Mr Fluffy vs cellulose · cleared up
Mr Fluffy asbestos vs cellulose: how to tell them apart
People sometimes hear “loose insulation blown into a roof” and think of the “Mr Fluffy” asbestos scandal. I understand the worry. But they’re two completely different products. Mr Fluffy was raw asbestos blown loose by one rogue importer in the ACT and NSW, decades ago. Cellulose is grey recycled paper with borate, and it has never contained asbestos.
I’m Peter Johnson. I’ve been pumping cellulose into South East Queensland roofs since 1986, so I’ve had this question more than once. Rather than wave it away, here’s the straight story on what Mr Fluffy actually was, how to tell the loose-fills apart, and why one bad product 40 years ago says nothing about what we make.
Comfort Zone insulation.team
Family-owned insulation manufacturer, making comfy homes since 1986
Recycled paper + borate
never any asbestos, ever
Real reviews, real jobs
What our customers say
Genuine Google & hipages reviews from Comfort Zone customers across SE Queensland.
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Angela M.
SE Queensland
“The fact that I can't even tell it's 6 degrees outside when I wake up in the morning speaks for itself. Have wasted so much money attempting to heat and cool an uninsulated home. Worth every $.”
- Phipages
P Peter
Alstonvale, 2024
“Connected with Comfort Zone Insulation and would recommend them”
- J
Jessa B.
Brisbane
“It dropped about 4 degrees straight away, and we added another 3 with the second job. I appreciate Peter's honesty, and the team showed pictures before and after.”
- Nhipages
Nola M
Birtinya, 2024
“They were courteous and competent.”
- I
Iain V-B.
Brisbane
“Quick and polite service. Great follow-up advice and photos sent for our records. Above and beyond what we expected. Would highly recommend.”
- Jhipages
Jennifer's E
Upper Caboolture, 2024
“Excellent customer service. Highly recommended. Has a profound knowledge of insulation products and has the best interest of his customer.”
- G
Gerry S
Fitzgibbon, 2023
“I used Comfort Zone and they have a done an excellent job.”
- Jhipages
Jennifer
Upper Caboolture, 2024
“Excellent customer service. Highly recommend. Has a profound knowledge of insulation products and has the customer best interest.”
- J
Jung K
Riverhills, 2023
“An experienced family operation. Highly recommend. Thank you for the great job!”
- Dhipages
Diane A
Ormeau, 2024
“Peter and crew did a great job I would definitely recommend them”
- D
David H
Sunshine Coast, 2021
“Completed the job as quoted and to a high standard. Great personal service. Would highly recommend Comfort Zone for ceiling installation work.”
- Thipages
Timea
Highland Park, 2023
“I was extremely satisfied with the service they provided. They gave a very thourough explanation of the materials used, the way the work will be carried out and the price I had to pay was the exact amount quoted, no hidden costs included. They arrived on time, well prepared and workwas carried out exactly how they said it would be, they were super efficient, well prepared and were kind enough to even clean up after themselves. The services they provided was second to none! I don't hesitate to recommend them for any insulation job!”
- B
Benjamin H
Carseldine, 2019
“Very good explanation about their works. Advice of existing problems with the roof. Clean work. Very professional.”
- Mhipages
Mark
Pottsville, 2017
“Michelle, we are done - Peter from comfort zone insulation was very helpful. very honest with his recommendations - in fact he told me that the product my daughter had if installed correctly was superb. Thanks Peter you are a champion and i would recommend you to any person that was wanting professional advice and old school service.”
- I
Ian G
Burnside, 2019
“Good information, communication and professionalism.”
- Jhipages
Jessica
Pottsville, 2016
“This business offers a fantastic product that other businesses did not. Pump in ceiling insulation. Knowledge of the industry second to none.”
- D
Danny D
Boondall, 2018
“He explained everything he was going to do and the different types of insulation they used. He talked through the different options but made a recommendation for the one most people use, which is the one I chose. He was very understanding towards what I needed and not about himself.”
- Jhipages
Jack
Pottsville, 2023
“Excellent communication and informative. Professional.”
- G
Graham R
Riverhills, 2018
“Comfort Zone. Turned up ahead of time, completed in about 2 hours, cleaned up. All good. Very motivated installation team.”
- Thipages
Tony P
Redland Bay, 2023
“Very knowledgeable about insulation”
- A
Alex B
West Ipswich, 2018
“Fast, friendly, efficient.”
