Laundry after doing dirty remodeling work

13 years ago

Hi everyone,

I've had a little scare with some nasty materials in my home. Nothing for sure, but there is some suspected asbestos material in my kitchen. It wasn't necessarily treated in the exact way I would've liked, but precautions were taken to keep it contained in one space. I've been cleaning up for awhile now, OCD having kicked in fully, and now I'm wondering how I should deal with the laundry.

To be clear and fair, we are talking about a very, very small amount of non-friable material being disturbed. I was not aware of how it was going to be treated during the remodel or I never would have moved forward in the way I did. But its done.

Some clothes are full of plaster dust, and others are just dirty from cleanup, and other work in that space. The worst of them are getting tossed - but what about the rest that maybe were incidentally exposed?

I suppose I am mostly concerned about the dryer. Any thoughts or advice?

Thanks!

TheSchmett

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Comments (4)

emma
13 years ago
I would worry about the insulation left in my machine and irritating the skin. I would take it a public laundry for the first time, then wash them again at home in your machine.
mike_kaiser_gw
13 years ago
If my clothes were exposed to asbestos, I'd just toss them. Any other building materials come out in the laundry just fine, I've washed plenty of dirty clothes over the years.
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jannie
13 years ago
i agree with Emma, go to a public laundromat first.
User
13 years ago
Wait, and contaminate the public laundry machine so the next person can suffer? I think if there is ANY doubt that the machine/air coming from the vents could be contaminated it is NOT OK to bring them to a laundromat and expose other people who don't even know if the potential risk.

My guess is that the real risk is insignificant BUT what I would do is call your local asbestos abatement program (every state has one - google asbestos abatement and your state or city) and ask the experts for advice. Maybe they will say throw away the clothes and maybe they will say toss them in the wash no problem.