To ask question about asbestos

[Sunshineevening]

Going through a worrying time in many life areas just now so overthinking everything and prepared to be told this is a stupid question!
Will asbestos never look similar to human hair to the naked eye? Are the fibres always too small to be visible? Thank you.

Think too small and definitely smaller than hair. About to move to a house with asbestos and had professional survey done for about £200 to identify it and what is essential to remove which might be useful. And also did a lot of investigating that said the odd accidental exposure wasn't that much of a concern so if you have disturbed some don't worry too much

The better question is what’s the area and conditions of the place you’re concerned about? E.g. 1970’s barn roof, 1980’s artex ceiling.

Do you think you have an area of absestos where you live or work?

Asbestos doesn’t resemble human hair.

If you have found something that looks like a human hair, I can pretty guarantee that it is, indeed, a human hair.

What’s your particular concern? Do you have some sort of anxiety around asbestos?

Asbestos can look like insulating boards, linoleum floor tiles, artex ceilings. I have it in my ceilings and have worked in buildings where is has been in the floor tiles. As long as it is regularly inspected and in situ with no damage it should be safe. If you rent, your landlord should have records

If you've found something that looks like human hair it could be oakum, a type of caulking/sealant used by plumbers. We found what looked like a wig in our old bathroom and it freaked me out until I discovered what it was!

Old type plaster (very old) had horse hair in it. It could be that?, we had a house full of it when we 1st got married.
I used to have a real obsession with asbestos, not sure why, I do go through life with obsessions. When we moved into this house 22 years ago, it was only 15 years old, but I discovered a small board in the back of my fireplace that I convinced myself was asbestos, I called out a company, the man could see my anxiety, and took a corner for testing. Although he said it wasn't asbestos, came back clear, and God bless him he never charged this crazy stressed woman.

Thanks, the details in these posts have reassured me that it’s not asbestos. I’m very grateful.