Asbestos in artex...

[jessicamcelvaney]

Forgive me if this turns out to be a stupid or pointless post..

About 18 months ago we had the bathroom decorated. My Dad and brother did it. We had some foul artex that my dad and brother removed with a sander (yes, I know..)
It was SO messy. I remember it was absolutely EVERYWHERE like a dustcloud throughout the house..

I've just been informed that artex can contain asbestos. I'm now really really worried. The house was just hoovered and wiped and that's that but I'm told it should have been cleaned using specialist equipment :/ like I say it was 18 months ago but are we still at risk of lingering fibres?

 

[flameport]

it was 18 months ago but are we still at risk of lingering fibres?

Probably not, but if it was asbestos, the damage is already done - the vast clouds of dust would have been a high risk to anyone in the building at the time.

It's not a question of cleaning up the mess afterwards with 'specialised equipment' - it should not have been sanded in the first place.

 

[jessicamcelvaney]

Well yeah I know this now lol my dad is now saying it wasn't even artex because it was nowhere near thick enough.. So I don't know. I know the damage is already done so that's that. Just wanted to make sure that there was no risk of the asbestos still lingering around - I really know very little about the stuff other than that it's really, really bad for you

 

[jessicamcelvaney]

it was 18 months ago but are we still at risk of lingering fibres?

Probably not, but if it was asbestos, the damage is already done - the vast clouds of dust would have been a high risk to anyone in the building at the time.

It's not a question of cleaning up the mess afterwards with 'specialised equipment' - it should not have been sanded in the first place.

Thanks for the reply anyway.. Even at the time I thought "ffs did you have to sand it" absolutely everything was coated in dust

 

[JohnD]

if there is any of the artex still around, you could send a sample to an asbestos testing lab. It is not very expensive.

BTW you can sometimes remove it be wetting so it softens, and scraping off.

 

[jessicamcelvaney]

None around now so I guess we will never know! I think my dad said they removed theirs by using wallpaper paste and a scraper so God knows why he used the sander here!!

 

[blightymam]

How old is your property? Recent homes may not have had asbestos in them anyway.. and if it makes you feel better, although exposure is bad, it's continual exposure that seems to do the damage.

 

[jessicamcelvaney]

How old is your property? Recent homes may not have had asbestos in them anyway.. and if it makes you feel better, although exposure is bad, it's continual exposure that seems to do the damage.

Yeah its old, like 1952 it was built. My dad's saying it's fine because it's unlikely the "artex" (if that is what it was) was put up then, as it was in quite good condition and didn't look 60 years old.. I suppose you're right about the continuous exposure. I'm not sure there is asbestos anywhere else. Would it have shown up on the servey ect before we purchased? Not sure what those things cover..

 

[misterhelpful]

Asbestos used in Artex was stopped in the mid 80's, but stock could have still been used up until 1999, so the possibility of it being present is a concern. However, the damage has already been done so it isn't really worth dwelling on. Using a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter to minimise any risk from rogue fibres laying around would probably be beneficial, as would wet cleaning with a carpet washer, but neither guarantees anything, especially with the work having been done so long ago.

Copied from one of my previous replies on the subject:

There is a risk to anyone's health when it comes to asbestos fibres but you have to remember that it was white asbestos (chrysotile) that was used in Artex, which is the least dangerous. In some cases, the asbestos fibres would be added by hand to the mix by the Artexers, and the amount of fibres in Artex are relatively low - I seem to recall it being less than 2%. That said, I still wouldn't like to be breathing in the dust now that we know how dangerous asbestos is.

 

[blightymam]

I've no idea about surveys, I think if a surveyor sees damage which may include asbestos then they should report it? I can't remember our survey report and we're in a Victorian property. I guess the likelihood of asbestos being in a house or garage is quite high one way or another, unless a newer build.

Asbestos is okay-ish, as long as treated with respect. Sanding not a good idea of course, I wouldn't let your pop help you with anything like that again without checking first!

 

[jessicamcelvaney]

Asbestos used in Artex was stopped in the mid 80's, but stock could have still been used up until 1999, so the possibility of it being present is a concern. However, the damage has already been done so it isn't really worth dwelling on. Using a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter to minimise any risk from rogue fibres laying around would probably be beneficial, as would wet cleaning with a carpet washer, but neither guarantees anything, especially with the work having been done so long ago.

Copied from one of my previous replies on the subject:

There is a risk to anyone's health when it comes to asbestos fibres but you have to remember that it was white asbestos (chrysotile) that was used in Artex, which is the least dangerous. In some cases, the asbestos fibres would be added by hand to the mix by the Artexers, and the amount of fibres in Artex are relatively low - I seem to recall it being less than 2%. That said, I still wouldn't like to be breathing in the dust now that we know how dangerous asbestos is.

We've shampooed the carpet with our vax many times since so hopefully that will eliminate any risk there.. I suppose in the grand sceme of things it's not worth worrying about.. Damage is indeed done now. Just fingers crossed it's not done any real damage! Or that it was actually just textured pain lt like my mum seems to think

God knows why anyone would ever artex anything anyway.. Absolutely hideous lol

 

[blightymam]

God knows why anyone would ever artex anything anyway.. Absolutely hideous lol

Agree completely but it does hide a lot of flaws!

 

[misterhelpful]

God knows why anyone would ever artex anything anyway.. Absolutely hideous lol

I'm guessing you are under 30....it was the in thing once upon a time!

 

[Grenage]

I think a decent pattern can still look very nice...

 

[jshailes]

We're currently in the process of plastering over artex and sanded it down last weekend. The plasterer told us to send a sample away for testing so I contacted a testing company (asbestos watchdog) and had long and interesting response, essentially explaining that asbestos got it's bad name from a couple of particular types of asbestos and not all types are dangerous (one of which is used in artex). Here' a few paragraphs:

Firstly there is NO measurable risk to your health from any white asbestos[ chrysotile ] in Artex or any other domestic product containing white asbestos like asbestos cement roofing , lino, bitumen and adhesives etc .


This may surprise you given the hysteria surrounding the popular and totally incorrect presumption that one fibre of asbestos will kill you if a domestic asbestos product is disturbed.


However the health risk aside you do have to respect the Governments regulations especially as they relate to disposal of asbestos products . I have attached below the directions for getting a sample tested if you would like us to confirm if your materials are asbestos containing


In 1996 the Health and Safety Executive [HSE ] published a peer reviewed research paper showing that white asbestos [ chrysotile ]in its raw form was not a cause of the asbestos cancer mesothelioma not were the products like asbestos cement and artex considered to do any harm to human health. This report was later confirmed by a further paper published by the HSE that includes the histogram below clearly proving that any risk from white asbestos known as chrysotile is considered immeasurable or in simple terms , zero .