If you are looking for a durable flooring option for your house or business, vinyl is a great option. Whether it’s vinyl sheets or flooring tiles,
construction professionals and homeowners alike adore them since they’re robust and affordable, long-lasting, provide a wider range of
aesthetic alternatives, and can resist continual wear and tear and abuse. However, when tiny particles from vinyl flooring materials, which
frequently include asbestos, are discharged and become airborne, they can pose a threat to human health.
Because asbestos was a prevalent building material prior to 1980, you’re more likely to find asbestos in structures built before 1980.
Asbestos can still be found in structures built after 1980. Now, most people believe that if they have asbestos in their building, it will be
harmful and they would have to evacuate the area, but this is not always the case, according to the EPA.
Toxic fibres from asbestos in flooring tiles will not be released and will not represent a health concern until the tiles are disturbed in some
way, such as by sanding, cutting, drilling, or ripping off the tiles. If your flooring has not been disturbed, it is likely that the asbestos has not
been disturbed as well. You should consider getting your flooring examined and potentially replaced if you’ve been remodelling or have
seen water damage or other signs of physical ageing in your home. This type of damage has the potential to disturb the asbestos and
break up the small fibres, resulting in the release of the asbestos into the environment.
What Is the Best Way to Tell If My Flooring Has Asbestos?
There are a few techniques to determine whether or not your floor tiles contain asbestos. Testing your flooring for asbestos is one of the
most reliable ways to determine whether or not it contains the substance. A home testing kit is available from Swift Asbestos Removal,
and you may use it to collect samples and submit them. Alternatively, we may visit your home and test the flooring for you there.
If you aren’t quite ready to test the flooring using a kit, there are a few other methods you may use to establish whether or not asbestos is
present on the floor. For example, if your house was constructed before 1980, there is a strong possibility that you have asbestos hiding
around in your attic or basement.
We also recommend that you check the tiles because they may appear discoloured or greasy. Asphalt was formerly the primary
component of flooring tiles, and it may still be found in some types of flooring materials today. After some time, it may begin to decay,
causing the tiles to seem filthy and discoloured in some areas.
You may have observed that some of your tiles have come loose or have been detached from the floor, and that there is a thick layer of
black glue beneath them. That’s black mastic, sometimes known as cutback adhesive, and it’s often used to adhere flooring tiles to the
subfloors of homes and businesses. If you have this black mastic adhesive, it is vital to have it tested for asbestos as well. If you have this
adhesive, it is also important to have it tested for asbestos.
Many of the homeowners we speak with are adamant about leaving the asbestos in place and simply covering it with new flooring. While
the old tiles are thin and approximately 1/8 of an inch thick, the new flooring may be put on top of the asbestos tiles since the old tiles are
thin and approximately 1/8 inch thick. The varieties of flooring that may be installed include fresh vinyl, laminated wood, engineered
floating flooring, carpeting, and other types of carpeting. It is also possible to use fiber-cement backers to support new floor tiles if you
want to go with ceramic, slate, or stone tiles instead of the old ones.
With the assistance of Swift Asbestos Removal, put your flooring to the test.
For more than 30 years, Swift Asbestos Removal has been providing mould and asbestos inspection and removal services to commercial
buildings and households throughout Scotland. You may test for asbestos fibres at home with our at-home testing kit, but if
you would like a professional to come to your house and test for you, you can make an appointment with us right now. Once we get the
findings, we will contact you to discuss the next steps and to schedule any follow-up work that may be required. Make an appointment for
your inspection or order a testing kit immediately.
