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Photograph of dirty fiberglass insulation fibers - higher risk of mold contamination Fiber & Hair Identification Photos
Index to hair & fiber information, microscopy lab photos & more

Hair & Fiber identification in buildings, in building materials, or in dust or particle samples:

Here we provide photos of common hairs and fibers found in buildings along with links to related articles giving more information about each of those hair or fabric topics.

This article series describes methods and equipment useful for the identification of human or animal hair in buildings or in building air or dust samples, and for the identification of other fibers in building dust samples such as fabric fibers, insulation fibers, and fiberglass or asbestos.

Page top photo: fiberglass fibres identified in an indoor dust sample.

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Fiber & Hair Identification & IAQ Information

Photograph of house dust by microscope

Following this sampler of photographs giving examples of various hairs and fibres found in or around buildings we include an index to InspectApedia articles giving additional technical depth on microscopic or other techniques for hair and fiber identification and for the control of indoor air quality, health, and allergic hazards associated with fiber and hair.

To find what you need quickly, if you don't want to scroll through this index you are welcome to use the page top or bottom SEARCH BOX to search InspectApedia for specific articles and information.

Photo just above: several types of fabric fibers in polarized light.

[Click to enlarge any image]

Article Contents

 

Asbestos Identified Under the Microscope

Photograph of - tremolite asbestos, asbestiform tremolite, collected from asbestos slab ceiling insulation

Above: a lab photo we took of Tremolite asbestos fibers.

See

ASBESTOS UNDER the MICROSCOPE

ASBESTOS PHOTO GUIDE to MATERIALS

ASBESTOS FIBER PROPERTIES

ASBESTOS in TALCUM POWDER

Balsam Wool Insulation Identified Under the Microscope

Silvawool like wood fiber insulation (C) InspectApedia JR

Photo above: balsam wool type building insulation discussed

at BALSAM WOOL BATT INSULATION

Also see

MICROSCOPIC EXAMINATION OF CELLULOSE INSULATION

Bat Hair Identified Under the Microscope

Hair sample from a brown bat (C) Daniel Friedman

Also see

ANIMAL BITES & SCRATCHES - BATS

Cat Hair Identified Under the Microscope

Cat hair (C) Daniel Friedman Cat hair under the microscope (C) Daniel Friedman

Photo above: cat hair under the microscope.

See

Cellulose Fibres Identified Under the Microscope

This is a very large group, including as examples various plant fibers (cellulose) for which we give just a few examples here, starting with wood fibres, typically fir, used to produce Masonite and similar hardboards, and possibly Australian hardboard produced using eucalyptus wood.

Hardboard fiber staining on Art Work (C) U Runeberg D Friedman

Above: Masonite™ fragments (wood fibres) isolated from a surface sample of an oil painting that was executed on a hardboard substrate.

At PAINT FAILURE, DIAGNOSIS, CURE, PREVENTION we explain why tempered hardboard may suffer brown bleed-through staining when painted if it is not properly sealed first.

Below: Australian hardboard used as a painting substrate, discussed in detail at

HARDBOARD MASONITE™ & OTHER BRANDS where we include a discussion of art, paintings on hardboard.

Australian hardboard physical properties & fibre identification (C) Daniel Friedman Marc Joshmar InspectApedia.com ... Australian hardboard physical properties & fibre identification (C) Daniel Friedman Marc Joshmar InspectApedia.com

Below: evidence that this Australian hardboard may have been manufactured from Eucalyptus wood.

Possible Eucalyptus wood cells (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

Also see

SHEATHING, FIBERBOARD ASBESTOS CONTENT

and for a rather different example of plant fibres examined under the microscope

see PAPAYA WHITE GROWTH vs DISEASE

Below: cellulose building insulation (paper) fibres examined under the microscope in polarized light.

Cellulose building insulation under the microscope (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

Below: wood fibers mixed with cellulose (*paper fragments) from an insulation sample from a home in Tuolumne County, California and described

at MICROSCOPIC EXAMINATION OF CELLULOSE INSULATION

Cellulose insulation combining shredded paper and plant fibers, probably wood (C) Daniel Friedman & KK at InspectApedia.com

Chinchilla Hair Identified Under the Microscope

Photograph of chinchilla hair  © Daniel Friedman

Dog Hair Identified Under the Microscope

The photos below show hair from a golden retriever (Gunner, Haddonfield New Jersey) under the microscope - well the hair was under the microscope, not Gunner himself.

Dog hair golden retriever under the microscope (C ) Daniel Friedman ... Dog hair golden retriever under the microscope (C ) Daniel Friedman

See also ALLERGENS in BUILDINGS - home

Fabric Fibers Identified Under the Microscope - Animal, Natural, Plant, Synthetic

fibers not fiberglass (C) Daniel Friedman ... House dust particles - fabric or carpet fibers in polarized light (C) InspectApedia

Fabric fibres incude both inorganic such as fiberglass and mineral wool and organic such as fabrics made from plant or animal fibres or hair.

Below: cotton fabric fibres under the microscope.

