Vinyl Wallpaper Asbestos

The wondrous new no wax flooring sold by companies such as congoleum put a glossy sheen on post war american prosperity.

Vinyl wallpaper asbestos.

But the flooring companies aim wasn t so much to make the floor tiles fireproof as it was to make the tiles more durable. This old wallpaper as well as the wallpaper paste contained some form of asbestos. In those cases it was actually. This friable state can turn to dust and release millions of microscopic asbestos fibers into the room.

Asbestos is a mineral that lends fireproofing qualities to any substance it is mixed with. However if the wallpaper is in a high traffic area or touched frequently it s a good idea to remove it as this is likely to cause exposure. If you do have old vinyl wallpaper in your home it could contain asbestos and should be carefully and promptly removed or replaced. Removing old wallpaper can be down right dangerous.

If you are in a home where vinyl wallpaper was hung prior to the late 90s then there is a good chance it has asbestos in it. In addition to being so cheap asbestos was desirable because asbestos is heat resistant making your house safer from fire though not making it safe from asbestos exposure. If done incorrectly it can release the asbestos in to your home. If you are thinking about buying new wallpaper and wondering if it has asbestos in it the answer is no.

Asbestos was used in vinyl wallpaper because it was cheap lightweight durable and fire resistant. For wallpaper asbestos would be found in the finest wallpaper usually found in large 40 room houses not a typical flat. In addition vinyl wallpaper typically contained asbestos an extremely harmful chemical that is known to cause mesothelioma. Dried asbestos fibers in vinyl wallpaper can broke down and crumble.

In the late 1970s when it was made widely known how toxic asbestos was vinyl wallpaper was no longer manufactured using asbestos but products containing the deadly mineral continued to be sold through the 1980s. If your home was remodeled with wallpaper between 1930 through the late 1980 s you may be at risk for asbestos exposure. Asbestos has been used in vinyl wallpaper since the 1920s and vinyl floor tiles and sheet flooring rose to prominence in the 1950s. If present it would be in the backing.