Is There Asbestos In My Vinyl Flooring

Mastic is a type of glue used to adhere tiles and vinyl flooring to the subfloor.

Is there asbestos in my vinyl flooring.

Our photo left shows armstrong excelon 12x12 vinyl asbestos flooring made in 1972 identified in our floor tile photo guide asbestos floor tile identification photos 1949 1959 detailed photo guide to asphalt asbestos and vinyl asbestos floor tiles and resilient flooring produced in 1900 1980. There are countless residential homes here in the northeast that were built before the 1980 s. Unfortunately vinyl sheet flooring manufactured with an asbestos backing poses a serious exposure risk when it is disturbed. While there are some 12x12 vinyl tiles that don t contain asbestos we ve certainly had asbestos test lab reports back that did find asbestos in 12x12 vinyl flooring so in my opinion it makes sense to treat your 1970s flooring as containing asbestos or to have a sample tested before removal.

Often times the homeowner is unaware of the asbestos tile flooring at all. Tiles are safer to remove than the sheeting because the asbestos is held together by the vinyl which is not hazardous. Asbestos was used in vinyl wallpaper from the 1920s and in the vinyl floor tiles and sheet flooring that rose to prominence in the 1950s. Like floor tiles vinyl sheet flooring is a long lasting and economical material and it also offers more aesthetic options to suit a homeowner s taste.

Because linoleum was invented long before vinyl people often refer to both types of flooring as linoleum but there s a big difference. Vinyl asbestos tiles should not be sanded and the glue that holds the tiles to the floor should not be sanded either. Linoleum is an all natural floor covering composed of dried linseed oil wood dust cork and jute and it doesn t contain asbestos. Having this type of flooring was popular during the 1980s.

Therefore inspect your home s flooring and see if you have vinyl flooring. If your building was built before 1980 mastic mixed with asbestos may have been used to seal your tiles to the floor. Vinyl asbestos tile vat where to begin. Therefore if you re staying in an old home there s a high probability that your flooring contains asbestos.

Needless to say most of them have asbestos tile installed somewhere inside. Possible signs of asbestos mastic include discoloration and an oily texture. Vinyl asbestos flooring comes in two types tiles and sheeting. Click here to read more.

Sanding will release dangerous quantities.