Do Vinyl Floor Tiles Contain Asbestos

Vinyl floor tiles or sheet flooring were made or installed before 1986 should be treated as a floor covering presumed to contain asbestos or else have a sample tested and report the results here please.

Do vinyl floor tiles contain asbestos. But if you have a home built before the mid 20th century there is a good chance that the floor tiles contain asbestos. But that changes as soon as you decide to remove it. The asbestos floor tile identification articles in this series illustrate that with the combination of design appearance and an idea of floor tile age many asbestos containing floor tiles or sheet flooring products can be reliably identified even before confirmation by a test by a certified asbestos testing laboratory. I don t recognize that exact flooring pattern jack and am guessing it s an early 1980s vinyl sheet flooring.

Unfortunately vinyl tiles and sheet flooring that contain asbestos pose a potential exposure risk. Like floor tiles vinyl sheet flooring is a long lasting and economical material and it also offers more aesthetic options to suit a homeowner s taste. Many older homes have asbestos tiles for flooring. Unlike many asbestos containing materials vinyl asbestos flooring is generally safe to be around.

If the tiles were installed between 1960 and 1980 there s a slight chance they contain asbestos. If the material is in good condition it normally does not pose a threat because the asbestos is enclosed in vinyl preventing the fibres from escaping. Vinyl is a type of plastic that has long been a popular material for floor tiles and sheets. As time goes by and more homes are remodeled fewer homes contain asbestos tiles.