No Testing Needed & DIY Asbestos Removal

Asbestos123 has helped over 2 million visitors educate themselves about the dangers of asbestos exposure by providing safety guidelines.

In the era of do-it-yourself home renovations, we get lots of homeowners contacting us wanting to know how to remove asbestos as safely as possible. If appropriate safety precautions are taken, the self-removal of asbestos by a homeowner is permitted.

You do not need to go to the expense of testing to determine if asbestos is present, as the fibrous mineral was used extensively from the 1940s to the 1980s as a building material. If you want to purchase a home or want to remodel a home built in between these years, see below for materials that have asbestos in them:

  • pipe insulation (10% - 15% asbestos)
  • boiler insulation (75% – 90% asbestos)
  • furnace insulation (about 15% asbestos)
  • duct insulation (about 15% asbestos)
  • spray-on insulation - popcorn ceiling (up to 85% asbestos)
  • batt insulation (10% - 15% asbestos)
  • block insulation (80% - 85% asbestos)
  • corrugated air-cell insulation (15% - 25% asbestos)
  • HVAC insulation (15% asbestos)
  • electrical wiring insulation (15% - 25% asbestos)

Some brands of asbestos-containing insulation include:

  • Air Cell
  • Marinite
  • Superex
  • Thermobestos
  • Kaylo
  • Limpet
  • Zonolite
  • Monokote
  • Gold Bond
  • Super 66
  • Unibestos
  • Careytemp
  • Hy-Temp
  • Deltabeston wires
  • Ebony electric board
  • Electrobestos
  • Trancell
  • Vulcabestos
  • Bulldog
  • Murray
  • Sindanyo asbestos board
  • Bakelite Panels
  • Loose Wools Insulation
  • Therm-O-Flake Block Insulation
  • Armabestos Block Insulation and Covering
  • Armatemp Block Insulation
  • Armatemp Insulating Cement
  • Duplex Wool Felt Pipe Insulation
  • LK Block Insulation
  • Carey Block Insulation
  • Careytemp Block Insulation
  • Calcrete Insulating Cement
  • Griptex Block Insulation
  • Hilite Insulating Cement
  • Kaiser Hard Top Insulating Cement
  • Kaiser M Block Insulation
  • Super Caltemp Block Insulation
  • Super Caltemp Insulating Cement
  • Pabco 85% Magnesia Insulating Cement
  • Thermalkote Insulation Coating
  • 48 Block Insulation
  • Quik-Set Insulating Finishing Cement
  • ceiling tiles (5%-10% asbestos) - Celotex, Flintkote, Gyptone, National Gypsum Gold Bond, Owens Corning Fiberglass
  • acoustical plaster (1% asbestos) - Lite Acoustical Plaster, Patching Plaster, Gold Bond Sprayolite Acoustical Plaster, Kilnoise Acoustical Plaster, Arsitex Acoustical Spray Texture, Forbest Acoust-T-Coat, Red Top Audicote Acoustical Plaster, Hi-Lite Acoustical Plaster, Zonolite Acoustical Plaster
  • decorative plaster (1% asbestos) - Deco-Tex Ceiling Texture, Red Top Plaster, Sabinite Plaster, USG Plaster
    • vinyl floor tiles (1% asbestos) - Excelon Vinyl Asbestos Tiles, Solarian Vinyl Asbestos Tiles, KenFlex Vinyl Floor Tiles
    • vinyl sheet flooring (40% - 70% asbestos - Flor-Ever Vinyl, Fashionflor Cushioned Vinyl, Gold Seal Vinyl Inlaids, Gold Seal Vinyl Nairon Standard, Style House Vinyl Asbestos Flooring
    • asphalt floor tiles (about 70% asbestos) - GF-8 Floor Tile Cement, Vinylflex Floor Tiles
    • roofing felt (15% - 20%) - Blue Chip Roofing Felt, Raybestos Pyrotex Felt, Fiberock Felt, AAA Roofing Felt, FlexFelt, Carey Fiberock Felt
    • flatsheet (5% - 20% asbestos) - Careycel Insulated Sheathing, Panelstone Asbestos Cement Sheeting, Asbestos Roofing Mastic, Black Cat Roof Coating
    • corrugated asphalt sheet (15% - 20% asbestos) - Gold Bond Corrugated Roofing, Transit Corrugated Roofing and Siding, Ambler Asbestos Corrugated Sheathing, Century Asbestos Corrugated Roofing, Ambler Corrugated Roofing and Siding
    • patching compounds (3% - 5% asbestos) - Flexi-Patch, Synko Patch-All, BOF Patch, Stucco “N” Cement Patch
    • interior walls (3% - 6% asbestos)
    • wallboard (1% - 10% asbestos)
    • sheetrock (1% - 10% asbestos)
    • drywall (1% - 10% asbestos)
    • vinyl wall coverings (1% - 10% asbestos)
    • faux brick wall cladding (1% - 10% asbestos)
    • textures paints and coatings (10% - 20% asbestos)
    • siding (1% - 10% asbestos)
    • plasterboard (1% asbestos)
    • gypsum board (3% - 6% asbestos)
    • stucco (1% - 10% asbestos)
    • vinyl wallpapers (1% - 10% asbestos)

