the 1980s are very likely to have used asbestos materials.

How to tell if asbestos in attic.

If you re unsure if your insulation contains asbestos play it safe and contact a professional to inspect it. Asbestos insulation was widely used as an insulation material in most residential commercial and public buildings constructed between 1920 and 1986. Asbestos was a popular material for most of the twentieth century mainly because of its ability to insulate and act as a fire retardant. If you re insulation is the batt style insulation as the loose fill insulation has the higher risk as it s loosely poured into wall or joist cavities.

There is one primary source of asbestos attic insulation. You may also find thousands of loose particles within walls or under attic flooring. It was very versatile affordable and it could be used in tiles and blow it with another material vermiculite. The date of the building or material can also tell you a lot about asbestos risk.

Even still asbestos was phased out in the 1980s so some buildings built during that time could have still used asbestos materials. Look in your attic for loose fill asbestos. There isn t necessarily a surefire way to tell if your insulation has asbestos unless it s labeled or you have an expert take a look. A quick visual inspection can tell you whether or not you should get your insulation tested for 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. Loose fill insulation 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 your home was built before 1990 and you have vermiculite insulation or if your house was built prior to 1970 it s likely that you have some form of asbestos in your attic or elsewhere. Asbestos is actually a natural fiber so if your attic insulation looks like wool there is a slight chance that it will contain asbestos.

In fact it s still used heavily in some parts of the world such as india and china. There are other sources of asbestos in attic insulation but this single source significantly outpaces the others the primary source of asbestos attic insulation is from a specific mine in montana operated for 70 years by the libby company according to the environmental protection. It was used in construction materials including roofing materials asphalt shingles roofing felt adhesives putty caulking and patching materials. Used for fireproofing and insulation asbestos was a cheap and effective material that became an industry standard for buildings across the country.