Cotton fibres under the microscope (C) Daniel Friedman InspectApedia.com

Above our two photographs show the dominant particles in dust samples from a home under study. Magnified to 720x the fibers we found were primarily cotton, with some linen and a few synthetic fabric fibers.

House dust particles - fabric or carpet fibers  (C) InspectApedia

Above and below, photos from vacuumed house dust sample collected in a U.K. home (London) show synthetic and natural fibres. Fabric or carpet fibres made up a significant portion of the sample volume.

Below the fibres are shown in polarized light.

House dust particles - fabric or carpet fibers (C) InspectApedia

These fabric fibers and the dust from a London home are discussed

at

 

Also see

Feathers & Feather Barbules Identified Under the Microscope

Photograph of animal dander and debris (C) Daniel Friedman

Photo above: fragment from a feather - a barbule, on a background of animal dander and other debris in an indoor dust sample.

Below are details of an isolated feather barbule examined while at McCrone Research.

Feather barbule examined at McCrone Research cited by Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

We have examined the details of feathers from several birds, including a Blue Jay, Cardinal, Cassuary Feather, Downy Doodpecker, Pigeon, Red-Tailed Hawk, Wild Turkey feather. Some of these are shown below.

Below: Details of a Cassuary feather.

Cassuary feather examined under the microscope (C) Daniel Friedman InspectApedia.com ... Cassuary feather examined under the microscope (C) Daniel Friedman InspectApedia.com

...

Cassuary feather examined under the microscope (C) Daniel Friedman InspectApedia.com

Below: details of a feather from a Red Tailed Hawk found by the author.

Hawk feather examined in the forensic lab (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com ... Hawk feather examined in the forensic lab (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

...

Hawk feather examined in the forensic lab (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

...

Fiberglass fibres Identified Under the Microscope

photo of concoidal end fracture on fiberglass fragment

Above: characteristic concoidal fracture at the end of a fiberglass fragment or fibre.

Our second photo, below, of fiberglass fibres above illustrates the presence of a resin binder common in most fibreglass inslulation products. The colour of the binder resin gives colour to the insulation and often can be used to identify the fibreglass brand.

photo of resin binder on fiberglass insulation fragments

See

Horsehair Identified Under the Microscope

Horsehair in plaster is discussed at PLASTER INGREDIENTS, MIX, PROPERTIES

Human hair Identified Under the Microscope

House dust particles - human hair & other fibers (C) InspectApedia Human hair under the microscope (C) Daniel Friedman InspectApedia.com

Above: a human hair in a dust sample and human hair in two different foci in an isolated hair sample.

Mineral Wool, Stone Wool, Rock Wool, Slag Wool Identified Under the Microscope

Mineral wool with cellulose inclusions from a 2002 home  (C) Daniel Friedman ... Mineral wool or slag wool insulation under the microscope (C) Daniel Friedman

See details at MINERAL WOOL by MICROSCOPE

Mouse hair Identified Under the Microscope

Photograph of mouse hair  © Daniel Friedman Mouse  hair under the microscope (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

See also

MICE in BUILDINGS, GET RID OF

Rabbit Hair Identified Under the Microscope

Rabbit hair under the microscope (C) Daniel Friedman

Rabbit hair is distinctive under the microscope for its double-channel of interior cells, as shown here.

Watch out: these double cell structures occur only in the wider portions of the rabbit hair and will disappear near the thinner tapered hair tip; examples of both of those conditions are in the photo above.

Rat Hair Identification

These sketches, courtesy of our McCrone Research Institute forensic microscopy class notes, illustrate the properties of rat hair under the microscope. Compare these hair surface properties with dog & cat hair, mouse hair, rabbit hair, sheep wool also shown on this page.

Rat hair properties under the microscope, courtesy McCrone Research Institute cited  & discussed at InspectApedia.com ... Rat hair properties under the microscope, courtesy McCrone Research Institute cited  & discussed at InspectApedia.com

Sheep Wool Hair Identified Under the Microscope

Wool or sheep hair under the microscope (C) Daniel Friedman InspectApedia.com

Wool is identified easily under the microscope by it's external scale, as shown here.

Rat hair also has scales but in a different structure as we mentioned just above.

Silk Fibres Identified Under the Microscope

Silk fibers by microscope (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

Synthetic / Man Made Fibres Identified Under the Microscope

Below we illustrate Dacron fibres under the microscope using polarized light.

Dacron fibres in polarized light (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

Below is Orlon fibre under the microscope

Orlon fibres under the microscope (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

Below we illustrate Viscose Rayon fibres under the microscope

Viscose rayon fibers examined under the microscope (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

 

 

Research & Resources on Hair & Fiber Identification in Buildings, Building Materials, Dust or Environmental Samples

Dead mouse odor (C) Daniel Friedman


...

Continue reading at FORENSIC LAB TECHNICAL PROCEDURES - topic home, or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

Suggested citation for this web page

FIBER & HAIR IDENTIFICATION at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.


Or see this

INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to BUILDING FORENSICS

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Or see

INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to BUILDING INSULATION

Or use the SEARCH BOX found below to Ask a Question or Search InspectApedia

Or see

INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to ANIMAL PESTS, ALLERGENS, HAZARDS

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