Urgent - can anyone tell me what this is likely to be please

[WigglyWorms5]

I was cleaning earlier and hoovering around fireplace. I thought I was hoovering fluff but then I spotted that it was a sort of rope around the fire. Can anyone tell me what it is? Is it likely to be anything dangerous...

[photo removed by MNHQ at the request of the OP]

OP do you know why asbestos is such a concern to you?

Weirder than an asbestos related phobia (which at least is based on fact) is the need to berate the op for it. What do you guys get out of it?

My father died from asbestos related cancer. I get worried about it to. Maybe op has had simlar or knows of someone.

Weirder than an asbestos related phobia (which at least is based on fact) is the need to berate the op for it. What do you guys get out of it?

I'm not berating her. Having read her previous thread she refused to be at all reassured by anything anyone said. It seems that her "problem" is not anything to do with asbestos but would appear to be anxiety.

Nothing that is said here will reassure her about the fire rope being safe and, going by the other thread, will only fuel her anxiety issues around this.

Far better to get to the bottom of why she is fixating on their being asbestos in her home.

There. not their.

I think I remember a previous asbestos post. Given that you are very anxious about the possibility of asbestos in your house it might be worth looking at getting a professional in to do a survey. The type of survey you are looking at is called a management survey, this does not cover renovation work but does involve sampling. Or a local survey company would possibly send out a surveyor to do a basic walk through and chat to set your mind a rest for a small fee rather than going to the expense of a full survey.

I really think if there was any asbestos in your house likely to be an issue that it would have come to light by now. Workmen and building surveyors are pretty savvy about asbestos now and tend to be quick to point it out.