Everything You Need to Know About Removing Asbestos

IES Asbestos Survey

Why Does Asbestos Need to Be Removed From Your Home?

So you have had an asbestos survey and the results have come back, confirming your home was built using asbestos, so what now? You didn’t plan to sacrifice significant time and money on something like this, so you may ask yourself, is it worth it?

Even if it is only a small amount of asbestos in your home, it is still not considered safe and precautions should always be taken to avoid inhaling any of the toxic minerals. Although illnesses caused by asbestos typically don’t develop unless you have many years of exposure, this doesn’t mean it can’t happen sooner and it’s always better to be safe than sorry and get it removed.

James Heilman, MD

Lung Cancer X-ray

If you don’t get it removed, no matter how small the dose, it could lead to much bigger health problems such as lung disease. There are three types of asbestos-related lung diseases, asbestosis (long term inflammation and scarring of the lungs), pleural disease (non-cancerous disease) and mesothelioma (cancer of the lungs).

Even once you have removed the asbestos from your home that doesn’t mean all traces of it are gone. It is actually very hard to remove from clothes, if you try to wash it out, it can cause the asbestos fibres to become airborne and also contaminate any other clothes that are in the wash. It is advised to properly dispose of any clothes that were exposed to asbestos.

Who Can Remove Asbestos?

Although legally you can remove asbestos yourself, it is safer and easier to hire a qualified professional. However, if you decide to do it yourself you need to make sure that it is disposed of correctly. By checking GOV.UK, you can find out how your local council would like you to do so in a safe and responsible way.

On the other hand, you can hire a professional to do it for you, this way it is done quicker and safer than someone with no previous experience. If the asbestos isn’t too severe, you might not even need to leave your property, areas that are being treated can be sealed off with plastic. When the area is fairly large it can take about a week but for most jobs, it can be done in 1-5 days.

Asbestos Work

After Treatment, Is Your House Safe?

IES Group vans

Due to how light asbestos particles are, they can float in the air for long periods of time. Even 48-72 hours after the removal, the asbestos fibres can still fall in a still room.

If there are currents of air in the room, like when using a fan, the fibres can stay in the air for much longer and still get breathed in.

Contact Us

If you are concerned that there is asbestos in your home then please let IES Group know and we can come and survey your property for you to put your mind at rest. Contact us today on 0116 288 0000 or fill out our online contact form.