Black tiles under carpet underlay worried about asbestos

So basically I pulled up my grandads old carpet to discover the carpet underlay was still in tact but very moldy in some places I then notice behind the toilet the underlay is a bit away from the wall and I can see some black tiles underneath that look in tact, now I'm worried about asbestos fibres as god knows how long they have been down there, the house is quite old and I'm not sure how big or what condition all of them are in should I be concerned I mean they might not even contain asbestos my mum and grandad seem to think that when he moved in the house was surveyed and the tiles were checked but my anxiety is taking over and causing me to panic like I have just signed a death wish basically any advice is appreciated, I only lifted the carpet up and didn't touch the underlay and like I said I can barely even see the tiles can just sort of make out they are there. 

  • Hi there,

    If the tiles are actually made with a material that has asbestos in it, then it may only become a potential health issue if you start taking up or breaking the tiles (e.g. by pulling up old carpet gripper rods and putting new ones down). 

    We live in a house built in the late 1960's and the tiles in our front room are black tiles, probably around 8 inches square (from memory). We had new carpets fitted about 5 months ago, and the carpet fitter told us they could not replace the gripper rods in that room because the tiles likely did have an asbestos content and removing/replacing them could result in asbestos fibres being released (the tiles are very brittle). If left alone, they were apprently deemed safe.

    Professional carpet fitters should be able to assess whether the tiles may have asbestos, so you might get some more expert advice talking to local carpet fitters if thats possible.