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Return to Asbestos BlogAsbestos is Found In Many Older and Antique Products
The process of removing creases from fabric has been around far longer than modern or even antique irons. No one knows when the first person decided to ‘iron’ a material, but historical records tell us that as far back as the 1st century BC, the people of China would smooth out their clothes using a metal pan filled with hot water.
Since then, a wide variety of ironing methods and devices have come about to make removing fabric creases more efficient. Today, we are blessed with a plethora of high-tech gadgets designed to make our lives easier – we even have automatic steamers that remove wrinkles from our garments for us.
History of Irons and Ironing
However, back in the 17th century, they weren’t quite so lucky. Then, ironing was an extremely arduous task, although a new method had emerged to make it somewhat more straightforward than previous techniques. Big slabs of iron were heated on a fire and then used to smooth out the wrinkles in fabrics. These devices were called ‘sad irons,’ after an old word meaning ‘solid.’
Back in those days, the job of ironing fell mainly upon the women, who would have to use a thick cloth or mitt to pick the heated sad iron up, as its handle was also made of iron, which would become scalding hot. Despite these precautions, suffering blisters and burns, as well as tired arms, was all part of a day’s ironing.
Mary Florence Potts’ Sad Iron Asbestos
This punishing ritual continued for a century or more before a woman named Mary Florence Potts revolutionized the job of ironing by redeveloping the sad iron. In 1870, at just 19 years of age, she took it upon herself to reinvent the traditional sad iron, creating a removable wooden handle, a new, pointier shape, and a hollow metal body to fill with a non-conducting material, like plaster of Paris.
A revolution in the ironing industry
The young inventor even received a patent for her designs, including three different-sized irons that could be held with the wooden handle, allowing for a rotation of heating and ironing, thus avoiding any downtime spent reheating.
Mrs. Potts tried in vain to market her invention, but it didn’t take off until she sold the rights to the American Manufacturing Company, who called it ‘Mrs. Potts’ Sad Iron.’ She disappeared from historical records after that, so sadly, no one knows whether she benefited from any wealth due to her invention.
Sad Iron and Asbestos
Mathilde Tverdahl adds asbestos to ‘bottle up the heat’
In the late 1800s, a woman named Mathilde Tverdahl and her husband, Ole Tverdahl, came up with the idea to add an asbestos layer to the sad iron design.
The addition of asbestos trapped in the heat, enabling the iron to stay hotter for longer.
An original advertisement boasted that the asbestos ‘bottled up the heat,’ thus channeling it for longer through the steel surface for more efficient ironing.
The asbestos-lined cover would essentially trap in the heat when placed over a heated iron, while an air chamber between the hood and core served as a heat reservoir, as described by an ad in 1906.
The unknown dangers of asbestos
Chrysotile asbestos can be woven into fabric, and may very well have heat-insulating benefits, but sadly, the inventors did not know the dangers of the material. Its tiny fibers can become airborne, and consequently be inhaled without any taste or smell to alert you to it.
Domestic exposure to asbestos
Here we have yet another example of how domestic workers have taken the brunt of corporate mistakes in the home. Even when OSHA began to regulate occupational exposure of asbestos in 1971, asbestos workers were rarely given proper protective clothing or safety procedures for cleaning and safe handling.
Similarly, many spouses, children and domestic workers were exposed to asbestos by sharing a home or vehicle and washing the work clothes of a family member who worked around asbestos. This is often known as second-hand asbestos exposure, or
- Family exposure
- Household asbestos exposure
- Domestic asbestos exposure
- Take-home asbestos exposure
- Secondary asbestos exposure
The Asbestos Industry Cover-Up
While early inventors were probably unaware of the substance’s dangers, memorandums revealed that long before it became public knowledge, the companies’ milling, mining, and processing asbestos knew of the risks. Their doctors were even warning them – yet the corporate wheel kept turning in the pursuit of profit at all ‘cost.’
Modern studies have shown that even the spouses of asbestos workers are at an elevated risk of developing asbestos-related illnesses, such as cancer, due to household/secondary exposure. This is because these fibers are so fine and undetectable that a person needn’t even be in direct exposure from a job site to be at risk of an asbestos-related disease.
What happened to the sad irons?
Sad irons had their day but were soon replaced by more modern ideas. Gas became available in the late 1800s in American homes, and gas irons quickly became favorable, with the first being patented in 1874. Gas irons were connected to a home’s gas line using a pipe and contained a burner through which the gas flowed, and upon lighting it with a match, the iron would heat up.
Not long after that, electric irons began their journey towards becoming the ones we use today.
Debuting in 1882, the first electric irons were revolutionary, particularly since the only other use for electricity in the home at that time was for lighting. Plugging an electric iron in seemed like a marvel, although there were no temperature control features back then, which wasn’t ideal. Sad irons remained in use until enthusiasm for electric irons took off in the early 20th century, particularly once heat settings began featuring in the 1920s models. The electric steam iron was then invented in 1926, the modernized version of which we still use to this day.
Lingering risk to antique collectors
The inventors of the time had no idea that they were utilizing a material capable of causing such physical harm when they set about to harness the insulative benefits of asbestos into the design of irons. While our modern ironing devices are free from such harmful materials, historical artifacts still exist, and antiquing such items is a popular pastime.
When shopping for antiques, be cautious to avoid asbestos exposure
Antiquing enthusiasts must beware of the potential dangers of asbestos exposure when hunting for and especially when attempting to restore old designs such as the asbestos sad irons. Sad irons are relatively popular, often being used as vintage doorstops. People must be cautious when choosing which one to bring home and display, particularly since many are sold through estate sales or over eBay. Despite their old-world charm, any fascinating vintage item must be met with caution until the materials are confirmed as safe.
What To Do About Potential Asbestos Exposure
If you believe you may have disturbed asbestos in a home, office, or other structure, you should immediately contact your local health authority. Most states and cities offer asbestos testing services and maintain public lists of licensed asbestos removal companies.
If you have questions about a particular product or item, our law firm has one of the largest databases on asbestos exposure in the world. Get in touch and we can try to help determine if your product is contaminated with asbestos.
AsbestosClaims.law is your comprehensive resource for all things asbestos. We hope this information helps you. If you have any additional questions or concerns related to asbestos, including testing for exposure or how to file a claim, please get in touch by email at [email protected], or call or text us at (833) 4-ASBESTOS (427-2378) or (206) 455-9190.
If you were exposed to asbestos:
If you believe that you were exposed to asbestos, you could be entitled to significant compensation—money you could use to cover the costs of asbestos removal services, pay for medical treatment, and preemptively protect your physical well-being.
