Category: Asbestos

One of the biggest threats to homeowners back in the day was for their house to go up in flames from a tiny spark. Roofing asbestos shingles made of hydraulic cement and asbestos were the standard for many years, giving homeowners the promise of a near fireproof roof with a 30–year lifespan. Because of its sturdy and fireproof capability, asbestos shingles soared in popularity in the early 1900s until health risks associated with asbestos materials became widely popularized and led to the nationwide banning in 1989.

Asbestos shingles aren’t easily detected by a visual marker, although there are a couple of ways to gauge whether you may have asbestos shingles on your home in Woodbridge, VA. The age of your home might be the best way to figure out if you have asbestos shingles. If your Woodbridge, VA home was built between the 1920s and 1986, there is a possibility that you may have asbestos shingles because they were a popular building material at the time.

The kind of shingles you have on your Woodbridge, VA home could also indicate if asbestos is present. Asbestos was commonly used with asphalt shingles and also mixed in cement shingles. Asbestos–cement shingles were more widely used on barns, older sheds, and low–income housing.

To know for sure whether your older home in Woodbridge, VA contains asbestos shingles, call the team at Envirotex for an asbestos inspection. Asbestos–containing materials are dangerous to the health of you and your family members. Only a trained professional will be able to tell whether your Woodbridge, VA home has asbestos shingles, siding, or other related asbestos–containing products in or outside your home.

Homeowners in Woodbridge, VA who live in older homes often times will want to make upgrades. Any renovations may present harmful situations to your family members if you do not know exactly what the materials you may be tearing out, sawing, drilling, or nailing into consist of. Before beginning any DIY or remodeling work at your older home in Woodbridge, VA, please consult environmental specialists such as the team at Envirotex Environmental Services.

Asbestos was used in home building materials and discontinued in the late 1970s or early 1980s. Are you wondering if asbestos siding is hanging on the side of your home in Gainesville, VA?

That would all depend on the age of your Gainesville, VA home. If your home is up to 100 years old or was built before the 1970s or 1980s, it could be covered in asbestos siding. The odds are extremely high if you still have the original siding on your Gainesville, VA home, and the siding seems to be made of cement.

Not all manufacturers added this material to siding, so even if your Gainesville, VA house was built before the 1970s or early 1980s, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have this harmful asbestos siding hanging on the side of your home. The only sure way to tell is to have an asbestos inspection.

However, if you do have asbestos siding and it is still in good condition with no signs of wear or tear, you should be safe. Just remember, as your house ages, the possibility of the asbestos siding degrading with time should be a concern so much that you may want to go ahead and take action now to correct it before it starts to chip or break off. Once this starts happening, the asbestos particles circulate into the air and may be inhaled by family members, which can cause dangerous health issues.

Although asbestos siding in good condition may not pose a threat, it may still have a negative impact on your home in Gainesville, VA. Most people consider asbestos siding very unattractive.

If you ever decide to sell your home, it could drastically reduce the resale value of your property in Gainesville, VA. Also, if some of the asbestos siding begins to wear down, it would be challenging to find siding to match beings asbestos siding is no longer manufactured.

Asbestos siding is something Gainesville, VA homeowners should be concerned about if they live in an older home. If you have any concerns about the siding on your home, call the experts at Envirotex and have them come out and inspect your home for any asbestos-containing materials to be on the safe side. More than likely, if you have asbestos siding on the outside, there may be asbestos-containing materials on the inside that should be inspected as well.

It would all depend on the year your home was built as to whether you may have asbestos flooring inside your home in Arlington, VA. Asbestos fibers released into the air are extremely dangerous to anyone who breaths in these fibers.

Manufacturers used asbestos in vinyl products, including vinyl asbestos floor tiles, vinyl sheet flooring, and vinyl wallpaper. These products were used in homes prior to 1980.

Some of the companies which produced asbestos flooring and wallpaper include Congoleum, National Gypsum Company, Sears and Roebuck, Kentile Floors, Armstrong World Industries, The Flintkote Company, Goodyear, American Biltrite, and GAF Corporation. Many of these products are most likely still in many homes in Arlington, VA.

Although vinyl materials are no longer produced with asbestos in the United States, some homeowners in Arlington, VA are still at risk of exposure if their vinyl products have some age on them.

What does this mean for the homeowner? If you have asbestos flooring and it is not damaged, you should be fine. But if you ever decide to tear the asbestos flooring up, you need to call in professionals such as Envirotex Environmental Services.

This is not a do–it–yourself project for the Arlington, VA homeowner. You put yourself at risk and that of other family members. Removing asbestos flooring or other asbestos–containing materials from your home in Arlington, VA should be left up to an asbestos removal technician.

