Do you worry about formaldehyde levels in the home/from DIY?

[formaldehydequestion]

I am wondering if there is concern about formaldehyde in regular domestic furniture - kitchen cabinets, shelving units, plywood, things like that?

Is it a thing to try to avoid it? It seems difficult to do, because so many things have chipboard or plywood in them.

If anyone has knowledge I would be glad to hear thoughts.

I don’t consciously avoid it but do always try and leave new furniture out in the garage to off-gas for a few days before bringing it into the house. It does seem to help, we have Dyson air purifiers and the one in DD’s room gave sky high readings for VOCs and formaldehyde when she got a new set of drawers. Left them out for a few days before bringing them back in again and readings dramatically lowered back to normal

Never heard of it.

Sorry

Nah. Life's too short, probably because of all the formaldehyde tbh

Yes I do but as you say very difficult to avoid. And formaldehyde is not the only toxic chemical to worry about sadly. I try to buy furniture from places that are careful about what chemicals they use (ikea are quite good for this) if possible. I wouldn't have vinyl tiles/flooring in my home. I try to avoid flame retardants as much as possible. But it's impossible in the U.K. to avoid these things altogether. Other countries (when you try to Google search) seem to have more options. I try to make my bed (as you lie in it for hours everyday) as toxin free as possible. I also leave furniture etc outside to offgas if possible/needed as the pp said. It's very difficult to do and takes a lot of research to just reduce what's in your home.

I also try to have air cleaning plants in most rooms and have Dyson air fans/filters plus I try to air the house as much as possible to reduce indoor pollution.

I have chronic health issues so probably go further than most can be bothered to!

I would say there is probably worse chemicals in air freshners, fake tan, make-up etc. People use more often then the furniture they have

I am very conscious of it, and try to reduce the build up of toxic chemicals in general. I don't buy mdf or ply, and am always asking about how things are constructed to check for glues or resins, etc. I try to buy secondhand and/or natural products as much as i an.

We need to buy a new kitchen soon so I have assumed I will be probably be searching high and low for solid wood cabinets (that don't require a mortgage!) to avoid mdf.

There was a really interesting episode of Grand Designs a couple of weeks ago that featured this issue heavily as the couple two kids have severe asthma. By the time they finished the house, the VOC readings were 70% lower than in the average new build.

Some things are so hard to find though - even the woman in that episode admitted defeat in finding a 'healthy' sofa and bought secondhand. She did manage to find mdf- free kitchen cabinets though so that was useful to find out.

Oh thank you to all for your views.

I was also wondering about the kitchen as you mention @ToriTheStoryteller - seems very hard to avoid MDF in most units. I also thought that maybe the amount plus the levels of fresh air must make a big difference in different homes.

And yes I agree @SpringerFall about other sources, but the ones you mention are easier to exclude. Plywood, MDF etc seem to be in so many things.

@INeedToClingToSomething I read that vinyl tiles were quite good for VOCs, unlike vinyl roll?

@stressedespresso Thank you for the info about the readings.

No.

Yes, especially when we bought an Emma mattress, bloody hell, it was enough to make your eyes water. I wasn't sleeping on that.

We try to make new furniture purchases and do any renovations in the summer so we can keep the doors and windows open and have the air circulating.

And when the cost differences aren't too punitive we try and buy less toxic alternatives.

Wouldn't it be the case that an MDF kitchen cupboard, for example, would only give off 'fumes' during production or for a short while after? Surely once they've been coated in colour and installed they aren't spending the rest of their lives emitting toxic gases?

@ToriTheStoryteller have a look at Furniture Nation. They sell on ebay and have a website.

😂

It has never once occurred to me.

No.

Didn’t know it was a thing to be worried about.

In fairness it does come in the instructions to allow mattresses, especially memory foam to off-gas for a few days before use

It wasn't a few days, we had it in a spare room with the windows open and the air purifier going flat stick and two weeks later it was still too much. The mattress we replaced it with was fine after a day or two though.

I agree so I am very careful with what I use in terms of those products also (where I can). Personally I think our systems can probably cope with the odd toxic chemical, it’s the toxic chemical soup we are constantly exposed to in all the products you and the OP have mentioned plus outdoor pollution and things like woodburners. That’s why I try to reduce exposure across the board.

If I understand it correctly vinyl flooring contains PVC which is known to be very toxic, plus there can be dioxins (I think from impurities) and phtalates.

https://www.greenbuildingsupply.com/Learning-Center/Flooring-LC/Why-we-dont-sell-luxury-vinyl-tile

if you find any non toxic vinyl flooring though I’d be interested to hear about what you find! I’ve

Yes this is interesting, it is difficult. I read that LVTs are good in terms of VOCs and therefore allergies, but PVC is not great, so that's confusing to me.

What IS a good option for flooring?? Carpet is awful, laminate too.

I think when LVT first started there seemed to be a bit of a crossover in terminology with "lino" and "vinyl" so there ended up being a perception with some people that they were the same and therefore that vinyl was natural/eco-friendly because lino is.

Thanks for the link @TreesWelliesKnees, will check that out.

Cork flooring is supposed to be good but all I can picture is it being damaged the first time a high heel walks on it or some grit gets trodden into it. I don't know anyone who has it but I read so much about how durable it is.

Carpet is OK depending on what it's made of but I'm put off because I can't even go into a carpet shop without tasting the chemicals and needing my inhaler!

i think better flooring options are:

• real linoleum
• cork
• natural carpets (without flame retardants)
• solid wood

But you have to watch for glues etc and added chemical treatments.

It’s an absolute minefield!

Yes but only because I’ve had an unexplained stillbirth. I worry about a lot of things most people wouldn’t although in practice usually find there are limits to what can be done about them.

Regulations in the UK are not bad. The US is far worse.

I'm sorry for your loss @AnnieApple123 - not surprising you worry.

@INeedToClingToSomething I agree it's a minefield!

Erm no, never even entered my mind