Nowadays, it is no problem to a obtain test kits for asbestos testing either online or in a home supply stores. Let us have a closer look at the available asbestos test kits. At first glance asbestos testing kits appeared to be an inexpensive way to find out whether or not you and your family are being exposed to asbestos unknowingly. However, are the available test kits really working?

There is actually a straight forward answer to this question. And the answer is "NO"! But why is it still important to test for asbestos? Exposure to asbestos can be directly linked to disease such as asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. Here is what typically happens: a person, either at his working place or in his home, might inhale toxic asbestos fibers through the air he breathes in.

All of the three aforementioned illnesses have a long latency period. It may take many years up to several decades until a person exhibits the first symptoms. Unfortunately, by then the disease has typically already spread into an advanced stage. But let's go back and talk about asbestos test kits. If you prefer to do the asbestos testing yourself as opposed to hire a professional asbestos testing company, you need to make sure before you purchase anything, that costs of that test kits also cover the lab fees that apply to half the samples tested on toxicity.

Test kit, is actually a misnomer, because you can't do actual asbestos testing with it. It basically just provides you with container and a couple of little tools to gather the samples. But again the actual analysis of the material can only be done in a specialized laboratory. In essence, the test kits don't help you at all in order to find out whether you are being exposed to asbestos. Most of the asbestos testing kits are nothing else but just a bunch of Ziploc like transparent plastic backs to put your samples in. At this point you may rightfully ask yourself why to buy a home asbestos test kit at all. And this is pretty much the same question I asked myself, too.

But there is another and even more significant aspect that needs to be taken into consideration. Getting the samples together yourself puts you at a high risk regarding your health. It is therefore advisable to hire a professional asbestos testing company. They have the necessary gear to collect the samples safely and sent them over to their affiliate lab for testing. That certainly costs you more than buying an asbestos testing kit online -- but as we already assessed, they are useless anyway. So where is the point?

In sum: in my opinion it makes definitely more sense to have an expert coming over to your house to gather the samples and have been doing the testing.