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.

If you are worried about VOCs, don’t sit in a car. The newer it is the worse it gets.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666386423001431#:~:text=Formaldehyde%20and%20benzene%20are%20identified,Research%20on%20Cancer%20(IARC).&text=These%20compounds%20are%20typical%20VOCs%20found%20in%20a%20vehicle%20cabin%20environment.

Forgot the graph. Same source.

@focacciamuffin I'm just thinking about DIY in the home (am car-free so cars not on my radar!)

This is very much on my mind as we are building a house and looking for non toxic flooring etc. So far I have chosen Marmoleum for the kitchen and bathroom floors and hopefully a solid wood kitchen. Porcelain tiles in the utility etc. It has been a revelation looking at kitchens - even the high end ones often have MDF.

We need to have engineered wood elsewhere because of UFH, but I have started to worry about the glues. I would love wool carpets upstairs but worry about bastard moths.

Not once have I ever read instructions for a mattress . Didn’t know they even came with some . 🤔

Can’t say that I read mattress instructions either, I thought that the need for off- gassing was common knowledge?

It is incredibly difficult to find resources. I'm also finding it hard to find accurate info about how big a problem it is, or how to assess. I'm finding it very frustrating!!

@formaldehydequestion I have seen information about different types of engineered wood flooring on youtube but it's mostly aimed at American consumers. It's the core of the plank where there can be a lot of VOCs, also whether lacquered (can get water-based UV cured) or waxed (seems to have a lot of solvents in it). It is possible to buy unfinished and put your own finish on but no way could I face that! One supplier says they can give solid planks an extra drying to make them stable over UHF but I am dubious.

I can see why so many people tile throughout but it's not very homely!

Agree is it REALLY hard to find factual info that isn't at either end of the "you're going to diiiiiiiieeeeeee" or "nothing to see here, why on earth would solvents and petro-chemicals be a problem?" scale!

I do remember reading that pregnant women should avoid being in cars that are less than 6 months old which, although I knew a bit about off-gassing and pollutants in daily products, really put into into perspective.

I will try to find out about formaldehyde-free mdf that was talked about on Grand Designs but I'm scouring Facebook and Ebay for my preferred option of a secondhand solid wood kitchen. Not sure about the worktops though, I had looked at recycled glass but that can include various resins. It's a minefield and you can spend hours going off on tangents!

Agree @TeaAndStrumpets on the tiling, plus we are a very clumsy family so I'm not sure they would be the best solution for us.🤣

Yes and also the echoing would drive me mad in the kitchen, not to mention being hard on the joints!

I've been down (yet another) rabbit hole for engineered wood and apparently Kahrs is not bad.

Secondhand kitchen is a good way to go if you can find a used bespoke one. My DD found a huge one on Ebay for a grand, solid Iroko worktops and 2 (!) Butlers sinks with posh taps included. Obviously use of a van is handy.

We are looking at tulipwood solid cabinets painted with low VOC paint. Quartzite (not quartz) looks good for worktops. I just need to check the sealant.

That gives me hope re finding a kitchen!

We used to use Ecospaint's satin paint on woodwork but I haven't used it since they got taken over by another company (can't remember the name). That was VOC-free.

Just another thought as this is something I am currently looking for. If you want to avoid formaldehyde, don’t buy bed sheets, shirts etc with non iron coatings. These contain formaldehyde. Often the information online doesn’t say whether a non iron coating has been applied and its not until it arrives that it says it on the packet. Am just returning some sheets at the moment because of this. It is possible to buy sheets without a coating (and tbh I don’t notice a huge difference in the need for ironing having switched from one to the other), the difficulty is getting ones in the right fabric and colour. If you are not fussy it’s easier.

And while we are sharing info. I buy mattresses from Cotton Safe Natural Mattresses which are flame retardant free. The only smell you get from these new is of sheep 😂 (because of the wool).

Greenfibres are also good for quilts and pillows and mattress protectors (they also do bedding).

We have also bought quilts from Baavet.

I am really pleased that awareness of this is starting to grow in the U.K. The more people who want toxin free products, the more information should be made available to customers and the more products should be available.

Oh and you need to watch for the equivalent of “green washing” ie making something sound toxin free when it’s not. You need to read carefully the words they use and if needed ask detailed questions. A common issue is saying something, such as a fabric is organic, but then flame retardants or other finishes have been added to the “organic” fabric, making the term completely pointless.

I’m just renovating a house - the flooring is solid stone (rugs are fine), kitchen and bathrooms are painted micro cemented concrete with solid wood doors.

as you can imagine this is bloody expensive but will last years. MDF has been banished, purely because I hate it.

I haven’t done any of this for safety reasons, pretty much everything seems to be toxic nowadays even jolly dish washing tablets so I’ve given up. Life is too short.