Expert: Bruce E. Johnson - 9/24/2008

Question
Hi Bruce
We just bought a home in Wisconsin, it was built in 1927, we are in the process of remodeling and while taking down the inside of an exterior wall we found some odd insulation and I can't seem to find out what it is by searching the internet. It is loose,brown,and fiborous. There are some pieces of shredded wood in there but I am wondering if the other material in there is horse hair or something similar. I want to make sure that it is safe to remove whatever it is. Any ideas what that could be?
Thanks

Answer
Hi Jenny, back during the Great Depression people used pretty much anything they could find for insulation.  Horse hair was plentiful from tannerys and was used in some areas for insulation and may contain arsenic from the tanning solutions used to remove the hair from the hide. You might want to wear gloves and wash your hands good if you have been handling it just in case it has arsenic in it still.  Whether or not your insulation is horse hair I am not sure.  Depending on how old you are, if you ever had an older early or pre 50's car and looked in the trunk under the carpet, that brown fibrous mat was often made from horse hair.  Sometimes, cellulose was used in wall cavities and ceiling insulation.  Cellulose is still in use today in some places it resembles knotted up chunks of cardboard that has been ground into a fluffy matrix. Sometimes hay or other grasses were used.  Asbestos wasn't used for wall insulation that I know of but was used in the older buildings around steam piping etc.  It is white or gray in color and has a white painted cloth surface usually.  When dealing with older forms of insulation it is best to err on the side of caution and wear protection on your hands and body and wear a good dust mask so that you are not breathing any harmful dusts.  If you want to leave the insulation in the walls you might want to check and see if it burns and how quickly it burns.  If it is hair it will smell like burning hair and it won't burn that fast.  In fact it may need to have a continuous flame on it to burn at all.  I hope this information helps feel free to write again regarding this or other matters, sincerely bruce e johnson..bejohnsonconsulting.com