Knowledge about fiberglass insulation dangers and prevention is essential for every homeowner. Make sure you’ve read everything about it. If you haven’t, continue reading this article.
Home improvement and roofing processes are incomplete without the process of insulation. You have to take appropriate steps to protect your home from extremities like fire, storm, and extreme heat. When it comes to preserving energy and maintaining fire safety in the house, insulating the roofing becomes extremely important.
In fact, insulation preserves as much as 75% of energy which is generated in homes. There are different types of home insulation; fiberglass is one of these popular insulating materials. Now, let’s read about the dangers and ill effects of this material on our health.
Dangers and Prevention
When it comes to roof insulation, rigid fiberglass insulation is the obvious choice. There are quite a few advantages of fiberglass insulation that might compensate its dangers. Its advantages include, easy sound and moisture absorption, increased fire resistance, prevention from air infiltration, corrosion resistance, etc.
It is thus popularly used for insulating homes, roofing, walls, recording studios, automobiles, poles, tanks, and electric insulation. Fiberglass is also easy to install and really lightweight. Now let’s move on to some potential dangers.
Breathing Problems
As we know, our lungs are pretty delicate and they are susceptible to all sorts of hazardous elements that are present in the environment. Similarly, effects of breathing fiberglass are observed directly on the lungs and respiratory system of that person. Working without any face mask will cause extreme coughing and other breathing problems. If too much exposure to fiberglass gets neglected, then it can also lead to spitting up blood or blood vomits.
Skin Problems
Fiberglass is a mixture of metal, stones, and other recycled elements; it is also spun really fine. This thinness of fiberglass allows it to set on the surface of our skin and cause hives, extreme skin irritation, and itching. Not so dangerous, this skin problem can be evaded by taking a shower and cleaning the affected area with a scrub brush.
Toxic Fumes
Unlike common assumptions, fiberglass does not ensure 100% fire safety; hence, it smolders at the start of burning. This smoldering of fiberglass is a potential danger that causes toxic fumes of formaldehyde and other such toxic gases. Formaldehyde is a toxic gas and it has the potential to damage our respiratory system and heart health. It can cause headaches, skin irritation, and irritation of the eyes. It is thus very important that you wear safety glasses.
In order to stay away from fiberglass insulation dangers or side effects, people get rid of the insulation, which often causes more contamination. Many experts state that in most cases removal of fiberglass insulation is not the solution. You may contain it by adding drywall or plywood.
If you have blown in insulation, then sucking it out can be the best possible solution. While discarding the fiberglass insulation, always make sure that you are not carrying it out from the living space of the house. Always consult an expert and choose the best material, that will ensure 100% safety.