Old Attic Insulation Dangerous

The tiny fibers of glass from insulation wool can irritate your skin and eyes.

Old attic insulation dangerous. Dangers of asbestos contaminated vermiculite insulation in your home vermiculite insulation between floor joists in attic vermiculite is a popular insulation material but much of the vermiculite used in the u s. Mold and fungus will damage and discolor the walls floors and ceilings in homes. And as we all know asbestos hardly needs an introduction anymore. A few more examples of old insulation are sawdust balsa wood shredded newspaper and loose fill cellulose.

Homeowners can also come across fiberglass insulation during repairing or clearing out the attic. If you experience too much contact with fiberglass it can cause what s called irritant contact dermatitis or inflammation of the skin. If the insulation is not properly sealed off it can get into air vents and circulate through the building. Pull up and dispose of any material that s compressed water stained or moldy it s useless.

If you ve ever come in contact with fiberglass you already know what it can do to your skin. Signs of asbestos contamination one of the biggest problems with old attic insulation types is that some of them are contaminated with asbestos. Formaldehyde off gasing is a concern so this product is no longer on the market. Old attic insulation types.

Attic insulation dangers asbestos. Most people are aware of the dangers of asbestos which may cause cancer and other health problems. Types of dangerous old insulation although most people are aware of the dangers of asbestos there are a few more types of hazardous insulation that are commonly found in older homes. As we mentioned previously vermiculite can often come with some asbestos mixed into it.

How to identify dangerous asbestos insulation. Believe it or not there are situations in a home when you should remove the old attic insulation before adding more over the existing and in this short video. Asbestos is the category name given to any one of several naturally occurring minerals. Fiberglass insulation is not generally considered to be dangerous but it can irritate the skin and respiratory system.

Two types of old insulation that are dangerous to your health are urea formaldehyde foam which is usually gray or yellow and brittle and asbestos. Grab a tape measure and a flashlight to see what kind of insulation you already have in the attic and how deep it is. Then use the numbers in the chart at right to estimate its r value.