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Freaking out about asbestos!

6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago

So we’ve been dealing with some type of water Under our vinyl flooring. My bf told my landlord he could pull up a plank and see what was going on under. There was some moisture under and then what looked like tile. My bf managed to get one single tile up and found no moisture. The landlord failed to tell us the tile contained asbestos. So now I’m freaking out because we swept it up. The broom we used touched my couch. I had a carpet nearby that got a chip of vinyl on it but I don’t believe came in contact with the tile. I have yet to clean one spot that we put a towel over since some moisture from the vinyl got on the floor and then I washed the bfs clothes in the washing machine. Are we ok since it was just one tile? Also it was in the living room so I had my daughters playpen and toys and just so much was exposed in there. Please help!

Comments (9)

  • 6 years ago

    Relax, nothing to worry about. The dust from asbestos is what is bad when it becomes friable and air-born. You and your family are in no danger from this unless you eat it.

  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    As above. Asbestos damage takes DECADES of MASSIVE exposure (like working in an Asbestos mine in Asbestos Quebec....yes...that's the name of the town).

    Pulling up ONE tile in ONE room is NOTHING. And I mean nothing.

    The BIGGEST issue is the moisture. The damage to lungs and health can be HUGE if the moisture is allowed to create a toxic environment. And it does NOT take a leak to cause moisture issues. It can be as simple as an old cement slab sitting on damp earth being covered up by two products that lock the moisture in and allow it to create a mold-inducing situation.

    Mold is your bigger issue...not asbestos. Your landlord is responsible for the remediation of the moisture and any mold in the apartment.

  • 6 years ago

    If you need some further comfort or information, searching the Flooring section will show about 477 posts on this topic.

    https://www.houzz.com/discussions/flooring/query/asbestos/nqrw

  • 6 years ago

    Mold is your biggest issue...not asbestos.

    Mold is not a bigger issue than asbestos. It is exactly the same phenomenon. I have discussed this many times, but if you live in an area with rain and cut grass odds are that any indoor environment will have far fewer mycotoxins than the outdoor environment. There has never been a case of mold toxicity from a home, only agricultural buildings approach the growth medium necessary for mold toxicity. The study that started the mold craze was withdrawn because of an error.

  • PRO
    6 years ago

    A random exposure do not damage your health. The constant and long term exposure is harmful. Though you should ask your landlord for asbestos testing and survey and find out if there is something to concern about or not.

  • 6 years ago

    OK...so this link to Health Canada's website must be complete bunk, is it?

    https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/publications/healthy-living/addressing-moisture-mould-your-home.html


    Mould TOXICITY is different than mould exposure. Toxicity indicates a body that has been OVERWHELMED by a substance to the point of physical degeneration of organs.


    Long exposure to mould is not the same as toxicity. Feel free to send us the link to the study that was withdrawn. I would be interested in reading the study and the reason why it was withdrawn.

  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    OK...so this link to Health Canada's website must be complete bunk, is it?

    Yes. There are similar things from U.S. agencies but you must realize that government agencies tend to bow to certain pressures.

    I am going to copy this from an earlier post on the same subject...

    I really don't want to get into the mold discussion, but it is one of those areas where there is a lot more misinformation than good information. Indoor molds are simply not that bad for you. The single study that found a connection between indoor mold and health problems was rescinded by the CDC when errors were found in the study. Since then hundreds of peer reviewed scientific studies have found no connection between indoor mold and health problems. The mycotoxins in indoor home environments simply don't approach harmful levels, and have really only been found in agricultural areas and buildings. In most of the country, indoor air tends to have fewer mold spores and mycotoxins than outdoor air. Feel free to look further into it, you can start here - http://users.physics.harvard.edu/~wilson/soundscience/mold/gots1.html

    Mostly, news and litigators exaggerated this story. This is not to say that mold should never be addressed, but it shouldn't always be addressed. Indoor molds may be problematic to those who already have a sensitivity to it, such as those allergic to mold and those with asthma, as an asthma sufferer I want to add, indoor environments are still better than outdoor, but you want your home to be as comfortable as possible, mold isn't really a problem for me personally, but dust and pollen can be.

    ETA: Toxicity is literally the degree to which exposure can cause damage to an organism. So toxicity quite literally means long exposure to mold.

  • 6 years ago

    Just to be clear and hopefully head off further debate...

    Your assertion was that mold is a bigger problem than asbestos. It really is not. The mold craze came after the deaths of several young children in the Cleveland Ohio who had been exposed to mold and a logical connection was made between the high mold levels and Strachybotrys poisoning. Further studies found the levels required for Strachybotrys poisoning were an order of magnitude higher than the children had been exposed to and the connection was rescinded by the CDC. However, before it was rescinded the litigators moved in and won a lot of rather large lawsuits. Which might be the reason that agencies leave up information on mold exposure...

    This is not to say that mold exposure is not a problem for some people, but those are essentially the same problems as exposure to dust and pollen. If you are sensitive to mold exposure it can cause problems and you can develop those same problems from prolonged exposure just as you can with pollen and dust.

    If you have mold in your home, you should take reasonable steps to address it. You should also address dust and other contaminates in your home. However, it is not a bigger problem than asbestos.

    ----------

    I am a big advocate of people chilling out about asbestos exposure. A small exposure is very unlikely to have serious adverse effects, however, it doesn't take decades of exposure either. The more you are exposed the more likely you are to get cancer, but Warren Zevon died from mesothelioma and his only significant exposure was sometimes playing in the attic when he was a kid. Of course, there is also naturally occurring asbestos in the air in California so...

  • 6 years ago

    Ahhhhh bry911 - Still argumentative I see.


    Perhaps you would like to know that I was explaining to the OP that the asbestos is not a very big deal (in his/her situation) but the mould would be a biggER problem, in this particular situation, than the asbestos (in the comparative). If you read my post I state the moisture is the BIGGEST problem (in the superlative).


    And I've read the link. It has nothing to recommend it. The author, Ronald E. Gots, appears to be in the 'litigation' business. By the 'nay saying' in this article it sounds like he is an expert for Big Business. To each their own.


    Mould can be an allergen. Which means it triggers an immune response. Sometimes immune responses go 'wrong' and they turn into autoimmune diseases. But that's another argument for you on another day. Happy Hunting bry-guy. Enjoy your assertiveness. I'm sure it serves you well in your industry.