Do You Have Asbestos in Your House?

Last Updated on October 23, 2023

An estimated 50% of the houses in the United States contain asbestos, and one of the most common environmental hazard in old houses. Do you wonder if you have asbestos in your house? Curious if its presence affects you and your family?

If so, then you are in the right place! Take a seat, open your notebook, and sharpen that pencil ‘cause you are in Asbestos 101!

Asbestos in Your House - Asbestos 101. What every homeowner should know #asbestosbasics #asbestos101 #whatisasbestos

This page answers a variety of questions such as:

What is asbestos?
Where you can find asbestos in your house?
How can it impact you and your family’s health?
What to do if you suspect asbestos in your house
How to safely test and remove it.

I probably should add that I am NOT a certified asbestos inspector or abatement contractor. However, I do have a Master’s Degree in Environmental Engineering and have worked in the environmental field for 20 years. I’ve dealt with the assessment and remediation of environmental hazards such as asbestos, lead-based paint and mold.

In other words, I’m a total and utter nerd 🙂 When my husband and I were looking at homes to buy, we came across a very old asbestos-wrapped furnace (the oldest I had even seen) and I was in awe. My husband had to drag me out of the basement and away from the furnace since I so intrigued and didn’t run away from the challenges of owning an old house.

What is Asbestos?

Asbestos is a fluffy mineral fiber naturally found in rock and soil. Natural deposits of asbestos occur all over the world, including in the United States, Canada, Russia, China, South Africa and South America. It is extracted from below the earth’s surface using industrial mining techniques and procedures.

Its first documented use dates back thousands of years by people in Northern Europe to strengthen pots and cookingware. The Ancient Egyptians embalmed pharaohs with it. Soldiers in medieval times used it as insulation in suits of armor.

In the United States, the Industrial Revolution and the invention of the steam engine kicked into gear the need for asbestos. The steam engine was a revolutionary idea, but posed substantial fire and thermal problems issue for industry. Asbestos solved these serious problems due to its broad range of strong, indestructible properties such as:

Heat resistant (i.e. natural insulator)
Fireproof
Durable
Easy to mold, shape, cut, mix, and even weave into other materials.
Strengthens the durability of materials when mixed

All that PLUS:

Ubiquitous – asbestos deposits were present across the US with up to 60 mines from Vermont to California
Inexpensive – mining techniques to extract asbestos from the ground were cheap, and extensive refining and processing not needed

With the combination of its physical properties and low-cost to access, you can see why it was hailed as a miracle material at the time, right? Advertisements such as the one below (reportedly from Life Magazine) hailed it a “magic” mineral due to its durability and insulating properties.

Advertisement from Life Magazine in the 1940s calling asbestos the "magic" mineral. #magicmineral #asbestos

Sounds too good to be true (well, it was, but that took decades to realize….)

As asbestos gradually proved its effectiveness in industry, manufacturers started applying asbestos to mass-produced products, especially building materials. Below are some advertisements found via Google Search to home owners that you might find interesting. Check out more advertisements on my Pinterest board.

Vintage advertisement for asbestos in residential floor tiles #vintageadverts #asbestos #vinylflooring

Vintage advertisement for asbestos in homes #asbestosinhouse #Fibrolite — Vintage advertisement for asbestos in residential floor tiles #vintageadverts #asbestos #vinylflooring

Is Asbestos in Your Home?

Unfortunately, you can’t tell whether if a building material contains asbestos simply by looking at it. Asbestos fibers are microscopic and can only be positively identified with a special type of microscope (called a polarizing light microscope) in a laboratory. Materials are classified as asbestos-containing materials (also known as ACM) if it contains more than 1% asbestos.

Size of asbestos fibers in comparison to penny and human hair #asbestosfibers #howsmallisasbestos — How small are asbestos fibers? Pretty tiny!!

However, you can make a general guess on whether or not your home has ACM based on the construction date of your home. Asbestos was banned from most uses in the 1970s, so any house construction before then potential of containing ACM.

There is one exception. Any house prior to 1990 has the potential to have ACM if it has loose-fill insulation. Up until the late 1980s, vermiculite insulation was installed in many homes. This loose-fill insulation was poured loosely into joist or wall stud cavities inside walls and beneath attic floorboards. Like asbestos, vermiculite is a naturally occurring fiber that is mined. About 70% of this mineral was mined from one location in Libby, Montana, which was later determined to be contaminated with asbestos. The mine closed in 1990 and the product discontinued.

