Your August 2026 Horoscope for Taurus
by Susan MillerThen my contractor told me I had to move. I was speechless. I had to empty the entire apartment, including the closets? He nodded yes. Certainly, I asserted, not the kitchen! He told me the stove and other appliances had to go into storage because his equipment would ruin each one with all the dust that would be created.
Shortly after that first meeting with my contractor (who I met through the advice of a friend), he sent an inspector to my house who sent mysterious samples to the lab. I learned my apartment was loaded with asbestos. It was built in 1975—a time when asbestos was popular because it is flame retardant. It was only later that the world discovered asbestos was not safe. When you dig into the walls or floors, the dust that is created is when asbestos becomes dangerous.
By the time the asbestos was being removed I found and moved into a small apartment in my same building and the rest of my things went into storage. It took seven men 16 days to rid my apartment of all the asbestos in the walls and that was mixed with the paste under the hardwood floorboards.
A company specializing in asbestos removal had to be hired to do the job. My contractor helped me find three such firms and we took bids from them all. New York State and the landlord of my high-rise building oversaw the process and safe removal. It is a very serious endeavor.
