# Proper mask to remove asbestos waterline covering?



## scgt1 (Jan 31, 2017)

So a neighbor of mine told me that the covering over the waterlines under our house is made out of asbestos (it's white instead of the black foam of today). House was built in 1953. Although the lines are copper at least from the ground up into the house. I would think copper lines were done way after asbestos use. The kitchen and back were remodeled in 2004 so maybe that is when they put in the copper don't know why they would have used asbestos then though to cover the pipes.


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## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

TSI (thermal systems insulation) is not a DIY type project. If you are not familiar with it and trained in its abatement, please, please, please, do not touch or disturb it. Not only can you expose yourself to some stuff you don't want to, but you can contaminate the entire home and its occupants.


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## scgt1 (Jan 31, 2017)

What we have is white but I'm not so sure it looks like that. I'll have to climb under there again and take a look at it.

Attached photos aren't really taken for this purpose since I was taking photos of the plumbing for the plumbing forum.


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## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

Asbestos and asbestos-based material can take on many forms and appearances (think old auto brake shoes). Given the 1950s vintage, a safe assumption could be made that it is asbestos but the only way to know definitively is to have it tested by an abatement service.

Regardless of a type of mask, I wouldn't touch it. You risk endangering yourself and others with long-term airborne health illnesses. Professional companies are trained and use protective clothing, proper ventilation and proper disposal (what would you do with it once you removed it?).

Another option to simply leave it alone. So long as you don't much with it, it will not become airborne. A surprising number of home products from that era contain asbestos (including ceiling and floor tiles and plaster) that are quite safe and inert so long as they are left undisturbed.


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## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

Unfortunately, at this point, that whole crawl will need abatement in that area where all of it has fallen to the ground. 

It is high friable and just needs the slightest touch to get it airborne. It is usually considered, of the residential strains of asbestos that we see, to be at the top of the dangerous type list.


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## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

Right. Missed in the photos.


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