Arlington, VA homeowners with asbestos flooring who cut, sand, or disturb the flooring make them friable and releases asbestos fibers. Inhaling or swallowing these fibers regularly over a long period can cause several illnesses, including Mesothelioma, lung cancer, laryngeal cancer, Asbestosis, and ovarian cancer.

Vinyl sheet asbestos flooring causes a significantly greater risk of asbestos exposure than floor tiles or wallpaper because it comes in larger pieces and most likely will be cut to the size of the room to be laid in one piece. The fibers are more easily released into the air with their friable asbestos backing when the vinyl sheet asbestos flooring is disturbed or damaged.

If you have any questions about asbestos–containing materials at your home in Arlington, VA, please give Envirotex a call, and they will be happy to help.

When you hire an asbestos contractor for your home in Washington, D.C., you are protecting your family against harmful materials that could contain asbestos. Removing asbestos–containing materials from your home should never be attempted by Washington, D.C. homeowners.

Because asbestos was used in so many common building materials years ago, if you have an older home in Washington, D.C., you and your family members could be at risk. Some of these building materials that you should be aware of include—

• Roofing shingles and siding
• Vermiculite installation, ceiling tiles, and coatings
• Popcorn ceilings
• Plaster, putties, and caulking
• Drywall and cement sheets
• Vinyl floor tiles
• Pipe and duct coverings
• Plumbing fixtures
• Electrical switchboard panels
• Thermal boiler and fireplace insulations

If you suspect any asbestos in your Washington, D.C. home, hire an asbestos contractor. They can inspect the premises of your home and send samples off for analysis. Once the analysis is complete, and you have been told you have asbestos–containing materials at your home in Washington, D.C., a plan to either remove or encapsulate the asbestos materials will be mapped out for you by the asbestos contractor.

Why is hiring an asbestos contractor critical? Inhaling or ingesting asbestos can develop into serious health issues, including mesothelioma, asbestosis, pleural plaques, and asbestos lung cancer. Professionals who handle asbestos wear special protective clothing and respirators to protect themselves against harmful fibers that may release into the air.

Sometimes asbestos can be encapsulated by covering it up with a protective barrier to reduce risks of exposure. Most often, your asbestos contractor will need to remove the asbestos–containing materials from the home in Washington, D.C.—

For any questions about asbestos at your home in Washington, D.C., call the experts at Envirotex, an asbestos contractor serving your area.

Mishandling asbestos at homes in Washington, D.C. may lead to exposure to asbestos; therefore, only an asbestos contractor should handle, remove, and dispose of any asbestos–related materials. An asbestos contractor can handle asbestos safely by following proper regulations. Individuals who are exposed to asbestos may develop mesothelioma and other asbestos–related diseases.

When asbestos is mishandled by Washington, D.C. family members at home, the fibers may become airborne, causing the individual to be exposed to asbestos. Asbestos fibers can be inhaled and become lodged in the linings of the lungs, abdomen, or heart causing diseases such as mesothelioma, asbestosis or lung cancer.

Homes in Washington, D.C. built prior to the 1980s could still contain asbestos–related materials. Because asbestos fibers are not visible to the human eye, it can be difficult to identify. Homeowners should treat any potential asbestos–containing materials as hazardous. Until an asbestos contractor can verify these materials, these areas of the home in Washington, D.C. should be avoided.

An asbestos contractor will perform a visual inspection and remove pieces of any questionable materials and send off to a lab for analyses. If the samples from your home in Washington, D.C. contain asbestos, then your asbestos contractor will recommend the removal or encapsulation of the asbestos materials.

The condition of the asbestos materials depends on whether it will be removed or encapsulated. During an encapsulation at your home in Washington, D.C., an asbestos contractor will coat the asbestos materials with a sealant which will prevent fibers from becoming airborne.

If the asbestos needs to be completely removed, your HVAC units and seal vents will be turned off to prevent asbestos fibers from circulating into the air, the work area will be sealed off with plastic sheeting, wet cleanup tools and HEPA filter vacuums will be used to clean up the workspace and materials will be removed from the home in Washington, D.C. in sealed containers clearly marked and discarded at proper landfill sites.

During the removal or encapsulation, the crew will wear protective clothing and respirators for their protection against any asbestos fibers that are released into the air.

If you have questions about materials in your home in Washington, D.C. which may contain asbestos, give the professionals at Envirotex a call and set up an appointment for them to come to your home and assess the situation.

Asbestos was once widely used for building materials in homes and other buildings in Arlington, VA. Asbestos was used in the manufacturing of insulation and used in steam engines, piping, and locomotives. Later, asbestos was used in products such as gaskets, boilers, cement, roofing materials, and automotive brake pads. Asbestos exposure is extremely dangerous. People still die from asbestos exposure. Exposure can lead to mesothelioma. Mesothelioma commercials are shown on TV even today.

