How To Clean Fiberglass Out Of Carpet

Fiberglass Hazards Indoors, FAQs
Q&A on fibreglass exposure, cleaning, remedy

POST a QUESTION or COMMENT about fiberglass dust, particle, & mold hazards in buildings

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Fiberglass hazards in buildings:

This article series provides information about how to identify fiberglass insulation in buildings and fiberglass hazards and fiberglass insulation contamination issues in residential and light-commercial buildings.

The fiberglass research literature is replete with studies indicating that there are no health hazards associated with airborne fiberglass particles, and with other studies reaching quite the opposite conclusion.

We recommend that readers examine carefully the methodology used in such studies, the expertise of the researchers, and the sources financing of such work.

We also provide an ARTICLE INDEX for this topic, or you can try the page top or bottom SEARCH BOX as a quick way to find information you need.

Q&A on Fiberglass Insulation Hazards set 1

Airborne dust shown by flashlight (C) Daniel Friedman Frequently-asked questions & answers about exposure to fiberglass or fiberglass dust & fragments in buildings: the sources, causes, health concerns, & remedies.

These questions and answers about the hazards of exposure to fiberglass or fiberglass dust in and around buildings were posted originally at FIBERGLASS HAZARDS - topic home. Be sure to review that article.

@Anonymous, our most-complete guidance on this fiberglass particle concern is organized at

FIBERGLASS HAZARDS - topic home - https://inspectapedia.com/Fiberglass/Fiberglass_Hazards.php

And you might consider that other small particle or even chemical irritants could be at work.
You'll also wan to discuss this problem with your doctor.
and ask her about Morgellons' Syndrome to see if that helps.

Help I'm at my wits end does anyone else suffer from supersensitivity to the microscopic particles of fibre glass so much so that it never stops

, I know it must be rare as I ve scoured the Internet and found no-one, its not the small fibres that irritate everyone it's the sub micron particles that are left in the air that can't really be got rid of that go everywhere

Clothes soft furnishings walls carpets etc, my loft was opened and chimney drew dust down I had to have builders in, I'm a tenant so I had no choice. I've had to move house twice because of this. It's just continuous itching and irritation day and night, no sleep I've just bought a tyvek suit to get some respite. Ps it's definitely the fibre glass particles as when I'm out of the house it stops. I've had this problem for years but no one understands or takes me seriously.

When I move again I just have to pray the landlord doesn't want to access the loft.
I'm not holding out much hope that il get an answer but I keep trying on different sites and places thanks Robbie

Mayra

Thank you for the photo of the insulation mess caused by a ceiling collapse. Do we know what caused the ceiling to fall-in ? That may tell us the level of risk that the same event may happen elsewhere in the home.

I can't quite make out in your photo whether the insulation is cellulose (paper based) or mineral wool (mineral fibre insulation) - perhaps you can also post a sharper close-up photo with a bit better lighting.

To clean up that mess you'd want the bulk of the insulation removed, followed by damp wiping and HEPA vacuuming.

You might get a bit more dust out of your fan if you can take it outside and blow the motor clean with compressed air - some gas stations or garages can do that for you.

Bedding and soft goods get washed or dry-cleaned;

Hard surfaced items get wiped and vacuumed. Wall to wall carpeting cannot be adequately-cleaned and would be removed and replaced (along with padding and with a cleaning step before new carpet is installed).

When cleanup is completed give the home a few days for airborne dust to settle, then have a dust sample checked by any forensic lab who can identify the dominant particles. If insulation is still the dominant dust particle then a second pass and cleaning would be helpful.

I am looking for some expert advice on what to do with my stuff that were exposed to insulation. A couple weeks ago the ceiling on my kid's room at our old apartment fell off.

Everything in my kids room got dusted with old looking insulation and everything itched. I have a fan that I had just bought, and I tried dusting it off but still see dust in the motor, and I was wondering, should I just buy a new one?

Also, is it safe to.keep all their plush toys, they were in the closet but was still exposed to the damage for about a week.

I am concerned that, in the long run, if I keep something and don't clean it well enough my kids health could be harmed with this.
Any advice is very appreciated. Thank you.

