Asbestos Removal in Hitchin

How To Dispose Of Asbestos?

As a homeowner, you certainly wouldn’t like to the word “asbestos” and understandably so. Due to its extremely dangerous fibres, the material was banned in the UK since 1999 and any structure built with it will be heavily fined. However, if you’re presently doing some home improvement project or buying a property that was built before the year 2000, then a chance exists that the property could contain asbestos. So if you’re unlucky to discover asbestos in your property, getting rid of it can be quite simple if you know way around it. In this article, we’ll provide you with some tips on how to dispose of asbestos in your property. Let’s take a closer look!

✓ Careful Handling

If you happen to find asbestos in your property the best thing to do is to call in a reliable specialist who has the proper training and equipment to tackle the project. However, if you decide to handle it yourself, then it’s a must to do this with great care. For instance wearing safety gloves, dust mask, safety goggles and placement of asbestos into plastic bags would be a great idea.

✓ Take It To The Tip By Yourself

To save some money if you have access to a vehicle, then loading the bagged asbestos into your car and driving it to the nearest local tip would be a simple and cost effective alternative. However, you should check with your local authorities before attempting this.

✓ Use A Specialist

Hiring a professional asbestos removal contractor is simply the best way to dispose of asbestos. Their services may be a bit expensive, but they cover up for that in both speed and effectiveness.

✓ Use Your Council’s Asbestos Collection Service

Several councils off this services at a reduced cost. However, they are usually not as quick as a specialist contractor.

Asbestos fibres are very small, so they’re not possible to identify with the naked eye. However, they’re common in particular materials of a certain age, so you can work out if there are any parts of a building that are likely to contain asbestos.

Start by checking the date that the material you suspect contains asbestos was installed. If it was in 2000 or after then you don’t need to worry, it definitely doesn’t contain asbestos. However, if it was fitted before 2000 it may contain asbestos, particularly if this was between 1940 and 1980.

Materials that used to commonly contain asbestos include ceiling tiles, guttering, soffits, fascia, external cladding and facades, vinyl flooring, artex, cement roofs and insulation.

Many examples of asbestos will not need removing, for example if it is present in artex that is in good condition. However, if you are carrying out building work on or near the asbestos it should be carefully removed before the building work starts to make sure it is not accidentally disturbed.

In some situations, it is possible to remove asbestos from your home without holding a licence. However, unless you’ve had training on working with asbestos, it’s not a good idea to do the work yourself. In these cases, you’ll need to make sure you wear complete protective clothing, including a face mask and overalls, and disturb the material as little as possible. You’ll also need to find out the best place to dispose of your asbestos here [https://www.gov.uk/asbestos-in-home], and get rid of your protective clothing in the same place.

However, in many cases you’ll need a licence to do an asbestos removal job, so will need to call in a professional. This is also almost always the safest way to remove your asbestos too, so is generally the best option to go for.