Where is Asbestos Found in Your Home?

Asbestos is located in a myriad of household materials including:

Steam and hot water pipes, boilers and furnaces, and furnace ducts. Commonly these were insulated with an asbestos blanket or asbestos paper tape.

Furnace encased in asbestos #asbestosinfurnace #oldfurnace — Furnace wrapped in asbestos

Door gaskets and seals on furnaces, wood stoves and coal stoves
Walls and floors around wood-burning stoves (protected with asbestos paper, millboard, or cement sheets)
Roofing and siding shingles
Blown-in attic insulation – vermiculite
Ceiling tiles
Floor tiles (commonly vinyl 9” x 9” tiles)
Black mastic – adhesives to glue tile or linoleum to floors
Textured paint and patching compounds
Plaster
Soundproofing or decorative materials sprayed on walls.
Window caulking and glazing

Whew! That’s a lot of places where asbestos could be! So are we all screwed? No! Keep reading!

How Can You Be Exposed to Asbestos?

You can be exposed to asbestos when it is friable. This term applies to asbestos that is easily crumbles releases fibers into the air.

The good news is that the majority of ACM products – ceiling tiles, floor tiles, roof and siding shingles – are not friable.

When manufactured, these materials were encapsulated with the other components of the building material. Asbestos fibers will not be released into the air unless they are disturbed or damaged in some way.

How can ACM be disturbed or damaged?

General wear and tear (for example, well-used vinyl tiles on a kitchen floor that start to crumble with age)
Home improvements. ACM products that are scraped, drilled, sawed, hammered or sanded into a powder are likely to release asbestos fibers and create a health hazard.

If disturbed, asbestos fibers will break apart and become suspended in the air. At this point asbestos becomes a health hazard to you and your family because these fibers can be inhaled into the lungs.

How Can Asbestos Affect Your Health?

Three main health effects associated with inhaling asbestos are:

Lung cancer
Mesothelioma (a rare form of cancer found in the lining of the lung, chest and the abdomen and heart), and
Asbestosis (non-cancer disease of the lungs)

Pretty heavy stuff, right? But here’s the good news – there is a direct correlation between acquiring these diseases and a person’s length plus intensity of exposure. In other words, the longer and greater the exposure to airborne asbestos fibers, the higher the chance of developing harmful health effects.

It is important to understand that exposure is from asbestos floating in the air and NOT the mere presence of asbestos in your home.

In general, you need to have inhaled a substantial amount of asbestos for a long period of time to acquire these diseases. And chances are your home hasn’t sustained a high concentration over a long period of friable asbestos fibers in your home. Now exceptions can and do exist – people with short exposure who still unfortunately developed a disease. And I don’t want to belittle that – this is a serious and debilitating disease to affects many people. But I’m talking in generalities for this conversation.

What To Do If You Suspect Asbestos in Your House?

First thing to do?

DON’T PANIC.

Next, it depends on your situation…

If the building materials in your home are in good condition and you are not planning a renovation, then DO NOTHING. What? Do nothing? Yup! Ok, well maybe something. Perform routine inspections on your home for wear and tear, especially on areas where you suspect may contain asbestos. Check for tears, abrasions or water damage.
- If you discover slightly damaged material, limit access to the area and do not touch or disturb it. If you touch or rub it, you may actually damage the material. Contact an accredited asbestos professional (see next section)
If planning home improvements, professional repair or removal may be needed. Contact an accredited asbestos professional (see next section)

Make sense? Are you still with me?

How Do You Repair and Remove Asbestos From Your Home?

There is only one correct answer – Seek Certified and Qualified Professionals.

In general, there are two types of accredited asbestos professionals that handle asbestos-containing material: inspectors and contractors. They perform two separate sets of tasks:

Asbestos Inspector – assess conditions, take samples of suspected materials for testing, and then advise about what corrections are needed.
Asbestos Abatement Contractor – Perform the actual repair or removal of asbestos materials.

