Could there be asbestos in this ventilation pipe for old kitchen fan?

[rasmusandersson4]

The house was built in '45, but the kitchen was done around the '90s, could there be asbestos in the ventilation pipe to the fan? (Maybe a dumb question)

 

[jishi]

Do you mean in the flex hose that's in the kitchen cabinet? No. But where does it go? It looks empty above the cabinet. Asbestos ducts are rigid, gray, and usually rectangular. That's just a steel spiral with some form of plastic casing.

 

[rasmusandersson4]

Do you mean in the flexible duct that's in the kitchen cabinet? No. But where does it go? It looks empty above the cabinet. Asbestos channels are rigid, gray, and usually rectangular. That's just a steel spiral with some form of plastic coating.

Hi, okay I understand! It is led out through the walls and then leads the air into the basement.

 

[jishi]

Strange transition or support, difficult to answer as it seems overpainted. But what is the actual concern?

It also seems strange to vent the kitchen fan into the house foundation. Asbestos ducts that are intact do not present a direct health risk. It's when you start breaking or sawing into it that problems arise. So depending on what you plan to tear down, there may be some concern. Personally, I would just put on a respirator and try to remove it as intact as possible if it needs to go. Or you could just enclose it and not think about it anymore

You can drop off asbestos waste at any recycling center as long as it is labeled and submitted as hazardous waste.

 

[rasmusandersson4]

Strange transition/stoop, difficult to answer as it seems to be overpainted. But what is the actual concern? It also seems strange to vent the kitchen fan into the house foundation. Asbestos ducts that are intact don't pose a direct health risk. It's when you start breaking/cutting into it that problems can arise. So, depending on what you're planning to demolish, there may be some concern. Personally, I would just put on a respirator and try to remove it as intact as possible if it needs to go. Or you could encase it and not think about it anymore You can leave asbestos waste at any recycling center as long as it is labeled and submitted as hazardous waste.

Could be that I'm just ignorant as well, there are multiple ventilation holes in several rooms in the house (attaching picture), located both in the basement and bedrooms, etc. Maybe they lead to the old chimney and exhaust air from there? I might be the only one who thought it vented air into the basement because when you turn on the fan, there's a draft in the basement.

 

[jishi]

Yes, more likely to lead it out through the chimney. A kitchen fan blows with quite a large flow and the same amount of air needs to come in from somewhere as you blow out. In a house, the air wants to rise as it warms up, so it's probably not uncommon for a large part of the air to be drawn from the basement, but I can't say for sure.

But the question, as mentioned, is what the concern is? As mentioned, it's the demolition that can present some challenges.

 

[rasmusandersson4]

Yes, more likely it leads out through the chimney. A kitchen fan blows with quite a large flow, and it needs to bring in as much air as you blow out from somewhere. In a house, the air tends to rise as it heats up, so it's probably not uncommon for a large part of the air to be drawn from the basement, but I can't say for sure.

But as mentioned, the question is what the concern is? As mentioned, it's the demolition that can pose some challenges.

Yes sorry! The big question was really just the pipe haha, since we are going to replace the kitchen fan and spruce up and give some love to the old 90s kitchen, I have read that there can be asbestos in ventilation pipes etc.. but I understand now that they are usually rectangular and hard!

 

[jishi]

Here you can see an example from my house, where the flexible hose coming from the kitchen (and the fan) goes into an asbestos duct connected to the chimney, for reference 🙂

 

[rasmusandersson4]

Here you can see an example from my house, where the flexible duct coming from the kitchen (and the fan) goes into an asbestos channel connected to the chimney, as a reference 🙂

You learn something new every day, thanks for the great answers to my silly questions! 😁

 

[Satsuki]

Yes, sorry! The big question was really just about the duct haha, since we are going to replace the kitchen fan and refresh and give some love to the old 90s kitchen. I've read that asbestos can be found in ventilation ducts, etc., but I understand now that they are usually rectangular and hard!

Asbestos was totally banned in 1982, so it is unlikely to be found in a ventilation duct from the 90s….

 

[useless]

Asbestos was totally banned in 1982, so it's unlikely to be in a ventilation duct from the 90s….

But the house was built in -45.

 

[Satsuki]

But the house was built in '45.

But the kitchen was installed in the '90s and the ventilation duct is clearly of a more modern date.

 

[useless]

But kitchen installed in the 90s and the ventilation duct clearly of a more modern date

Ok. What year is the one seen in post #3 installed?