# Asbestos in carpet clue? what to do



## vi_lontano (Feb 10, 2012)

We are pulling up rugs in our family home.
Once a foyer rug and those metal plates in the doorway
to hold the rugs down came up we had two "carpet sandwiches".

The top layer are rugs put down in the mid-80s and they are
clearly simply tacked (not glued).
The bottom layer are rugs put down in the mid-70s. They have a 
black pad that has either melted or been ? glued ? to the wood plank sub-floor and the black padding is crumbly to the touch. We don't recall
it being glued but it is a long time ago.


Concerns:
If glued could it be asbestos glue?
If asbestos glue, could it have somehow "seeped" into
the rubber padding and possibly released when that padding crumbles?

Is this something we could test ourselves? If so any suggestions?
(because of the crumbly nature of the pad not sure how to
proceed)

If it is better to leave the bottom rugs undisturbed...
can we pull up the top ones without causing a "potential"
asbestos problem?
Do we need to seal up those exposed edges 
and HOW would you do that?

YIKES
I hate asbestos...


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

It's safe to just scrape up and take it to the dump. We deal with it all the time.
We just use a flat shovel to scrape and scoop it up.
Wear a dust mask because it can get dusty.


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## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

That sounds like a black foam rubber pad that has rotted and stuck to the floor--
usually getting that damp and scraping with a razor knife will get most of it off.

Asbestos? Seriously doubt it---the black cutback adhesive had been retired long befor that rug was installed---

However if you are one to be concerned about this--go to the Ace Hardware and ask for a mail order asbestos test kit--


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