Though new asbestos use has been banned in Australia for many years now, you can still easily find the fibre hiding away in some older houses. But what should you do if you find asbestos in your home? Well, if you're looking to sell, you should probably remove it, as you'll be legally obliged to tell potential buyers. And if you care about your and your family's health, you should probably remove it, as asbestosis development is a very real possibility; the longer you're around asbestos, the higher your chances get. So, what are some things to keep in mind once you've decided to attempt a DIY asbestos removal project?

Get Some Personal Protective Equipment

The first step in the process of DIY asbestos removal should always be ensuring your safety, as you'll be the one closest to the problem. When dealing with asbestos, one should always wear gloves, safety goggles or glasses, disposable overalls and, at minimum, a two-strapped mask, as single strapped masks are known to often let air in through their sides.

Don't Use Power Tools

Unless you're removing screws, never use power tools when dealing with asbestos, as this is a great way to propagate clouds of asbestos fibres. In fact, it's recommended to not even use rough metal brushes on the substance, and it's illegal in Australia to waterblast asbestos sheets!

Be Careful

Dropping or grinding asbestos sheets on the ground will release millions of microscopic asbestos particles. Because of this, it's recommended that asbestos sheet removal is completed by at least two people. This allows for one person at each end of a sheet, minimising the chances of the sheet grinding or dropping, which is particularly important for the longer asbestos sheets on old roofs, for example.

Hire a Skip Bin

Because it's illegal to put asbestos in your regular bin, you'll have to hire an asbestos-friendly skip bin from a rubbish removal company if you want to complete the task yourself. By offering timely drop offs and pick ups of their skip bins, a good rubbish removal service can aid you in getting away from that asbestos as soon as possible.

Contain the Asbestos

In order to protect yourself, your family, and everyone else who comes near the removed asbestos in the future, you'll need to contain the asbestos sheets before placing them in your skip bin. First dampen the sheets with a light, slow-flowing stream of water, to decrease the chances of asbestos fibres potentially floating away if the sheet is disturbed, then cover the sheets with two layers of thick plastic, to protect them from disturbance, before clearly labelling the plastic with something along the lines of 'ASBESTOS -- DO NOT OPEN'. After completing these steps, your asbestos will be safe to be placed carefully into your skip bin.