If you’ve recently found out that your house is filled with asbestos, you might be scouring the internet right now for instructions on how to remove it. While you’re right on the idea of removing it as soon as possible, asbestos is not something to mess with.
Removing it is a job meant only for professionals and not for DIY enthusiasts.
A little background on asbestos
Asbestos was a popular construction material back in the 70s and 80s. It was widely used in building houses because of its great insulation and fireproofing qualities.
However, it’s been found out that using this substance has health risks that are tied with it. Asbestos is basically made of microdust or microfibres. Once you’ve inhaled these fibres accidentally, they can reach your lungs and damage your entire respiratory system.
That’s why nobody uses it anymore.
So, is DIY asbestos removal safe?
If you think that your house was built in the 70s or 80s, there’s a great chance that it’s filled with asbestos.
So if you’re planning to renovate your house yourself, it might be better if you have your house inspected first for asbestos. Removing it yourself is the last thing you want to do, trust us.
No matter how much you love DIYs or how tight you are with the budget, it would be better if you take the necessary precautions. After all, it's your whole family’s health that’s at stake here.
We don’t mean to scare you, but below are only some of the diseases that you might get if you inhale asbestos dust.
- Lung Cancer
- Mesothelioma
- Asbestosis
Even though you’re a relatively healthy person, or even if you don’t smoke, you can still get lung cancer. Just by inhaling asbestos.
If you try to tear down your walls and it turns out that they are filled with asbestos, you’re already at risk of getting the disease.
What happens when you inhale the asbestos is that the dust will reach your lung tissues and as a result, they’ll get damaged until they turn into cancerous cells.
And from there, everything can go south.
Another form of cancer that’s caused by inhalation of asbestos is mesothelioma. While it occurs only on the linings of the organs like the heart, lungs, and abdomen, it’s something that no one would wish to have.
Once you’ve inhaled the asbestos, the microfibres will lodge onto the mesothelial cells and result in inflammations and, eventually, tumours.
Normally, it takes 20-50 years to develop after asbestos exposure. But don’t get too comfortable because it’s still an aggressive form of cancer. People who are diagnosed with mesothelioma often experience difficulty in breathing and occasional chest pains.
Also, they are often given just 1-2 years of life expectancy after the diagnosis.
Asbestos is non-cancerous. However, it’s still something that you wouldn’t want to have.
Asbestosis is a chronic respiratory disease that is often characterized by the scarring of the lungs due to the inhalation of asbestos.
This scarring impedes the expansion of the lungs when inhaling some air. So if you get asbestosis, you will experience shortness of breath and tightness in the chest. Also, you will hear a dry crackling sound in the lungs every time you breathe in some air.
In some cases, asbestosis can lead to hypertension or worse, cardiac failure. This is because of the scarring that can restrict the arteries from pumping blood from the heart to the rest of the body.
This disease presents itself 20-30 years after asbestos exposure.