Asbestos is one of the most harmful substances you may encounter during renovations and demolition and if you are ever in any doubt, don’t attempt to remove asbestos yourself.
What makes it more dangerous is that it isn’t as visible as the other harmful materials that you may find indoors, much so that it may affect your household without even suspecting that they’ve been exposed to it.
Asbestos enters our lungs through regular breathing, causing lung problems that can quickly be dangerous. That said, you may be wondering about the different signs to look out for when trying to detect asbestos.
If you want to learn about these signs, we’ve listed down a couple of them for your reference. Keep them all in mind so that you wouldn’t make the fatal mistake of renovating without the help of Asbestos Removal Professionals.
The Structure Is Already Old
Nowadays, there are regulations set in place to ensure that all contractors will never use asbestos materials within their building projects. This is to reduce the risk of people getting exposed to them.
While that may seem reassuring, never forget that some old houses remain to have the harmful substance within their walls. This is critical, especially if you’ve recently bought and the former owners did not divulge the information to you out of fear of losing a buyer.
To prevent this, hire an inspector who will check every section of your new home. They will be able to report back whether or not the house you bought is safe from asbestos or not.
The Age of Your Flooring
Sometimes, asbestos can’t be found in your walls— it may be detected in your floors. There used to be a time when they were utilised as a form of adhesive, making sure that the rubber or tile floors would stick without leaving any gap or air holes.
If you want to be sure about your safety from asbestos adhesives, see that the section beneath your tiles does not show any trace of black mastic, as it uses a lot of asbestos in its mix.
Lack of Air or Change in Health
If you feel like it’s hard to breathe or your allergies are acting up again, chances are, there may be fibres of asbestos present.
Breathing in asbestos fibres over many years eventually causes scarring of the lungs. Symptoms include:
- shortness of breath
- persistent cough
- wheezing
- extreme tiredness (fatigue)
- pain in your chest or shoulder
- in more advanced cases, clubbed (swollen) fingertips
Conclusion
These are just some of the most common signs of asbestos in your home. If ever you encounter any of them, immediately call a professional to handle their removal to keep your whole household safe from exposure and contamination.
Determining the age of the structure, the state and material of the floors, and the frequent allergy attacks in your home may just give you a heads up about their presence. Make sure to deal with asbestos as soon as possible so that you will never have to worry about them in the foreseeable future.
If you are looking for a house demolition contractor for safe asbestos removal, look no further than Frank Smalley Demolition. We provide a wide range of demolition services to businesses and residents in Devon and Cornwall, UK. Contact us for more information about our demolition services.