- Shipages
Steve
Redland Bay, 2017
“Excellent job and reasonable price.”
- L
Luke D
Mcdowall, 2017
“Peter did a good job. It was a quick and clean service. I'm happy to recommend!”
- Bhipages
Bruce H
Kuluin, 2023
“Prompt and efficient quoting.”
- B
Brendon
Brays Creek, 2016
“Peter supplied and installed roof insulation for me. He was very informative and provided good advice.”
- Ghipages
Gerry S
Fitzgibbon, 2023
“I used Comfort Zone and they have a done an excellent job.”
- T
Trevor G
Brookside Centre, 2016
“Excellent tradesmen from Comfort Zone Insulation. They were punctual and cleaned up after. Highly recommended.”
- Thipages
Tamara
Underwood, 2023
“Peter is honest, hard-working and came on time. Knew excally what he was talking about and answered my questions. Would 100% recommend”
- J
John G
Beaudesert, 2019
“Peter is an honest person who provided me with the information I wanted then performed a good job with great results for the benefit of myself and my family.”
- Shipages
Sterling G
Ashgrove, 2023
“Comfort Zone were very knowledge with great communication and follow up”
- Ghipages
Graham R
Riverhills, 2018
“Comfort Zone. Turned up ahead of time completed in +- 2 hours cleaned. All good. Very motivated installation team”
- Jhipages
Jung K
Riverhills, 2023
“An experienced family operation. Highly recommend. Thank you for the great job!”
- Khipages
Kathy A
North Lakes, 2023
“We connected with Peter through HiPages and he was prompt, professional and even came back after the job was complete to assist with a question we had. We would highly recommend Peter for further insulation works.”
- Dhipages
David H
Sunshine Coast, 2021
“Completed the job as quoted and to a high standard. Great personal service. Would highly recommend Comfort Zone for ceiling installationn work.”
- Shipages
Sue H
Sunshine Coast, 2021
“Incredible customer service”
- Ehipages
Eileen C
Cedar Vale, 2021
“Quality work, good customer service, prompt”
- Chipages
Craig M
Woody Point, 2021
“Called within 5 minutes of request. Very knowledgeable and explained job in great detail, provide great advice in prior preparation for works required. Very friendly and helpful.”
- Jhipages
Jenny C
Plainland, 2021
“Although I did not hire Peter I was impressed with the initial contact and the knowledge he was willing to impart. I was treated with respect which I appreciated. I would have hired but I received a lower quote.”
- Qhipages
Quinton
Coomera, 2020
“Professional installation without any short cuts. True to their word with high integrity. Response from Comfort Zone Insulation”
- Ghipages
Gary P
West Kempsey, 2020
“Came & Gave a free quote”
Two different products
No, cellulose is not Mr Fluffy, and it’s nothing like it.
“Mr Fluffy” was raw, crushed asbestos, a deadly mineral fibre, blown loose into ceilings by one importer in the ACT and NSW from the late 1960s into the early 1980s. Cellulose is grey shredded recycled paper, treated with borate for fire and pest resistance. It is a completely different material, and it has never contained a speck of asbestos. The only thing the two ever shared is that both were installed loose into a roof, which is exactly why some people muddle them up.
Mr Fluffy was real, and it was serious. People lost their homes over it. But once you know what it actually was, who installed it and where, you’ll see plainly why it has nothing to do with the borate-treated cellulose we pump into your roof.
The real Mr Fluffy story
One importer, one banned product, one small region.
This is worth getting straight. The more you understand what Mr Fluffy was, the clearer it is that it isn't cellulose.
- 1
A single business, from 1968
A Dutch immigrant named Dirk Jansen ran a company (trading as Asbestosfluf and D. Jansen & Co, founded in 1968, later succeeded by J&H Insulation) that sold loose-fill asbestos as ceiling insulation.
- 2
Raw, crushed asbestos blown in loose
The product was raw amphibole asbestos (mostly brown amosite, with some blue crocidolite) crushed and blown directly into roof spaces with no binder holding it together. Just loose, friable asbestos fibre sitting above people's ceilings.
- 3
Late 1960s to early 1980s
It was installed across roughly this window, before being stopped. The 'Mr Fluffy' nickname only came along later, in the 1990s, as the scale of the problem became clear.