Earl:

Generally yes - and no. A HEPA filter will remove small particles down in the 1 micron range but ONLY for air that passes through the filter.

NO "air purifier" can remove the source of a problem particle. So if a particle source remains, those particles will continue to enter the building air.

So an "air purifier", if run in a small enclosed space that itself doesn't contain the source of problem particles, will indeed reduce the level of such particles within that space.

But it would be a fundamental error to think that such a device corrects a building indoor air quality problem at the source. As a not entirely silly example, if you stand in the kitchen and wave a vacuum cleaner wand in the air you will have no success at removing the dust bunnies under the livingroom couch.

Thank you for asking; don't hesitate to ask further questions.

Do air purifiers with HEPA filters remove the smaller harmful fiberglass particles?

Question: what to do with this Johns Manville Fiberglass Insulation in my basement

On 2019-07-20 by Anonymous

In this unfinished portion of basement, there is the Johns Manville fiberglass bats attached between ceiling joists. As pics show, they are not attached as well as they could be. What would you recommend, if anything, with this insulation? Thanks again.

Reply:

Re the Johns Manville fiberglass insulation batts in your basement ceiling

The insulation looks loose and falling; if it is clean and dry, thus not mold-suspect, you can leave it in place, stapling up a permeable barrier such as housewrap to prevent shedding asbestos dust into the area below. Don't use plastic as you don't want the moisture barrier on the wrong side (down) of the joists.

Reader followup:

When you say "shedding asbestos dust" below, did you mean shedding fiberglass dust?

Moderator reply

Sorry Yes I meant FIberglass Dust.

Question:

Steve said

a month ago
Thanks for your help. I have another fiberglass insulation question. I have what appears to be chopped fiberglass insulation in attic space above our den. There is plywood covering the entire floor in that attic space, except few inches along one side where floor meets wall in between floor joists.

Split level house and this attic space is accessible from the garage. I had to do some work up there recently and had to briefly handle the fiberglass in a few of the joists. It was only briefly handled and then put back.

After reading that fiberglass insulation can sometimes release small particles in air that can be dangerous I was curious if this type is insulation (chopped) is more likely to produce dangerous dust.
Should I bring a hepa vac up there to vacuum area or do anything else? Thank you

Reply:

Steve

In my experience it's mechanical damage to fiberglass insulation, such as being walked-on or being shredded by a duct cleaning machine, that is most likely to cause airborne transport of small fiberglass particles into building air.

I agree that if you see a dust issue that HEPA vacuuming is a more effective cleanup method than ordinary vacuum cleaners.

On 2017-12-11 by (mod) - source of small airborne particles?

Joann

I'd like to help but with just the information in your note I cannot hazard an intelligent guess at what is causing the airborne particles you are seeing.

It might help to know that there are always particles in the air. In most lighting conditions we don't see them, but when using a flashlight or other light beams, even sometimes sunlight through a window opening they become apparent.

They were always there and they may be perfectly normal typical indoor dust such as fabric fibres.

The photograph above shows what I mean: I simply turned on a flashlight in a dimly-lit room.

I have small particles air born falling. It can be seen with a led light.this is in my apartment. What causes this.

Kim

Fiberglass as well as other mineral-fibre insulation products are widely used inside the walls or doors of ovens and are not a hazard to you. In normal use you will not be able to detect fiberglass fragment contamination from that source.

During cleaning you want to avoid damaging the insulation, or if it were found in very poor condition or soaked with something messy that required replacement, then you will want to speak with the manufacturer of your specific appliance to purchase replacement insulation that's the right material, thickness, density, and dimension.

To clean a spill, I removed the metal cover that lays in the bottom of my convection oven.. Discovered raw exposed fiberglass insulation.. I know this is cause for alarm.. Please help with some direction.. Thanks

Orener, you want to first discuss the itching with your doctor.

If there is an indoor fiberglass particle problem it might be proven with solid data by having a lab examine a sample of settled dust from the living area. You'd also want an expert to check that no dope ruined the duct work interior by chopping up a fiberglass duct liner during a cleaning effort.

