Test Ceiling For Asbestos

Because asbestos can t be seen with the naked eye materials must be submitted to laboratory certified by the environmental protection agency epa for testing prior to a remodel.

Test ceiling for asbestos.

Place a tarp under the ceiling area and turn off any heating or cooling systems. If you know nothing about the ceiling and can not remove it without making a dusty and potentially hazarous mess the you may want to have a sample tested. One is that you can purchase a kit that allows you to test your ceiling or you can pay a professional asbestos removal company to visit your home to test your ceiling. Asbestos exposure may pose serious health risks.

Testing will require that either you or a certified contractor remove a small sample from your ceiling and send it off to a lab. Hiring a professional to do it is safer but more expensive. First after purchasing a low cost kit at a home improvement center or online you obtain suspected asbestos from an area of your home. Each asbestos test kit is only 32 00 including a lab test and postage to the lab.

To find out if your old popcorn ceiling contains asbestos you can purchase a test kit or hire an asbestos abatement professional. If you buy a test kit you will have to collect a sample of the ceiling and mail it to a lab. Generally asbestos testing kits work in a two step process. If you are going to take your own ceiling sample for asbestos testing you will need to wear protective clothing such as a mask goggles gloves and clothing that covers as much of you body as possible.

Second you mail the findings to a laboratory and after a few days the results are sent back to you. Asbestos is a mineral that occurs naturally in the environment that is made up of long thin fibers that look similar to fiberglass. The most common and reliable technique used to test asbestos is called polarized light microscopy plm. Asbestos can cause many health problems including lung cancer so it s very important to test your ceilings if they were built prior to the ban.

Step 2 prepare the area where you will take the sample from. Chrysotile asbestos one of the most commonly used asbestos fibers was used in production of some ceiling materials. In the case that you choose to follow the path of purchasing an asbestos kit you will have to extract a sample of the ceiling and mail it into a lab for them to examine. Diy home asbestos tests you don t have to sit and wait in fear if you simply cannot afford a professional epa certified specialist to come out and test your home.