- 4
A defined area: ACT and NSW
Nearly 1,000 Canberra homes were bought and demolished under the ACT eradication scheme. In NSW, 71,213 homes were inspected and 152 were demolished or remediated, about one in every 470. The ACT register is now down to 17 houses.
- 5
Banned, and homes demolished
The product was banned and governments eventually ran buy-back and demolition schemes for affected houses. It was a genuine tragedy, and it was one rogue product that was stamped out.
Sources for the history above: Australian Government Asbestos Safety guide, NSW Government and the “Mr Fluffy” background.
Three different loose-fills
How to tell them apart, and when not to trust your eyes.
If you've found an unknown loose material in an older roof, here's a rough guide to what you might be looking at. Read the caveat at the bottom before you go poking around.
Raw loose-fill asbestos (Mr Fluffy)
A fluffy, fibrous, loose material, often greyish or off-white, with no binder holding it together. This is the dangerous one. If you genuinely suspect it in an older ACT/NSW home, do not disturb it and get it tested.
Asbestos-contaminated vermiculite (Zonolite)
Small gold-brown or grey pebbly, accordion-shaped flakes, a different product again, which the US EPA warns about. Not the same as Mr Fluffy, and not cellulose either.
Cellulose: what we install
- Grey, shredded, papery fibre, because it’s recycled paper.
- Treated with borate (boric acid + borax) for fire and pests.
- Never contained asbestos, not in any reputable product.
The caveat I always give: in a dark roof cavity you can’t always tell loose-fills apart by eye, and you should never bet your health on a guess. If you’ve bought an older home and you’re genuinely unsure what’s up there, don’t panic and don’t start disturbing it. Get a sample tested by a NATA-accredited lab. That’s the safe answer, full stop. More on asbestos in your roof →
Buying or renovating an older home?
Public registers: NSW checked 71,213 homes, found 152.
If you're in the ACT or NSW and you want certainty before you buy or renovate, the governments there keep searchable registers of affected addresses.
71,213
NSW homes inspected
152
found and demolished or made safe
1 in 470
of the homes they checked
Those are the real numbers. New South Wales inspected 71,213 houses and found it in 152 of them. That’s about one home in every 470 they checked, and every one has been demolished or made safe. NSW Government: “inspected 71,213 homes and demolished or remediated 152 properties”. In Canberra the government bought and knocked down almost a thousand houses to be rid of it. ACT Government: “acquisition and demolition of almost 1,000 properties”
What’s actually left on the ACT register: 17 houses.
The ACT publishes its whole register as a document, every property by street address. As at 30 June 2026 there are 17 houses on it, spread across 14 Canberra suburbs. Three of those have been bought by the Territory. That’s what’s left of a problem that started with nearly a thousand homes.
| Canberra suburb | On the register |
|---|---|
| Macquarie | 3 |
| Weetangera | 2 |
| Aranda | 1 |
| Chapman | 1 |
| Cook | 1 |
| Curtin | 1 |
| Farrer | 1 |
| Fisher | 1 |
| Giralang | 1 |
| Hackett | 1 |
| Lyons | 1 |
| Stirling | 1 |
| Watson | 1 |
| Yarralumla | 1 |
| Total | 17 |
Counted off the ACT Government’s own register. Affected Residential Premises Register as at 30 June 2026 — kept under the Dangerous Substances Act 2004. NSW runs its register as an address search instead, so you can look up a house but you can’t pull a suburb list out of it.
NSW Loose-fill Asbestos Insulation Register
NSW Fair Trading maintains a public register of premises identified with loose-fill asbestos insulation. If you’re buying or renovating an older home in NSW, you can search the address there.
ACT Affected Residential Premises Register
The ACT keeps an Affected Residential Premises Register listing properties identified under the loose-fill asbestos program. Again, you can look up an address before you commit.
Here’s the key thing for my customers: every affected home on those public registers is in the ACT or NSW. The installer never operated in Queensland. So for a Queensland roof, the Mr Fluffy problem simply wasn’t part of the picture. That said, if you ever find an unknown loose-fill in any older roof, treat it cautiously and get it tested rather than relying on a register alone.
Watch the story
The Mr Fluffy story, on the news.
This ABC News report covers the loose-fill asbestos problem in ACT homes, the real product, the real scandal. Watch it and you'll see how different it is from a bag of grey recycled paper.
Don’t judge every car by one bad engine
One rogue importer doesn’t make every loose-fill dangerous.
