A reader's Asbestos question: Asbestos Tilux.?

Neil F.   from   Australia   had this Asbestos Tilux. question.

Hi Bill,
I have a house that was built in 1973. The bathrooms and laundry have Tilux sheeting with a date of 27.7.1973. Was there a cut off date that asbestos was used ? How can I tell whether this does in fact contain asbestos ? I have spoken to various people and have been given a difference of opinion. I would appreciate any help that you could provide. Regards,

Bill's answer

Hi Neil,
There was, (as far as I know) no legal cut off date for the actual stopping of selling asbestos products.

• Say that you found out that Hardies stopped manufacturing Tilux in 1970, they sold off the existing stuff quite a while after that.
• I believe that they sent most of it north, away from the major centres.
• Also there is no way to know how long some of the retailers kept old stock.
• You have to remember that even after they stopped making the stuff, in those days we all thought it was fairly safe.
• The only way to be sure if it has asbestos is to send a small sample of it away for testing.

In the case of Tilux I would not bother testing. It is such a distinctive product and they didn't make anything else like it after the stopped using asbestos.

If I had Tilux in my place I would treat it as if it contained asbestos. For a quick cover up if it was in good condition I'd paint it with the 'White Knight' ceramic tile paint.

If I was renovating I'd just get the stuff removed, it's no big deal.
Tilux was invariably screwed to the studs, so in most cases it comes out in big pieces.
Only right at the end did we use liquid nails to fix it, but not often.