I am terrified

[Jdawg]

This story will sound kind of odd, but I honestly cannot stop obsessing about it. I haven't slept in days. It is eating me alive.

Here is the deal. My husband and I are renovating an old home and we came across what looked like a variation of linoleum flooring in the kitchen that we wanted to get rid of. We had thought it may contain asbestos, but we had to leave to go back to our regular home and didn't have time to deal with it.

Well, he decided to test it on his own by burning it and said that since it burned, it wasn't asbestos. So, he started removing the material.

My husband and I went back to the house many weeks later to continue working on it, and my husband proceeded to scrape off the black adhesive that was still left on the floor.

Now that everything has been cleaned up and the evidence removed, I am absolutely terrified that it really was asbestos and that everyone was exposed to it when the material was disturbed and removed.

I am convinced that we are all going to get cancer or some horrible illness from this. I cannot get it out of my mind. It is consuming my every thought. All I see is us dying in a few years from a foolish mistake that we made of not checking with the experts first. It was so preventable too.

Basically we may have just killed ourselves.

[dianne633]

Hi jdawg 2 years ago we done the same thing we found out that the lino on the floor was asbestos but my husband and a friend sanded it anyway, we are still ok we where told that the sort of asbestos that was in the lino was very minnute and that it wouldn't affect us at all.hope this helps .

[Buttons2]

Hi, since you are obsessing about this I suggest you talk to an expert in asbestos removal. You've got to put this to rest & get on with the remodel. Our entire environment is putting us at risk for cancer,not just asbestos.

I figure I've been exposed to many,many toxins during my life. All of us have been unless we lived in a bubble.

Might even talk this obsessive thinking over with your doc,you might benefit from some meds to help calm you down & get a decent night's sleep. Don't feel foolish about this, your brain is stuck on it & needs to get onto the next gear so to speak.

You & hubby did nothing wrong, you made a decision & went with it, please don't second guess your actions now, talk to someone that knows the facts for certain about the product & then put this behind you.

Good luck,Buttons

[Tootsie]

I agree with Buttons. You need to look in the yellow pages of the phone book, for the people who remove asbestos, call and talk to them. I would describe ,what you saw on the floor, without telling them that you have already removed it. You want their opinion, about what it was made of, how it should be removed, whether it presented any danger to the person doing the work, etc.

Years ago, we purchased a home that had the bubbly material on the ceilings that was asbestos. It was going to cost big bucks to have it removed and discarded by a company licensed to do so. I was reluctant but my husband was adamant. We hired the people and the problem was taken care of. I am so glad we spent the money, even though it was a difficult thing to do at the time. It probably took us a year to recover financially but it was worth it.

The worry and anxiety you are having over this event is out of all proportion to the danger. It may have been a harmless glue, not asbestos. Cheerio.