What are asbestos testing kits, and why should you use one?

08 Jul What are asbestos testing kits, and why should you use one?

Are you concerned that you may be living in or own a home that is contaminated with asbestos? Have you been told it may be necessary to use an asbestos testing kit to find out?

If so, and you do not know what asbestos testing kits are, here is what you need to know about them and why you should probably use one.

What are asbestos testing kits? — This is a small kit that allows you to take air and material samples from various places around your home. Once the samples are put into the glass vials that come with the kit and sealed, they can then be sent off to an asbestos testing lab. Testing is done at the lab, and then the results are given to you over the phone. Results typically take 48 to 72 hours to be released, depending on the asbestos testing kit company you use.

How to use asbestos testing kits? — There are two ways of using these types of kits.

You can either pay for a service that sends a technician with a kit to take samples from around your home, or you can order a kit and do it yourself. If you are not absolutely sure what asbestos looks like or where to look for it, you may want to pay for a professional service to do the testing for you. If you can figure out how to use a kit, however, it is usually faster and cheaper to do it by yourself.

Using a kit is actually quite easy as it just entails taking air samples in a variety of rooms around your home, followed by samples of materials you find as well. You should look under sinks and in cupboards, up in your attic and down in your basement, inside any interior walls you can access, inside vents and air ducts and, of course, anywhere else in your home where asbestos may have been used for insulation.

What happens after you get the results? — If the test results from asbestos testing Sydney show you do not have any asbestos lurking in your home, there is nothing else you need to do.

If the test kit shows you do have asbestos in your home, however, you must then come up with a plan to get rid of it. The testing company will give you several options, depending on how much asbestos is in your home. These will usually include tenting your home and then having the asbestos safely removed over several days’ time.

In extreme cases, if asbestos that is in very small pieces has been used, the company may even suggest your home be demolished. If that is the case, depending on where you live, there may be a governmental program in place that will buy your home from you.

Why remove asbestos? — Asbestos is one of the most dangerous materials out there. If it gets into the air, you can breathe it into your lungs where it can then cause breathing complications.