What is this bizarre old oriental printed floor mat made of?

Question

I just bought a very old house (1941) and I have been pulling out the old 80's carpet. I found what I am pretty sure is asbestos-containing vinyl tiles in the bathroom (which I already covered up with linoleum for now. But then I found this bizarre floor mat under the carpet in the living room. It was about 7' x9' and was printed to look like an oriental rug, but it was not cloth. It was a thin rigid mat made of god knows what. It was lacquered on the decorative printed side and felt like thin rubber or vinyl. The backing looked like thin particle board, kind of the texture of brown paper bags. It was about 1/8" thick and brittle. I cut it into pieces so I could remove it, and now I fear it may have been an asbestos-backed vinyl floor mat. Otherwise, why would they carpet over it.

Has anyone ever seen/heard of something like this and know what they were made of? Thanks.

Answer 1

It was likely some old linoleum rug.  Linoleum flooring was manufactured by oxidizing linseed oil to form a thick mixture called linoleum cement. Cooled and mixed with pine resin and wood flour to form sheets, and baked in huge ovens.

You can see vintage linoleum rugs at Second Hand Rose, http://www.secondhandrose.com/linol/main...

Second Hand Rose claims that none of their vintage linoleum rugs contain asbestos.  However, some linoleum flooring was made with asbestos.  It depends on the manufacturer and age of the linoleum whether or not it contained asbestos.

The only way to know for sure is to take a small sample and send it in for testing. Your local Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) or something like that can provide you with the names of certified testing labs.

Usually as long as you don't sand or grind the flooring or use power saws to cut it then you'll probably not release much asbestos dust, if it contains any asbestos.  Whoever carpeted over it probably had no idea whether or not it contained asbestos.  They probably just didn't like the pattern or it had become worn, dull and dirty.

If you did sand it or do something that you think may have released asbestos dust then mopping it frequently with a damp mop will pickup dust that may have formed.