Post #85141 by Bwana Tiki on Wed, Apr 7, 2004 3:32 PM

Acoustic ceiling often have asbestos in them, older ones in particular. This is honest to god nasty stuff that WILL KILL YOU. It won’t kill you today but it will CUT YEARS OFF OF YOUR LIFE. You may want to consider having it encapsulated. Basically you have new sheetrock installed over,( well I guess under it if ya think about it) the cottage cheese junk. Asbestos is really only a danger if airborne, that is to say its fine until ya disturb it. When it is disturbed it WILL get in your lungs and shorten your lifespan. Please don’t just throw the stuff in the trash without knowing what it is, ( I know environmental boo hoo hooing) its just plain the wrong thing to do. If you feel like taking your chances and doing the water and wet vac thing, don’t ever use the vac again, as you can not get all the asbestos out of it and every time you turn it on it will spit invisible cancer all over the place. The reason they started using the stuff was to deaden sound, keep it from bouncing all around the room, thus the name “Acoustic Ceiling” its awful stuff and never lived up to its promise but it is a quick install, shot out of guns. Check the date on the stuff, if it was installed after the mid 70’s it MAY be fine, if it is from the 50’s it is death from above. Be careful this stuff is no joke, if you muck around with it it could contaminate your home for years to come, it tends to linger and has a knack for infecting children.

Good luck,