    Some brands of wall materials containing asbestos include:

    • Cover-Tex Wall Texture
    • Paco Wall Texture
    • Paco-Tex Wall Texture
    • Tilux marble finish wall panel
    • Asbestone Cement Wallboard
    • Gold Bond Wallboard
    • Synko Prime-Rite Wall Size
    • Texwall
    • Vinyl Tex Wall Surface Conditioner Paste
    • Drywall Adhesive
    • Bestwall Joint Compound
    • Bestwall Bedding Compound
    • Bestwall Topping Compound
    • Bestwall All Purpose Joint Compound
    • Bestwall Texture
    • Bestwall Lite Acoustic
    • Bestwall Triple Duty Joint Compound
    • Bestwall Kalite Acoustical Texture
    • Bestwall Patching Plaster
    • Bestwall Ready Mix Joint Compound
    • Bestwall Spackling Compound
    • Bestwall Speed Set Joint Compound
    • Denswall Texture
    • Hamilton Wall Texture
    • California Whiteline Wall Texture
    • Hi-Stipple Wall Texture
    • Hi-Miler Wall Texture
    • Ez Spray Wall Texture
    • Cover-Tex Wall Texture
    • fibrous cement sheet (10% - 90% asbestos)
    • cement wall cladding (10% - 90% asbestos)
    • cement flues in boilers, air conditioning, and ventilation systems (10% - 15% asbestos)
    • cement water pipes (10% - 90% asbestos)
    • cement sewage pipe (10% - 90% asbestos)
    • cement downpipes (10% - 90% asbestos)
    • cement gutters (10% - 15% asbestos)
    • molded fittings (10% - 15% asbestos)
    • pressure pipes (10% - 15% asbestos)
    • infill panels (10% - 15% asbestos)
    • soffits and undercloak (10 – 15% asbestos)

    Some brands of cement materials containing asbestos include:

    • Gold Bond 340 Insulating Cement
    • Narcocast Refractory Cement
    • Narcotab Refractory Cement
    • Staz-On Insulating Cement
    • Unicote Insulating Cement
    • Redi-Mix Cement
    • Plisulate Insulating Cement
    • Insulag Refractory Cement
    • Insulbox Refractory Cement
    • Insuline Refractory Cement
    • Panel Refractory Cement
    • Panelbond Refractory Cement
    • Waterproof Cement
    • Quigley Refractory Cement
    • Carey Insulating Cement
    • Carey Mw-50 Cement
    • All-Weather Plastic Cement
    • Perf-A-Tape Joint Cement
    • Cominco Monoply Insulating Cement
    • Zonolite High-Temperature Insulating Cement
    • Cominco All-Purpose Insulating Cement
    • Cominco Mono-Ply Insulating Cement
    • Mono-Kote Cement
    • joint compounds (3% - 6% asbestos) - All Purpose Joint Cement, One-Day Joint Compound, Bondex Joint Compound, CertainTeed Joint Treating Compound, Reardon’s All Purpose Joint Topping
    • caulk (25% - 90% asbestos) - Dum-Dum Caulk, Dexall Caulking Compound, 3M Caulk
    • adhesives (1% - 25% asbestos) - Fibrous Adhesive, 3M Wet Adhesives, Armorcote Adhesive, Dum-Dum Masonic Adhesive, Aerospace Adhesive, Dri-Kote Adhesive
    • tapes (3% - 6% asbestos) - Perf-A-Tape Joint Cement
    • putty (3% - 6% asbestos) - Penncraft Water Putty, Multi-Patch, Spackling Compound, Bestwall Spackling Compound
    • thermal taping compounds (10% - 90% asbestos) - WeatherKote Protective Thermal Coat, Utility Thermal Finishing Cement
    • gloves (40% - 100% asbestos) - Asbestos Gloves
    • threads (10% - 90% asbestos) - Multi-Purpose Textile Finish
    • rope (10% - 90% asbestos) - K & M Rope Packing
    • fire blankets (10% - 90% asbestos)
    • oven mitts (40% - 100% asbestos)
    • pot holders (10% - 90% asbestos)
    • ironing board covers (up to 40% asbestos)
    • electrical cloth (10% - 90% asbestos) - Guardian Asbestos Cloth, Speedlag Cloth
    Asbestos Identification

    However, if you do decide to use an asbestos self-sampling kit, follow the instructions carefully for the best results and apply full asbestos safety precautions to avoid potentially exposing yourself when collecting samples of material suspected of containing asbestos.

    Usually, asbestos testing kits for do-it-yourself testing work in a two-step process:

    Here are some safe, simple, and reliable asbestos testing kits for DIY testing:

    Another option is the specialized asbestos cleanup companies. Here is one we recommend:

    If you need more information do not hesitate to reach out to us.

    Asbestos Identification