The use of asbestos was phased out during the 1980s. However, some products still carry traces of asbestos. Most asbestos exposure now comes from homeowners or business owners who renovate or demolish an old home or building. Many homeowners in Arlington, VA still have asbestos–containing materials in their home that they might not even be aware of, such as popcorn ceilings, floor and ceiling tiles, drywall, roofing sealant, duct tape, furnace cement, and glue for flooring.

Depending on your home’s age in Arlington, VA, it could still contain asbestos–related materials if built prior to 1980. Hence, it would help if you were extremely careful not to disturb any of these materials or never tear them out, hammer, cut, nail into any of these materials. If you know for sure which materials contain asbestos, that is half the battle, but so many people do not realize or know what to look for. It takes a professional to know what to look for and determine if it’s asbestos.

Before doing any repairs or renovations to an older home in Arlington, VA, be sure and call the experts at Envirotex Environmental Services for asbestos testing and remediation.  These professionals have the personal protective equipment to be able to enter a home and safely remove any asbestos–containing materials you have in your Arlington, VA home.

Never attempt to remove asbestos products from your home on your own. Always leave it up to the professionals who know exactly how to contain the asbestos–related area to avoid the asbestos dust from spreading all through your Arlington, VA home. When you use professionals such as Envirotex, you protect family members from breathing in any of the dust from the asbestos fibers and taking a chance of them developing health issues from asbestos exposure.

Asbestos is a highly dangerous mineral that was commonly used in the United States up till the early 1990s. Because asbestos is extremely flame-resilient and durable, it was used in many building materials prior to 1990 and in automobile parts. Some of the building materials in homes and buildings in Arlington, VA that may contain asbestos are—

• Ceiling and flooring tiles
• Insulation
• Roofing shingles
• Drywall products

Because there are still a lot of older homes in Arlington, VA that contain asbestos-related materials, construction workers and other professionals are still at risk of being exposed to the harmful carcinogen including—

• Veterans
• Teachers
• Demolition workers
• Ironworkers
• Auto mechanics
• Firefighters

Asbestos exposure still occurs to people inside their Arlington, VA homes because of older homes where asbestos was used freely in building materials. Secondary exposure can still occur to loved ones of professionals who do repairs, renovations, and maintenance on these older Arlington, VA homes. Asbestos dust frequently is carried home with them on their clothes and person.

Disturbing asbestos-related materials at your home in Arlington, VA releases asbestos fibers, which can be inhaled or ingested. These fibers can lodge into the tissue lining of various organs in the body. The fibers can then become stuck and damage healthy tissues. Sometimes this tissue damage can cause cancerous tumors to form. It can take anywhere from 20 to 50 years of irritation from these asbestos fibers to show symptoms of mesothelioma. At this point, mesothelioma, a rare cancer, could be throughout the body.

Asbestosis, a non-cancerous lung disease, which causes lung scarring and breathing issues, forms when asbestos fibers get trapped into the lungs. This can cause persistent cough, shortness of breath, and fatigue because the lungs get progressively weaker and stiffer. There is no cure and can gradually get worse oftentimes leading to death.

Other related diseases caused by asbestos include—

• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Kidney cancer
• Pleural effusions
• Pleural plaques
• Pleuritis

If you are have been exposed to asbestos and are having any related health issues, it is important to be checked out by your doctor as soon as possible.

Anytime you have questions about asbestos, need testing to see if you have asbestos-related materials in your home or need asbestos removal from your home in Arlington, VA, call the team at Envirotex.

Asbestos-containing materials are still oftentimes found in older homes in Arlington, VA. Asbestos fibers, when released into the air, are then inhaled or ingested. These fibers become trapped in the mucous membranes of the nose and throat, which can be removed; however, some pass deep into the lungs and if swallowed, into the digestive tract. Once these asbestos fibers are trapped within the body, these fibers cause health issues.

When asbestos is friable, it is easily crumbled and releases fibers into the air. Asbestos insulation that is sprayed on is highly friable, whereas asbestos floor tile isn’t. Ceiling tiles, floor tiles, shingles, siding shingles do not release fibers into Arlington, VA homes unless you disturb them or damage them in some way. For instance, if you drill into floor tiles or they become broken, this can release asbestos fibers into your home in Arlington, VA. But if you leave them alone, you should be safe.

Aging and physical impact by drilling, cutting, sanding, sawing, grinding, or buffing can break down these asbestos-containing materials at your Arlington, VA home, causing the fibers to release into the air more prevalent.