Federal law does not require persons who inspect, repair or remove asbestos-containing materials in detached single-family homes to be trained and accredited. However, some states and localities do require this. So how do you find the right, qualified professionals? Start with these 3 resources:

Local municipal building department
State Asbestos Administrative Department
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Regional Office

Here’s a few additional tips for hiring contractors:

Check with the Better Business Bureau to see if any customer complaints or safety violations.
To avoid conflict of interest, hire your inspector separately from your abatement contractor.
As with any new contractors entering your home, request references and check them!
Chance are the most qualified professionals are not the cheapest. While some services can justify cost-savings, asbestos is a health hazard and is probably worth that extra dime for your safety and peace of mind.

When working with the inspector and abatement contractor, keep the following in mind:

Asbestos Inspector

Ensure the inspection will include a complete visual examination. The inspector should provide you a report with a written description of the location and extent of asbestos. If asbestos is detected, the report should also provide recommendations for correction and prevention.
Note that testing cannot be performed on-site – the inspector must send samples to a laboratory. Require that the laboratory 1) be accredited (you can verify here) and 2) that you receive a copy of the laboratory report. Samples are considered positive for ACM if material contains more than 1% asbestos. If you don’t understand the report, ask questions.
If the samples test positive for asbestos and repair or removal of asbestos materials is needed, make sure that your inspector will return after the abatement contractor has performed corrective-actions to verify the abatement was fully completed and the abatement contractor followed proper procedures.

Abatement Contractor

Ensure that the contractor clearly and fully explains their procedures to you. Get comfortable that the contractor can explain adequate abatement practices that you feel safe.

Below are a list of questions to ak your abatement contractor about their procedures BEFORE hiring. In addition, I’ve added the examples of responses you should hear from the contractor. If you don’t hear these types of answers, consider a new contractor.

Q: How will they avoid spreading and tracking asbestos dust and not further contaminate other areas of the house?

Clearly mark the work site as a hazard area
Household members and pets are not allowed into the area until work is completed. Will this require an overnight stay elsewhere?
Seals the work area from the rest of the house using plastic sheeting tacked with duct tape. Heating and air conditioning systems will be shut down to minimize air flow in the house.

Q: How will the asbestos in your house actually be removed or repaired? (i.e. if repair, how will the asbestos fibers be encapsulated? If removed, how removed?)

Removal of ACM in the largest pieces possible (the smaller the pieces, the higher likelihood of more asbestos fibers are released into the air).
Applies a wetting agent to the ACM with a hand sprayer to produce a fine mist before removal (wet fibers do not float in the air as easily as dry fibers and are easier to clean up).

Q: What final clean-up procedures will be implemented to confirm that all asbestos fibers are removed/ repaired and the house is safe to return?

Area should be cleaned with wet rages, mops, sponges, etc… and/or with a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) vacuum cleaner. A HEPA-filter vacuum provides a negative pressure system that avoids blowing dust like a regular vacuum. A regular vacuum should never be used.

Q: Disposal – confirm that they remove all asbestos and working gear from your property?

All materials should be disposed in sealed, leak-proof and labeled heavy-duty plastic bags

Q: What are the contingent procedures in case additional asbestos is found?

Be prepared that you might have to be out of the house longer than planned.

How Much Does an Asbestos Inspection and Abatement Cost?

The answer is… it’s not cheap…

According to Houselogic.com,

Inspection: an initial asbestos inspection costs $400 to $800. A follow-up inspection when the project ends adds $200 to $400. For laboratory work, each sample analysis averages $25 to $75.
Abatement: Removal costs vary depending on the extent of the work to be done. Many contractors have a minimum fee of $1,500 to $3,000, no matter how small the job is. Complete removal in a 1,500-square-foot home with asbestos everywhere—walls, floors, ceilings, attic, roof, pipes—could be as high as $20,000 to $30,000.

If you have a choice of repair versus removal of asbestos in your house, I’d recommend repair. It should be the last option since removal could pose the greatest risk of fiber release. Second, abatement is expensive. However, it may be necessary if you are renovating or if the asbestos-containing building materials are damaged extensively and beyond repair.

Well, that wraps up Asbestos 101. I hope that helps you understand asbestos: what it is, where it could be, how it could hurt you, and what you should (and shouldn’t) do with it.

Class dismissed!