Are you planning to do a home renovation soon? Or are you and your family eyeing a new home and planning to close a deal with your realtor soon? Either way, did you know that there are specific hazards you need to know about – one of them is the presence of asbestos in your living space.
Asbestos And Your Home
Asbestos was a popular material used in Australian homes due to its many properties. Because of its versatility, strong resistance to fire, and many other desirable features, homebuilders are believed to favour asbestos use in home construction projects all over the country for decades. In fact, older houses tend to host many components containing the aforementioned material: from home insulation, tiles, to water boilers and pipes.
Nowadays, homeowners are advised to carry out asbestos removal whenever necessary for the sake of their safety along with their beloved’s. Yet before moving on to the process of asbestos removal, it’s best to understand why the material is bad for you and your beloved’s wellbeing. Read on to learn more.
What Are The Risks Linked With Exposure To Asbestos
There's a compelling reason why health authorities and government officials have made so much effort in fighting to ban the use of asbestos in residential properties nationwide.
Over time, asbestos can disintegrate into thin, small particles that the eye can’t see. However, don’t let yourself be fooled by thinking that these tiny particles can do little to no harm to your well-being. After years of studying from medical experts, it's discovered that microscopic asbestos fibres from asbestos-laden materials can wreak havoc on the body – particularly in the lungs and respiratory system.
Upon exposure via breathing in the free-floating asbestos fibres, a patient can develop later on very problematic diseases like cancer of the lungs. In fact, there’s a specific lung cancer linked to asbestos – it's known as mesothelioma. Besides that, other harmful impacts to the body of asbestos include asbestosis and so on.
How To Find Out If There Are Asbestos In Your Home
It’s understandable now for you to worry and think if your house has asbestos in it. Worry not; there are tell-tale signs that you can figure out if you and your loved ones are in potential danger because of your residence having asbestos.
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Check The Age And History Of Your House
First and foremost, among the most effective tell-tale signs that your house may have asbestos is its age.
In Australia, the use of asbestos in home construction was only completely banned in the early 2000s. It's believed that asbestos’ popularity and widespread use in Aussie residential properties was at its peak during the 1980s and continued until the eventual ban by the authorities.
If your current property is more than two decades old, it’s highly likely that there are traces of asbestos that you need to worry about. In case you’re unsure of what’s the exact age of your home, ask the realtor that sold you your house. They can look into relevant real estate documents and records to find out the information you’re looking for. You yourself can look into the title and other significant real estate sale files you have on hand to identify the specific age of your residence too.
Further, there are public records available in your local archives, library, and government bureaus that you can browse through to locate helpful details about the history of your address.
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Pay For An Asbestos Expert To Conduct A Survey Of Your Home
Next, you can commission for the conduct of an asbestos survey.
Carried out by a certified and licensed asbestos expert, an asbestos survey is a home inspection designed to determine if your house has asbestos in it, where the asbestos may be located in your home, and how you can deal with the situation. Do note that an asbestos survey will cost you a few tens to more than a hundred dollars.
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Check The Health And Wellbeing Of Your Family
Finally, check out your and your loved ones’ health. Before it can do a great deal of damage to the body, a person will have to be exposed to asbestos in large quantities for a short period or be subjected to sustained exposure to small amounts of the material for an extended period. Nonetheless, it’s said that ailments related to asbestos exposure can only manifest their symptoms two to three decades after the initial exposure.
Fortunately, health practitioners believe that there are tell-tale signs that can help you determine if there’s asbestos in your home. If you or a household member is experiencing struggles in breathing, seemingly incurable coughing, fatigue, and the like, reach out to a medical professional the soonest.
Raise concerns about possible asbestos exposure, and your doctor will recommend that you undergo an X-ray. Though chest X-rays can’t definitely link symptoms to possible asbestos exposure, they can signal to your physician that there’s a possibility of it; hence, they’ll commission for additional testing. Lastly, come back for regular medical check-ups so that your healthcare provider can monitor your and your family’s health.
The above-mentioned are just a few methods that you can use to determine if your living space has asbestos in it.
How To Safely Deal With Asbestos At Home
If you find out that your house has traces of asbestos, you need to tackle the problem head-on. And how will you do that? Experts can’t stress it enough: the only way to face asbestos-related problems at home is to take the ‘asbestos removal route.’
To successfully carry out an asbestos removal project, check out the following steps:
- Work with a reputable asbestos removal expert or company. Make sure that you vet at least three strong candidates from your area before picking a partner that you’ll work with in asbestos removal. Check their reputation, pricing and payment options, staff training and certifications, and the like. If you know a relative or colleague that had had at-home asbestos removal done prior, ask for referrals from them.
- Before the asbestos removal commences, carry out different preparations. Preparations include but aren’t limited to checking out accommodations where you and your loved ones can stay during the whole project, filing for a loan to pay for the services of the asbestos removal company, and others.
- Then, have your and your family’s health checked by a physician. Asbestos exposure is a serious matter. Make sure you disclose to your medical professional that your home has been recently inspected for asbestos and that you and your loved ones have been exposed to the harmful product.
- Finally, seek the services of a lawyer specializing in asbestos-related cases for possible legal action. Depending on your specific case and where you live, there are legal remedies that you can take with regard to your and your family’s inadvertent exposure to asbestos.
Asbestos removal demands the attention of everyone involved. As the homeowner, you ought to cooperate with your asbestos removal company at every step to ensure the success of the project.
Meanwhile, your family can do their part by cooperating or lending a hand in tasks like packing up everyone’s belongings upon moving out of the house before the asbestos removal begins and so on. As it’s said: the burden becomes lighter if everyone gets their fair share.
In Conclusion
It's understandable that you feel lost throughout the whole ordeal of asbestos removal. To help you out, the guide above lists down different points that you can go through to give you more information and peace of mind.
Indeed, asbestos is a very dangerous material that can be present in your home, and exposure to it can be very fatal to you and your family’s health. Don’t worry. If an asbestos inspection report concludes that there are traces of asbestos in your home, you can contact an asbestos removal company immediately to carry out the asbestos removal process.