What Health Effects are Caused by Asbestos Exposure?

• Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that occurs in the thin membrane lining of the lungs, abdomen, chest, and sometimes even the heart. Those who are at risk are miners and textile workers in Arlington, VA that work with asbestos.
• Lung Cancer is the most significant related deaths amid asbestos exposure. People who work in mining, manufacturing, and milling in Arlington, VA who use asbestos in their products, are at higher risk. Symptoms include persistent chest pains, hoarseness, anemia, and shortness of breath.
• Asbestosis is a chronic, non-cancerous respiratory disease. Lung tissues are aggravated when asbestos fibers are inhaled, which causes scarring. Symptoms include shortness of breath and a dry crackling sound in the lungs when inhaling. Advanced stages can cause cardiac failure.

If you suspect any asbestos-containing materials at your Arlington, VA home, call in the experts at Envirotex Environment Service to handle the situation. Never attempt to handle asbestos on your own.

Many older homes are still standing in Washington, D.C. Some homeowners who like the charm of older homes are more apt to buy an older home and fix it up than buy a new home. These homeowners need to be aware then before any remodeling, and they should consult an asbestos contractor in Washington, D.C.

Older homes most likely have some forms of asbestos-containing materials. Building materials prior to 1970, such as roofing shingles, ceiling and floor tiles, insulation, popcorn ceilings, pipe cement, joint compound, and siding, could all be at risk for asbestos. Consulting with an asbestos contractor will give you peace of mind.

If you do come across any materials that you think contain asbestos, leave these materials alone. As long as they are not disturbed and are in good condition, not damaged or showing any wear or tear, you should be fine. Keep an eye on these materials for any future damage.

Meanwhile, if, by some chance, you want to upgrade your Washington, D.C. home, definitely have an asbestos contractor come and look at your situation before tearing anything apart. Please, by all means, take these precautions with any materials you suspect contain asbestos:

• Do not sand, drill, cut, or hammer into any asbestos-containing material.
• Do not vacuum, dust, or sweep any asbestos dust.
• Use a wet rag to get up any asbestos dust that may have been released and seal in a thick plastic bag.
• Call in an asbestos contractor.

An asbestos contractor can test your Washington, D.C. home for asbestos materials and then map out a plan for asbestos remediation. Removing and ridding your home of any asbestos-containing materials will make your older home a much safer place for you and your family.

Asbestos contractors have the proper equipment needed to safely remove any asbestos from your home in Washington, D.C., and also have the proper means of disposing of the materials. These asbestos-containing materials have to be taken to special waste sites.

Disturbing any asbestos-containing products at your home in Washington, D.C. will release asbestos fibers into the air that you breathe, and this is extremely dangerous. To avoid putting your family at risk, call in a professional asbestos contractor such as Envirotex. They will be glad to help you with any environmental issues you have at your Washington, D.C. home.

 

 

 

 

Environmental cleanup in Northern, VA impacts both homes and businesses. Northern, VA, still today, has many older homes and old factories, some just sitting there waiting to be torn down. Issues such as asbestos and mold can be in found in older homes and businesses in the Northern, VA area. Moisture tends to affect older homes because newer homes are constructed with newer technology so water doesn’t seem to enter homes as easily.

Basements that are damp where mold has become a major problem require environmental cleanup. Mold can be dangerous for your health especially if you live in it day in and day out. Any moisture in your Northern, VA home such as in your bathroom when there is not adequate ventilation, the kitchen, or if you have any leaky pipes, can turn into a major development of mold infestation.

An environmental cleanup project can include asbestos removal for older homes in Northern, VA. Anytime you are pursuing a remodeling project, you need to be aware of any asbestos-related materials that could have been used in the initial construction of your home. Insulation, popcorn ceilings, and flooring tiles inside could include asbestos materials. Outside your home, asbestos-related materials could be in the siding on your home and your roofing shingles. Environmental cleanup projects in Northern, VA are more frequent than most homeowners realize.

Most homeowners in Northern, VA are unaware of the environmental cleanup issues that could be part of the surroundings they are living in. Some homeowners see mold and don’t think much of it. They try to clean it up and then later it comes back. If you are experiencing a strong musty smell, don’t overlook it. Mold infestation can cause major health issues such as headaches, coughing, respiratory issues, asthma, fatigue, running nose, and can even contribute to depression. If you have noticed any mold growth in your Northern, VA home and any of your family members are experiencing any of these symptoms, an environmental cleanup should be done immediately.

Another environmental cleanup issue that could be lurking inside your home, if it is fairly old, is lead paint. All of these things, mold, asbestos, and lead paint should be taken care of as soon as possible for the safety of your family.