For a whole century and particularly in the period of the Second World War, asbestos was widely used for a whole myriad of products, especially in construction and and for insulation purposes. Asbestos pipe insulation found widespread use in all different kind of structures, including residential homes and public buildings. Despite its popularity asbestos containing materials bear a dangerous health risk. As those products get disturbed or start to deteriorate, toxic fibers will get airborne. And as these fibers find their way in a person's respiratory system, they can cause illnesses such as asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. In the United States alone, to this day and age, many homes still use asbestos containing materials.

However, the asbestos pipe insulation can be especially dangerous, because it is usually found close to heating and cooling systems. That means that if the insulation gets damaged, the toxic fibers may get distributed through the air system all throughout the house. Between the early 1900s and the 1970s, asbestos pipe insulation was practically used in every new construction to some extent. And there actually was a good reason. The asbestos in the insulation material made the product extremely resistant to heat and fire. But later on the public learned about the harmful properties of asbestos, which rather suddenly triggered a massive drop in demand of asbestos containing materials for obvious reasons. Because of the permanently increasing number of victims of asbestos induced diseases, the U.S. Government was forced to react and enacted a number of laws in order to regulate the production and use of asbestos products.
Many homeowners wanted to get rid of the material as soon as possible.



Asbestos Pipe Insulation
Image Courtesy of www.asbestosregisters.co.uk

However, removing an asbestos product can actually cause more harm than just leaving it alone. It all depends on the condition of the material. But ultimately, the only way to find out whether you and your family are at risk of contracting an illness related to asbestos exposure, is by hiring an asbestos testing company. Experts advise not to remove the pipe insulation yourself. It requires precaution, expertise and the right tools to carry out the job safely. But again, if you are uncertain, my best advice is to contact a testing company.

I personally don't think that the asbestos test kits you can buy online or in home improvement stores are any good. They basically consist of a couple of containers or zipp-bags and some rather exotically looking tools. But none of them can actually do asbestos testing. You still have to send the samples to a test lab to know whether you are having an asbestos problem or not. Hiring a testing company is definitely more expensive, however, at least you get results you can rely on.