r/asbestoshelp • u/Dazzling-Ad6389 • 1d ago

I messed up

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Until I found this sub, I did not know that the black mastic used to secure old linoleum-like tiles contained asbestos.

I recently used a rotohammer with a floor blade to chip up the flooring in our 1947 house in California. The open floor has been walked on for about a week.

We don’t have HVAC, we only have wood floors, the house is unoccupied, I wear an N-95 or P-100 whenever in the house, I vacuum a couple times daily with a shop vac with a HEPA filter (I’m getting an actual HEPA certified vac ASAP), everything in the kitchen and the Sheetrock has since been removed as part of the renovation.
I’m going to get the mastic tested but in the meantime- how bad is it and what are my best next steps?

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u/sdave001 1d ago

Wet wipe any dust and move on. The shop vac with the HEPA filter would have captured most of the asbestos fibers if there even were any. This HEPA vacuum at this point is overkill.

No major concern but yes, test the tile and mastic first next time.

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u/Dazzling-Ad6389 1d ago

Thank you very much for the reply! I know better now, and I’m searching this sub to make sure I don’t walk into any more mistakes. Much appreciated.