Vinyl Floor Asbestos Testing

Asbestos was used in vinyl wallpaper from the 1920s and in the vinyl floor tiles and sheet flooring that rose to prominence in the 1950s.

Vinyl floor asbestos testing.

If you face a costly dusty messy demolition it may be appropriate to have a sample of the flooring tested. If you have time and about 40. For 100 protection you need to use n100 or p100 dust masks. Lab testing of flooring for asbestos content.

You can also have a flooring sample tested for asbestos using one of the certified asbestos testing labs in this asbestos testing lab list. While asbestos is useful as a binding agent in the manufacture of vinyl and rubber floor coverings it isn t needed to make linoleum tiles or sheet flooring. If you want to test for asbestos keep in mind that asbestos is only dangerous when it degrades and becomes airborne. This method is easy and is not time consuming.

You can either engage an asbestos remediation expert or obtain a test kit for which you ll remove a flooring sample to mail to an asbestos testing lab. When you take a sample presume the worst and protect yourself from asbestos. An example would be a floor slab made from asbestos cement. But the flooring companies aim wasn t so much to make the floor tiles fireproof as it was to make the tiles more durable.

Asbestos is a mineral that occurs naturally in the environment that is made up of long thin fibers that look similar to fiberglass. Asbestos is a mineral that lends fireproofing qualities to any substance it is mixed with. However you re not completely in the clear because asbestos was a common ingredient in the mastic used to hold these flooring materials to the subfloor. Found in many manufactured products prior to the mid 1980 such as pipe insulation ceiling and floor tiles paints caulking fire resistant clothing and brake pads.

Therefore if you don t see signs of disintegrating pipes insulation walls vinyl flooring or other old materials in your home testing for asbestos may not be necessary. But when vinyl asbestos flooring is in good condition it is considered nonfriable. Stain proof fireproof stylish and affordable vinyl products strengthened through the inclusion asbestos in their manufacture were a very popular choice in many new zealand houses. When vinyl asbestos flooring is crumbling or damaged it is considered friable.

The asbestos floor tile identification articles in this series illustrate that with the combination of design appearance and an idea of floor tile age many asbestos containing floor tiles or sheet flooring products can be reliably identified even before confirmation by a test by a certified asbestos testing laboratory. In this case it needs to be removed very carefully to avoid asbestos exposure. Asbestos testing kits are available in. Testing of vinyl flooring for asbestos.

If you do not have one you can buy them in any hardware store. What are asbestos floor tiles.