I have been having a lot of problems with itching for a while now. At first I thought it was something biting me but after checking my sofa I saw no signs of bugs or found no signs of bites.

Then I thought it might be something that my leather sofa and/or carpet was treated with that might cause the itch. They were newly purchased during this summer 2017. I also noticed that I would have needle like sensation along with the itching.

So I decided to use the light on my phone and hold it close to my skin and that's when I notice fine shinning particles on my arm so fiber glass came to mind. My air condition went out this summer as well.

Maintenance came out to repair it. I hate sitting in my livingroom. Itching is worst there which made me think it was my sofa/carpet until I saw the particles on my skin. Also my vent are up high in livingroom but is in the floor in bedroom.

So out of everything that I have mentioned can you give me advice of what it could be and what I can do about it?

Joann,

see FIBERGLASS HAZARDS

Also

FIBERGLASS HAZARDS - topic home, discusses the possible health hazards of large and small fiberglass fragments. Please go back to the top and read through those first few paragraphs and then let me know if you have further questions and I'll be glad to discuss it further

Who do I call to be certain that's wat it is ?and wat kind of health rist are there?

Pamela,

With the understanding that we cannot assess the conditions in your home based just on a text message, it sounds as if it would be reasonable to clean up in a way that makes as little extra Airborne dust as possible.

That means gentle sweeping and then damp wiping of Dusty surfaces. It is not likely that it would be appropriate to try to call Hazmat experts to clean up some residential fiberglass left on a floor.

I live in an older house i rent we had plumbing problems they cut big squares out and a whole in the floor huge there is insulation old small bunches of it all over hallway and bedroom floor what should i do to clean it up or should i have hazmat

Help please! I can see yellow fiberglass insulation surrounding the round HVAC flexible ducting inside my registers (where air blows out). Not much, just around the edges. Is this a hazard?

am considering using the flexfoil AC duct tape to cover it so it is not exposed. Please let me know if this is an appropriate fix, or if it is needed at all. I am really worried now that I've been breathing fiberglass for years!

Our house is over 150 years old. The attic had blown in loose fiberglass insulation under the attic floor even though there were finished heated rooms in the attic, the attic roof/ceiling is uninsulated. I never saw the point of putting insulation in an interior space.

The 150 year old walls of our house do not have any insulation, only the walls of the newer additions to our house were insulated, this includes the kitchen, two bathrooms and one bedroom. For these walls we removed the fiberglass insulation from the outside to avoid making a mess inside. We re-insulated with rigid styrofoam. The original walls of the house are still uninsulated.

It was the insulated parts of our house that were making us sick. Our youngest daughter who slept in the only bedroom that was insulated with fiberglass would often have coughing fits in the middle of the night, that stopped when we moved her to an uninsulated bedroom.

Now with all of the fiberglass gone we all feel much better and some ongoing health problems have gone away.

Thank you for the interesting observations Stephen.

Is unfortunate that you had to go to such Extreme Measures as removing building insulation - a procedure that in fact increases the risk of creating lots of dust that needs to be controlled and or cleaned up.

I don't think I would be satisfied with simply removing insulation. I assume that you re insulated your home, perhaps with blown in foam - generally very effective at reducing air leaks.

I would have wanted to find the source of such unusual air leaks and to fix that, as unusual windblown leaks into buildings risk other damage to the structure, such as windblown rain entering wall or roof cavities. It's also the case that the under roof or attic venting could be improperly installed.

On windy days we had little bits of fiberglass coming out of the electrical outlets and light switches. My wife figured this out by taping over some outlet and then seeing tiny glass fibers stuck to the tape after a few days.

We solved this problem by removing all of the fiberglass from in our walls and from our attic. The amount of dust in our house has gone way down and we all feel much better. It was a large and expensive job to remove the siding from the outside of the house just to be able to remove the 40 year old fiberglass. Even the constant rash on our dogs went away.

