Many people ask questions online about whether asbestos in the home is safe or not and where they should start looking. First of all, you cannot tell whether a material in your home contains asbestos just by looking at it.
If you are in doubt over certain aspects of your home containing hazardous material, the best way to treat it is as if it does and leave it alone. It would require the expertise of trained and accredited asbestos services professionals to inspect your home – especially if you are planning to remodel your home or if it has any damaged building materials.
How a trained professional would act
Upon contracting a professional in asbestos services in Manchester, these experts will visit the property and either take samples of the suspected materials for analysis at an accredited laboratory or conduct a full property survey. As a professional knows what to look for, and because of the increased risk to health should asbestos fibres be released into the breathable air, you are much safer employing a professional than taking samples incorrectly and making the area hazardous.
Taking samples by yourself is never a recommended option by any company or organisation, and you need to stay away from any advice to the contrary. If building materials in your home are not damaged and in no danger of being disturbed, you will be safe from asbestos exposure.
What if I have asbestos present?
If your building materials contain asbestos, the first thing to remember is not to panic. Asbestos-containing materials that are in an undamaged or undisturbed state are unlikely to pose any health risks and should be left alone.
Asbestos fibres can only be released when the materials are disturbed, damaged, attempted to be removed or affected in any way during DIY or construction work such as drilling, sawing etc. if you suspect materials do contain asbestos, do not handle it yourself.
You can look for signs of wear and tear or any abrasions or water damage, all of which could result in fibres being released. If slightly damaged or worn, limit access to the area and do not tamper with it any further. This is where you would call upon an asbestos removal company to handle all workaround inspection, asbestos testing and removal if necessary.
Main rules
The main rules you need to follow around the presence of asbestos-containing materials is to leave them alone and keep activities around those areas to a minimum – that includes any sweeping, vacuuming and dusting in that area that could spread the fibres even further.
If your suspected material appears damaged or disturbed, contact an asbestos removal company to do a full inspection, survey, sampling and management/removal of the hazardous material before it gets any worse.
