Asbestos
Oxhouse
| Posted in General Questions on
Asbestos or dryer lent?
We are buying my grandmothers house (b. 1948) and there was been rodents in the house & we came across this tonight while moving the washer and dryer away from the wall.
Sorry for the bad lighting. A professional would be 4hrs away so any help would be appreciated.
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
Search and download construction details
Replies
Oxhouse,
It's probably cellulose insulation, but it's hard to be certain with such low-quality photos.
If you have any doubts, invite an experienced insulation contractor -- one who has experience installing cellulose -- to look at it.
No one can be certain if asbestos is present without testing under a microscope. Most cities have a local lab and testing is not a large expense if you consider risk from exposure. Mail order testing is 30.00 https://www.amazon.com/Asbestos-Test-Bus-Days-Schneider/dp/B008J3ZK8M/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1533830921&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=asbestos+testing&psc=1 Walta
I agree with Martin- it sure looks like cellulose, but it's too low-res to say for sure.
If it's cellulose it will not feel the least bit itchy/prickly, and when thoroughly wetted becomes like papier mache (since it's made of milled shredded paper and fire retardents.) The fire retardents usually impart a gray appearance to the paper. Scoop a demitasse full of it and sprinkle in some water, see how easily it mixes and wets. Cellulose wets and clumps readily and can soak up quite a bit of water.
Some rock wool products will have a similar and gray look but is clearly longer fibers, and can be itchy to the skin and is more hygrophopic-it won't wet or clump very easily when wet. The same is true for some blown asbestos products, which usually have a more uniform somewhat darker gray color than rock wool.
Dana Dorsett is correct, and there's every reason to believe that the insulation in the photo is harmless cellulose.
That said, I'd like to add an important safety warning: If you suspect that you're looking at vermiculite insulation -- a type of insulation that often includes asbestos -- or if there is a good chance you are looking at asbestos pipe insulation, then you don't want to be touching it, feeling it, or scooping up a demitasse of it.
Here's the rule: Don't touch it. Secure the area and ensure that the fibers aren't disturbed. Especially, don't let kids anywhere near it.
Get it tested its the only way to know for sure. I've used this asbestos testing kit from amazon before (https://www.amazon.com/Asbestos-Test-Kit-Business-included/dp/B08B68N9YC) - Very quick turnaround and customer support was fantastic.
Looks like a bot or marketer resurrecting old posts, and adding Amazon links for their product.
The 2023 reply to this 2018 thread is SPAM!