Vermiculite Insulation: DIY Safe Asbestos Removal

Vermiculite is a mineral that was one time all the rage in building insulation. With a minimum of a one-half-pct of asbestos, up to ten%, it was considered a perfect fireproofing textile. But at present that nosotros know the impairment asbestos has on our lungs, removing this undesirable building cloth has get common do. Vermiculite was still actively used as insulation in abode building all the way up to 1990, so information technology'south worth getting to know the substance and how to remove it.

Over  70% of the vermiculite used in America came from one mine in Montana.  That same mine was rich in asbestos which was candy at the same facility. Yous'll know it's vermiculite if it looks like tiny petty stones all along your cranium floor or in the walls.

vermiculite insulation

Photo By JUDY GRIESEDIECK/Star Tribune via Getty Images

Examination The Vermiculite

This is the extreme edge of construction or deconstruction for the homeowner. Yous must test the content of this textile first before you piece of work with it.  If it tests above one-percent asbestos, it is fourth dimension to phone call in the professionals.

If it tests below one-percent, and none of information technology ever tests beneath half-a-percentage, then you lot every bit a homeowner tin remove it yourself. Annihilation above ane%, telephone call in a professional immediately.

How To Remove Vermiculite Yourself

There are few absolutes before nosotros become started.  You must vesture a total-face cartridge-style mask. A standard dust mask or N95 won't do the job. Get i that looks like it came off a World War I battlefield subsequently a poison gas attack. If vermiculite gets in your lungs it cannot be removed.

Side by side, be certain to never piece of work with dry vermiculite. You lot should moisten it before you begin, and add a mist of water constantly as you begin to remove layers of information technology. But think, if you tried to sweep upwards dust it flies into the air. Merely mopping information technology up ensures information technology stays put and is like shooting fish in a barrel to remove.

A large store vacuum works best in attics.  Line the store vac with heavy-gauge plastic bags and offset sucking upwardly the vermiculite.  Each pocketbook should be securely airtight, taken to a storage area, and labeled. Y'all'll need to phone call your local landfill to meet the regulations on vermiculite transportation and storage. Most volition take it if information technology is under the one-percent asbestos threshold.

Your all-time friend equally the vermiculite spills, and it will, is a scoop shovel and a soft broom. Sweeping with a heavy bristled broom just increases the vermiculite (and asbestos) dust in the air, something you must avoid.

shop vac sitting in empty room

Photo Credit: Pexels

Removing From A Wall Vs. Roof

When it's out of the roof, you can supervene upon it with blow-in fiberglass insulation, or bats of fiberglass insulation in pre-cut widths.

Walls are another story. If the vermiculate is packed inside a wall, you lot tin can often drill a hole between each prepare of studs at the bottom of the wall on the exterior with a hole saw.  Well-nigh of the vermiculate will fall out of the hole and direct into buckets or bags if you're careful. A shop vac shoved into the hole takes care of the rest. You can fill the wall back upwardly with foam insulation, merely that usually requires a professional, with professional person-course equipment.

vermiculite in attic

Photo Credit: EPA

Disposing of Vermiculite

In one case it's all been removed, yous'll need to ship information technology to a sanctioned landfill. Many landfills require you to transport it within a covered trailer with heavy plastic bags properly labeled and sealed.

vermiculite trash bags

Heavy gauge trash bags are necessary for vermiculite removal – Photo by Amazon.com

This is a job you tin do yourself, but it's usually done past professional asbestos abatement crews, and it is not inexpensive. You may be able to recover some of your expenses with an application to the Zonolite Attic Insulation Trust. Zonolite is the company that produced this stuff originally. The trust volition pay up to 55 percent of the removal cost with a maximum payment of $iv,125. You can learn more about the programme at zonoliteatticinsulation.com

At the end of the day, make sure y'all stay safe and remove this harmful substance if you discover information technology.