Cleaning asbestos siding
 

Hello all,
Was wondering if anyone has had to wash asbestos siding. Power wash or use a bucket w/soap & brush? Currently has a algae (sp) look on some parts of the house. Would like to paint eventually. Thanks for any tips!:thumbsup: GG

Pay a neighbor that you don't like to do it! LOL

Can't it kill you?

Here asbestos is considered a low risk hazard. Asbestos only becomes an air born hazard when rubbed scraped, ( I would consider power washing, a very poor idea). I would wet down the siding with a detergent based water solution. let it sit and rinse off with water. Just let the water run from the nozzle with out a spray head. Do not scrub. This would method will wash any loose fibers into the soil where it would be contained. Use a resperator and on of those tyveck suirs with a hood. rinse the suit off before taking it off. When the suit is off double beg it and dispose of it along with the resperitor filters. Do not udse the paper mask it is a poor system.

As for painting spray the paint on to the siding.


Standard asbestos removal is to spray the exposed asbestos with spray glue ( I have used a glossy spray paint, this creats an exterior bond that stops the asbestos particals from becoming airborn

Exposure for some people can lead to cancer, it may take many years.

I have worked with asbestos sheets as a kid in the 70's protecting cabin walls from the wood stoves. It was used as siding, plumbing pipes, white asbestos fiber tape in the duct wrappings in houses and steam pipes in larger boats, fishing trawlers, navy and merchant ships. Fireman coats and fire blankets, etc..

Thanks Silversvt04-
Is it wise to use a suit & respirator? Could purchasing a pump sprayer & sometype of solvent help? The spray glue you mentioned, what is it used mainly for? Gotta find someone I truly dislike to do this project. lol Thanks again. GG

I am a licensed abatement supervisor and asbestos inspector in 5 states... That doesn't give me all the answers but, here's my suggestion...

It's pretty low risk...

While transite siding is normally around 25% chrysotile, using wet cleaning methods to remove algae and such is of very low risk, in my professional opinion. What one would need to avoid is significant scrubbing and/or abrasion while dry to avoid allowing the fibers to become airborne. Being that transite siding is NOT friable (i.e.: cannot powderize the material by simple hand strength), it is a bit easier to work on...

That said, if you have some tiles that are significantly damaged, you may want to abstain from working on those portions. Keeping everything significantly wet is important. Using a surfactant (soap) is also important as it'll help to keep the material wet (and chrysotile is easily wetted - unlike amosite).

As for personal protective equipment (PPE), that's up to you. If it were me, I'd consider a respirator with a HEPA cartridge only if I felt that I wouldn't be able to keep it significantly wetted. As for a tyvek suit (or similar), it's probably not a bad idea as you do not want to bring any potential fibers into the interior of your house (or as minimal as possible -- then again, if you have transite on the exterior, there's a good chance that some of the interior building materials may be asbestos-containing (which, by regulation is anything greater than 1% by weight (federal regulation )).

The key with asbestos is that it's not necessarily 'dose related' with regards to the potential problems that it can cause. While one person may work around asbestos all of their lives and never develop a cancer like mesothelioma or a lung disease like asbestos, the next guy may handle it ONCE and get it. Again, these diseases are NOT dose specific so, your first hit may get you -- then again, you may never experience an ill effect.

The ultra conservative answer is that you wear all necessary PPE (including gloves -- asbestos-caused lesions on the skin are real -- this is when a fiber of asbestos (or even fiber glass) goes in to you like a splinter). When removing your PPE, be sure to do it in a well ventilated area and even consider spraying yourself off with the hose prior to doffing your gear. If there are kids playing outside, discourage them from being near you (or even down-wind).

Again, the risk is somewhat minor but, one hit may be all it takes... and the latency of asbestos-related illnesses can be 30 years before you know that you've been affected (I have to undergo annual physicals to work within this industry -- which includes a chest x-ray every second year)).

Any other questions, feel free to ask...

...another consideration...

As the siding is of significant content, when you're wetting the material and it's hitting the ground, it's likely that the water has now potentially contaminated the ground with fibers.

Now, this may not seem like that big of a deal but, when summer rolls around and you're ripping along the side of the house with your weed-eater, it may cause some of this to, again, become airborne... another consideration.

Asbestos siding is fantastic stuff that can last forever... cementacious asbestos materials, such as transite, are simply great materials but, like you're seeing, they have to be respected -- and I totally understand you asking the question of what to worry about with this material... It's a very good question to ask...

Thanks for the info Rockpick. Looking at purchasing this home w/abestos siding,
needs to cleaned on three sides of the house. Been reading up on this type of materiAL
& kinda scaring me a bit. (do's & dont's) I'll have more questions I'm sure. GG

"I am a licensed abatement supervisor and asbestos inspector in 5 states... That doesn't give me all the answers but, here's my suggestion..."

Boy, a little humility is really refreshing here and a damn good pair of posts. :bows:

Rockpick doesn't really know all of that, but he did stay at a Holiday Inn last night. :D


To the OP, try licking it. :devil:

If the siding has mold or mildew on it, it has a moisture control problem. Before I would consider buying a house with a moisture control problem I'd want to know why- plumbing leak, incorrect flashing, etc. Getting rid of the mold is as easy as spraying the siding with a mix of a tablespoon of Dawn in a hose end garden sprayer filled with Clorox. The Clorox will kill the mold on contact and the Dawn will provide sudsing action to make it turn loose. You can encapsulate the siding with a good GLOSS exterior acrylic paint and the asbestos threat goes to almost nothing.

If this is a house you are considering buying, I would might reconsider this purchase. The worry would be that in the future the regulations may change as how to handle asbestos. It could go as far as to make the house vendor remove the siding prior to resale or a large renovation. That has happened here with in ground oil tanks, including the testing for and removal of oil contimated soil. Cost my neighbout almost 12 grand.

There is asbestos sheets covering the outsulation on the foundation walls, of my house. I used this to reduce the asking price of the house when I bought it.


As for the spraying with glue.. It is a means to contain the fibers on the siding as to minamize air born fibers during removal.

What about washing it with trisodium phosphate or substitute? That's the best stuff out there for mildew removal.

Thanks for the replies---
The thought did cross my mind on tasting it,just to make sure it's mildew or mold. lol

Labnerd,
Since I live in Houston, I'm sure this is normal for this type or any type of exterior. I'm
sure I'll go with the dishwashing liquid & bleach method. The house is in good shape
(well taken care of) by the older gentleman that lived there.

I'll see if they come down a few grand to cover new siding.
Thanks for the input. GG