Andrea,

You can collect a dust sample or tape sample of settled dust (search InspectApedia for SETTLED DUST SAMPLE PROCEDURE) to send to any forensic lab - large or small - who can do a particle characterization to tell you the properties of the dominant fibre present. What lab you use might depend on your country.

Often simply knowing the fiber type and colour mix will lead to its probable source in the building.

For South Australia, Intertek has multiple locations - see http://www.intertek.com/contact/asiapacific/australia/#sa and give them a call to discuss what you want.

Much of their work is industrial, so you will want to be clear that you want a simple dust characterization to identify the dominant particles by type, colour, and other properties that might then point to sources in your building.

I'm guessing you're going to end up pointing to your carpeting, whose fibres are in fact not only vacuumed up but perhaps also stirred up by your vacuum cleaner.

I can't make head nor tail of where fibre is coming into my room. I have covered an air vent and left it there for about 3 weeks with very little fibre on the paper at all. However on my low bedroom cupboards I can swipe my hand after 3-4 days and I collect what looks like thickish fluff, different from the usual household dust.

Are there carpets that continually shed their fibres. I find that when I am home after a couple of hours my voice starts to become croaky and hoarse. I would love someone to give me some advice as it worries me that my health is compromised.

I am out a lot and only experience this when I am home. The house was built in 1984 and unfortunately I don't know how old the carpets are but they are good condition. I have also had them steam cleaned twice over the past 12 months and I vacuum every week.

There always seems to be a large amount of fibre from the carpet when I vacuum. If anyone can give me some advice about where to take the fibre to have it tested, I would be most grateful.

I have tried to ring the South Australian Environmental Pollution phone number without success. Any advice to my email ajcresswell58@hotmail.com would be great.

Maddi

A big hole in the ceiling over a shower is asking for trouble as surely a lot of moisture is being improperly vented into the roof space and into any insulation there, inviting mold growth in that space. If you smell mold there's probably some present.

Left alone that could increase to be a costly problem (moisture damage, mold contamination, ice and frost in winter, etc) as well as a potential health concern for building occupants. I wouldn't panic about the fiberglass itself.

At my moms house there is a huge hole over the WHOLE SHOWER and all you see is fiberglass mold and cardboard material.....

when I take a hot shower I swear I start smelling the mold, I'm not sure how long it's been this way but it seems not new. There are children there who take bathes right under it. Also my mom and her husband have a continued cough but not the little ones.

I expressed my concerns but my mom said that the yellow type(which is what is being exposed) she says is not "the harmful type" so she brushes it off. But it looks ripped up and holes so I would assume particles are falling.?? Plz let me know something to shower her...

there landlord is also the maintenance man, he doesn't seem to have any rush on fixing it since I've been around, can he get In trouble .?

On 2017-04-04 by (mod) - how much fiberglass dust exposure is dangerous?

From what I know, the way you pose the question "how much fiberglass dust exposure is dangerous" is perfectly reasonable but will not adequately get at the potential hazards. Large fiberglass particles are much less likely to be a respiratory hazard than very small particles.

So one would need to know more about the specific dust in a specific environment. In addition one wants to take care when reading or ordering fiberglass dust studies or tests.

From my own forensic lab experience I must emphasize that unless the lab technician is not looking for the very small fragments that would be of concern, their presence may not be detected and thus not reported.

A more practical approach is to study the activity in the area of interest. For example, grinding or sawing fiberglass materials is more-likely to produce small fiberglass fragments than simply installing fresh fiberglass insulation batts or handling fiberglass fabrics.

When one's overall objective is good health, it's important to keep all safety and health topics in perspective: someone who smokes, doesn't wear a seat belt when in a car, or who frequently dashes up and down poorly-constructed stairs without hand or guard railings is far more likely to suffer a near-term injury from one of those than from dust.

Perhaps this is too subjective, but how much fiberglass dust exposure is dangerous? Referring more to quantity. I had a contamination issue and after moving homes and cleaning out my stuff, as well as throwing a number of things out, I've got a fairly clean environment.

But I'm now noticing more than ever how many things are made from fiberglass and contribute to dust in my home. From fake grass on miniature models, to seemingly fibers in certain packing tapes, to my aunt visiting who works building canoes.