Here’s how I’d put it to a worried customer. Mr Fluffy was one importer, selling one banned raw-asbestos product, in one small region, the ACT and a corner of NSW, forty years ago. Modern cellulose is a different thing entirely: borate-treated recycled paper that never contained asbestos.
Buying a car from one maker that built a bad engine doesn’t mean every car has a bad engine. Judging all cellulose by Mr Fluffy is the same mistake. Reputable cellulose makers never used asbestos and only ever used borate, and we make ours in Tiaro, where you’re welcome to come and watch it being milled and treated.
Two very different products
Mr Fluffy:raw crushed amphibole asbestos, no binder, one importer, ACT/NSW, ~1968–early-1980s. Banned. Homes demolished.
Our cellulose: grey recycled paper + borate, made by our family in Tiaro, pumped seamlessly, backed by the Life-of-House Guarantee. Never any asbestos.
Straight answers
Mr Fluffy questions I get asked.
Is cellulose insulation the same as Mr Fluffy asbestos?+
No, they're completely different products. 'Mr Fluffy' was raw, crushed amphibole asbestos (mostly brown amosite, with some blue crocidolite) blown loose into ceilings with no binder, by one importer from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. Cellulose is grey, shredded recycled paper treated with borate (boric acid and borax) for fire and pest resistance. It has never contained asbestos. The only thing they share is that both were installed as a loose-fill, and that's exactly why people get them confused.
What actually was Mr Fluffy?+
It was a single business. A Dutch immigrant named Dirk Jansen ran a company (trading as Asbestosfluf and D. Jansen & Co, founded in 1968; later succeeded by J&H Insulation) that pumped raw, crushed asbestos loose into roof spaces as insulation, roughly from 1968 into the early 1980s. The nickname 'Mr Fluffy' came later, in the 1990s. The Australian Government's asbestos guide and the NSW Government both cover this history. It was a real and serious problem. But it was one product, from one operator, that was banned.
How many homes were affected, and was Queensland ever involved?+
Nearly 1,000 Canberra homes were bought and demolished under the ACT's eradication scheme. In New South Wales the government inspected 71,213 homes and ended up demolishing or remediating 152 of them, which is about one home in every 470 they checked. The ACT's public register is now down to 17 houses. Every affected home was in the ACT or NSW, concentrated in and around Canberra including Queanbeyan, with a small number later found in northern Sydney. The installer never operated in Queensland. That said, if you've bought an older home and you're genuinely unsure what's in your roof, the right move isn't to panic. It's to get a sample tested by a NATA-accredited lab.
How do I tell raw asbestos, asbestos-vermiculite and cellulose apart by looking?+
As a rough guide: raw loose-fill asbestos (Mr Fluffy) looks like a fluffy, fibrous, often greyish or off-white loose material with no binder. Asbestos-contaminated vermiculite, the 'Zonolite' type the US EPA warns about, looks like small gold-brown or grey pebbly, accordion-shaped flakes. Cellulose looks like grey, shredded, papery fibre. That's what it is. One caveat: in a dark roof cavity you can't always tell loose-fills apart by eye, and you shouldn't bet your health on a guess. If there's any doubt about an older home, don't disturb it. Get a NATA test.
Is there a register I can check before I buy or renovate a house?+
Yes. NSW Fair Trading keeps a public Loose-fill Asbestos Insulation Register, and the ACT runs an Affected Residential Premises Register. If you're buying or renovating an older home in those areas, you can search the address. Both are linked from this page. Outside the ACT/NSW the installer never operated. But if you ever find an unknown loose-fill in any older roof, treat it cautiously and get it tested rather than relying on a register alone.
So why shouldn't one asbestos scandal put me off cellulose?+
Because it was one rogue importer, one banned raw-asbestos product, in one small region, the ACT and a corner of NSW, forty years ago. Modern cellulose is a different thing entirely: borate-treated recycled paper that never contained asbestos. Judging all cellulose by Mr Fluffy is like refusing to ever buy a car because one manufacturer once built a bad engine. Reputable cellulose makers never used asbestos and only ever used borate. We make ours in Tiaro and you're welcome to come and watch.
Glad to know cellulose isn't what you feared? Tell people.
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Want insulation made by the family who pumps it in?
We make our borate-treated cellulose in Tiaro, recycled paper, never any asbestos, and we install it ourselves. Send me your address and roof type and I’ll give you a fixed-price quote, and you’re welcome to come and see exactly what we put in your roof.