How Spring Cleaning Can Reveal a Nasty Surprise About Your Home

With spring moving closer to summer and the holiday season, many people are getting their major clean-outs for the year done. Whether that involves throwing out all the impulse purchases they made during lockdown this year or simply calling in a few professional services like carpet or window cleaning to make their home feel that little bit nicer. However, there is a chance that this could reveal some unfortunate information about your home which will require immediate action. If your home is older than twenty or so years then there is a decent chance that any sort of major cleaning could reveal the presence of asbestos.

What Is Asbestos?

Asbestos was a material used in the construction of buildings (and many other products) for decades because of its strength and great fire resistance. What many people didn't know at the time, was that the fibre-like material was also extremely toxic to humans when it was inhaled and that it could lead to serious illnesses like lung cancer. For that reason, asbestos was banned in construction in Australia some twenty years ago, but a lot of it still remains in houses and buildings across the country today, just waiting to be uncovered.

Is It Always Dangerous?

When asbestos is undisturbed and in a secure place it is very unlikely it will cause any of the aforementioned negative consequences, which is why so many people do not know they even have asbestos. Asbestos is commonly found in insulation (although that is not the only place in your home it might be present), and unless you are doing some minor renovations or a major clean-out of your home, then there is little chance it will be disturbed. However, if the asbestos does get into the air, even just a little bit can cause you great physical danger.

What Do I Do?

If you have uncovered some fibrous-like material in your attic, walls, basement or anywhere on your property (including old sheds and granny flats) then you should call an asbestos removal company as soon as possible. They will be able to confirm or deny your suspicions and then act accordingly to remove the dangerous material so that you can replace it with something far safer. Leaving asbestos alone is not an option, you need to tackle this head-on as soon as you find out or it could cause severe ramifications down the track. Asbestos removal services are found in virtually all major Australian cities and towns so there will be one near you.