The mastic itself usually has asbestos in it.
What does asbestos under ceramic flooring look like.
The asbestos floor tile identification articles in this series illustrate that with the combination of design appearance and an idea of floor tile age many asbestos containing floor tiles or sheet flooring products can be reliably identified even before confirmation by a test by a certified asbestos testing laboratory.
Sbestos was once considered a miracle material used in everything from paint and pipe insulation to even tiling.
One of the main ingredients used in old asbestos tiles was asphalt so they were primarily made in dark colors only.
Step 3 date the tiles.
When you remove that floor covering to make way for new flooring you may encounter the mastic and wonder whether it is safe to remove the main concern surrounding this question is that black mastic often contains asbestos.
Common in homes built in the 20th century black mastic was used as an adhesive for ceramic tile linoleum and other flooring materials.
Asbestos flooring often has black mastic which is a type of adhesive on the back.
The tiles may have asbestos too.
Vinyl or asphalt tiles that have these colors in it have a high likelihood of asbestos fibers.
You can t see it if the floor is intact but you can spot the black adhesive if some of the tiles have already popped off the floor.
However once considerable testing proved that it was a killer the miracle became a nightmare to deal with and remove.