I find that after the big exposure/contamination issue I had, I'm a lot more hypersensitive of dust, particularly fiberglass in my environment. So much that family has recommended I talk with "someone" about it. It's made me quite overly paranoid about things I was naive about before. Look forward to your thoughts.

That is to say more extreme measures should not be needed.

If the fiberglass is not being mechanically disturbed and you have already covered it I would expect that the panels you describe would not release detectable levels of fiberglass into the space.

I meant 2'X4'X2" panels in the comment below.

How to seal fibers of owens corning 705 acoustic room treatment panels from coming loose in the room. I'm encasing the 2'X4'X4" panels in 1X4 wood frames. The frames and insulation is then covered with speaker cloth

. I could spray the panels with 3M spray adhesive on all sides unless this will affect the acoustic absorption properties. Or I could mix dry powered wall paper adhesive and coat all surfaces.

This sounds, Phyllis, as if either fiberglass (or fiberglass-lined) duct material has been damaged OR an air filter has been damaged.

The dangers are two:

1. breathing in a lot of irritating dust, moreso if fiberglass has been macerated

2. a filter getting drawn into the blower fan in the air handler, causing a fire.

there are pink fiberglass feather like tufts coming from my aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaair ducts in my home. also plastic fragments. they are on the carpet and in the vents. Is this dangerous?

Anne,

I am doubtful that there is any significant extra release of fiberglass fragments into the air caused just by people walking below a ceiling where it's exposed.

But if you want to avoid disturbing the material at all, and for peace of mind, it's pretty easy and inexpensive to put up a particle barrier.

Rather than stopping use of a space, it would be quick and easy to just staple up some housewrap on the underside of the ceiling joists.

Housewrap is not a moisture barrier, it's a water barrier, that is, it breathes, but it'd not permit passage of measureable levels of fiberglass from a ceiling.

See HOUSEWRAP PRODUCT CHOICES at https://inspectapedia.com/BestPractices/Housewrap_Choices.php found by searching Inspectapedia.com for "housewrap"

Daniel

Thanks for offering your expertise. My large, unfinished basement has exposed insulation batts on the ceiling, and there's a walkout to the backyard door so we pass through the basement a lot, and there is a moderate amount of air movement down there from opening/shutting the doors, playing drums, etc.

Should we stop using this space for general living purposes unless the insulation is covered? If so, is there an inexpensive method that meets fire/building codes that we could use to enclose the ceiling insulation and regain the use of that space?

Katie:
Insulation around the outside of ductwork would not be likely to be a source of indoor insulation particles in your air unless the loose insulation is close to a return air inlet or a hole in the return ducting;

but damaged insulation inside of an air handler or ductwork would more-likely be a source of indoor fiberglass insulation fragments in air and dust. It sounds as if a more-expert inspection of the air handler and ductwork are in order.

@Katie,
I meant around the duct work in the large hole that goes into the ceiling, not dust holes lol

I live in an apartment, the hvac (heater) has been making us sick for more than a month, After dusting my house daily then turning on heat I realized it was coming from the vents,

today I checked inside the furnace closet which is outside on the balcony and there is pink batting insulation stuffed into the dust holes that go up into the ceiling, it doesn't look like it is sealed or contained and the ductwork is also not sealed in some areas,

is this even up to code to have that kiND of insulation right next to the furnace, there were particles flying all around when I opened the door and now I think this is what might be making us sick from it getting sucked into the duct work?

Use of building wall ceiling or floor cavities has a return air path is a common and very old practice. However you certainly don't want loose or conventional fiberglass insulation in that Passage. Having insulation in their passage will make it impossible to clean, and risks blowing fiberglass into the occupied space

Sorry, I meant the latter.

Cosmetically the work is fine. To clarify, there is still insulation in-between the studs (between the ceiling and duct hole). There is no actual duct running down the wall between the studs. He simply used the studs as a pathway for the cold air to travel from the floor vent to the hole cut through the wall which connects a short duct from the hole to the furnace.

The insulation is above that hole in-between it and the ceiling.

