How To Remove Floor Adhesive Containing Asbestos

Yes floor tiles mastics and adhesives are included in the list of building materials that may contain asbestos.

How to remove floor adhesive containing asbestos.

Questions answers on procedures for removing asbestos containing floor tiles or other floor coverings or on the use of floor rejuvenators and restorative sealants on vinyl asbestos floor tiles. At the university of connecticut new or recently installed floor tiles should not contain asbestos but our older 12 x 12 floor tile 9 x 9 floor tile floor tile mastics carpet glues cove bases and adhesives will. If you decide to remove nonfriable vinyl asbestos flooring you have to be cautious for two reasons. Mastic is a type of glue used to adhere tiles and vinyl flooring to the subfloor.

If you suspect your tile floor or floor adhesive of containing asbestos do not attempt to remove it yourself. Asbestos containing materials can exist in one of two states. Black mastic also known as cutback adhesive was commonly used to glue flooring tiles down. Resilient flooring is a nonfriable asbestos containing material as long as it s in good condition and as such no immediate action is necessary.

It was also resistant to moisture oil grease heat alkalis and acids. Possible signs of asbestos mastic include discoloration and an oily texture. If your building was built before 1980 mastic mixed with asbestos may have been used to seal your tiles to the floor. However some companies produced asbestos adhesives as late as 1984.

Even if the vinyl flooring is pulled up intact the old adhesive underneath may also contain asbestos. If you break the flooring into pieces while removing it you have effectively turned it into a friable material. Doing so may cause the asbestos fibers to become airborne and may pose a health risk. Nonfriable materials are those in which the asbestos is locked and cannot become airborne.

How to remove asbestos tiles. 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. But then asbestos was found to be a health hazard. Asbestos adhesive was used for asphalt flooring tiles and vinyl or linoleum sheet tile because it strengthened the flooring and made it more durable.

Therefore if your house was built or remodeled around 1984 or before there is a chance that black mastic adhesive on your floor may contain asbestos.