There is nothing preventing the insulation fibers from being sucked into the duct hole thus being circulated throughout the house. Just am not sure if this is acceptable or common practise?

Jerry

Sorry but I don't have a clear picture of the situation. If you mean that the workmanship of your duct installer was not the neatest and he left an opening where you can see insulation in a wall or ceiling cavity, that's a cosmetic repair that makes sense.

If you mean that loose or damaged fiberglass building insulation is being drawn into the HVAC system ductwork and thus blown around onto occupants and in the occupied space, that ought to be corrected.

I have a question which I think I already know the obvious answer to but want someone to confirm. I had a professional plumber/heating company install a couple additional cold air returns to my furnace.

When the furnace ran it sounded like it was starving for air. The technician ran two returns to two different rooms in the basement which backed against the furnace itself. This made it relatively easy just bringing a duct off of the furnace's cold air and ran it through the wall to a bedroom. the other one he ran a duct off of the cold air return to an interior closet wall and used the studs and finished wall to create the air cavity.

the problem is that the walls are insulated with insulation (I suspect fiberglass. He removed the insulation from the duct coming through the wall (couple of feet from the ceiling) to the wall vent (placed almost at floor level); however,

when I put my head in the floor vent and look up I can see insulation remaining above the duct hole in the wall (as well there is insulation in the remainder of the wall). Is this acceptable or common?

Does this pose a major health concern? When I brought it to his attention via email including pictures he will not acknowledge, reply or communicate with me at all. If you could reply to this and even send me an email (jerry_dus@yahoo.com) with thoughts, it would be appreciated

Does anyone have the answer what I can do to get the tiny microscopic glass fibers and fiberglass out of a van I drive I've tried air scrubbers and fans but it is slow and doesn't cut it .I called fiberglass crawl space removal experts who do houses they claim they have a machine that sucks it out but they only do houses I'm desperate this stuff is killing me

Marianne:

Assuming you've by now bathed and thoroughly laundered your clothing, what remains is to have your car interior thoroughly cleaned using HEPA-vacuuming. HEPA vacuuming will avoid simply sending small asbestos or fiberglass particles airborne to settle back into the car interior.

Perhaps running the car's air system while HEPA Vacuuming at vents and changing the air filter in the air system (if there is one) will get the dust level down to a trivial level.

Hi there. I have an interesting situation.

I am a speech pathologist providing in home speech therapy to a medically homebound student. While I was in their home their solar water heating system malfunctioned causing a flood which caused their ceiling to collapse on me. The ceiling had both fiberglass and encapsulated asbestos insulation which fell on me along with the drywall. I was covered in the stuff...

my clothes, hair skin, therapy bag etc. I of course went home in my vehicle. Now, I am experiencing coughing, shortness of breath and irritation every time I ride in my vehicle. What needs to be done to get rid of re-exposure danger in my car

I am planning on taking a long trip this weekend and wonder what I can have done to make my vehicle safe again. I am concerned not only about the upholstery and hard surfaces but the danger of re-exposure from the air system. Thank you for any help/advise you can give.

It depends. A "raw count" or for that matter any "count" of mold is fundamentally unreliable as a building mold scan without a thorough visual inspection, case history taking, and other evaluations, particularly if the count seems "low".

Search InspectApedia.com for AIRBORNE MOLD COUNT NUMBER GUIDE to read details.

If the person you paid and who presented themselves as a "mold test expert" cannot even tell you what the count means for your specific building and situation, I would request a complete refund of whatever fee was paid as such work is unconscionable.

We had a 6611 raw count reading of Fiberglass Fibers and a 6600 reading in count/cm2. This is on the floors of our office in the building. Should this be of concern to us.

I just found a 2" diameter hole in ceiling of a closet where it looks like cable installer fed cable through the insulation. I am now worried that insulation fibers are getting all over the closet and contents? Am I being too worried or is his a concern?

We recently renovated our garage and insulated the walls with fiberglass insulation. The contractor then used studs between the wooden beams and nailed pine wood panels over the fiberglass insulation. Is this considered safe?

I read that normally the fiberglass is underneath the drywall or sheetrock material, making it hard for the fibers to cross through. However, is it possible or easier for the small particles of fiberglass to travel through the cracks of the wooden panels. Thanks

Brother lives with me and they were cutting old Fiberglass off of a tank at his work for a couple days. Using circular grinder/cutters. He came home and always hung his coveralls up in his doorway, which has a fan in his room blowing towards it. I'm now noticing small fibers on everything in the house.

Seems like every room. It's on all my stuff, his room is directly across the hall from mine. The fibers are only a couple mm long but sometimes there are big ones, like a few cm. They're done that job now and I convinced him to get rid of those coveralls. How much of a hazard is this? Should I be throwing stuff out? It's even on my clothing.

Following a simple fall of some insulation from above there is no justification for disposing of carpeting (onto which some fiberglass insulation has fallen).

Simply vacuum it up; use a HEPA-rated vacuum cleaner to minimize sending small particles airborne.

COMMENT:When attic insulation/fiberglass falls on carpet from a hole in ceiling, would it be best to have carpet cleaned or have carpet removed?

Fibreglass is a perfectly good insulation material and one of the most widely used in many countries. Installation dust during constrution is normally not a problem in the finished structure but certainly if you're dust sensitive you can damp wipe and HEPA vac all surfaces, particularly floors and tops of horizontal trim before bringing in your furnishings.

I have a new build going on (large 2 story house) and unfortunately I did not know that the insulation used everywhere in the walls and ceilings is Earthwool (fibreglass). It is too late to do anything about its installation now,

however I am extremely worried about the airborne fibres that are absolutely EVERYWHERE through the the house. Gyprock is nearing completion.

Can you guide me to the best solution for contamination cleanup? Whether I should hire HEPA vacs and do it myself or call in the professionals? And if so who are they exactly? Thanks for any advice. Signed: severely
worried new home owner. Linda

Anon:

It is possible for mold to contaminate fiberglass insulation without any obvious visual clue - search InspectApedia.com for MOLD in FIBERGLASS INSULATION to read details. "The man" who said "there is no mold" because he couldn't see any is not perhaps fully informed. Good practice is to remove and replace building insulation that has been wet.

Keep in mind that the complaints you cite could be from other causes such as fiberglass fragments, other dust fragments, or other indoor air quality issues.

Selling food clothing from that environment sounds a bit risky to me as do risks to the workers that you describe. You may need an independent or OSHA-recommended consultant on site to reduce risks for workers, management, and customers all three.

where I work is a flat roof (steel- I believe) fiberglass insulation with a slight slant, New Building, about 5 months ago the roof started to leak,

if we pushed up on plastic the rainwater would come out in buckets (like a water fall) the man that installed it says there is no mold, but the thing is

employees are coughing, hacking, itching where there is exposed skin, runny nose, eyes watering, sore throats, smells bad inside, also we sell food items (sealed) clothing items,

just wondering if this is a health issue or not, corporation is going along with man who installed the roof, but they never came in to check it out yet, township did fine corporation for leaking roof, the roofing man did come in and fix the leaks ?

and removed a couple of small sections of soaked insulations but that's it so far, what are your thoughts or suggestions, as employees we are not sure what to do at this point. Thank You--Michelle

Diane:

Potentially, yes. Particularly, small fiberglass fragments are more likely to be hazardous. Why not turn off the HVAC system that is blowing and have the duct repaired?

The pipe has disconnected from the vent, now air is blowing from the disconnected pipe and fibers are gathering all over the kitchen area where I work, is this a health hazard? It has been blowing for 5 hours now!

I have some extremely tiny dust particles that appear to be insulation dust but a contractor was in our home and said he checked and we have no way for this to occur from our insulation installment.

We moved in this new house about 6 months ago and since we moved in all my products from soap to newsprint gets there tiny dust particles in the bottle with.

Somega things that are not even opened but sealed from factory will get this into it withing 10 minutes of me walking in the door.

Is this possible? If b I use the product for example the shampoo causes this strange reaction to my long hair and it seems like it w <7>

...

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