Formaldehyde exposure may potentially cause a variety of symptoms and adverse health effects, such as eye, nose, throat, and skin irritation, coughing, wheezing, and allergic reactions. Long-term exposure to high levels of formaldehyde has been associated with cancer in humans and laboratory animals.
Exposure to formaldehyde from laminate flooring in the home may cause irritation, cough, or shortness of breath, especially in children and people with asthma or other respiratory problems. Medical therapy should aim to alleviate symptoms and recommend actions to decrease further exposure.
Although dust mites can be removed by regular vacuuming, they will accumulate without thorough and frequent cleaning. Beware Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) – Many types of flooring can emit VOCs after they are installed and may contribute to breathing problems and headaches in certain people.
People can generally smell formaldehyde before being adversely affected by it. Formaldehyde released from laminate flooring at levels that individuals can smell may affect their quality of life.
Although levels of formaldehyde emissions from products like laminate flooring decrease over time, significant off-gassing may continue for months and even years. Significant off-gassing from laminate flooring can continue for months and even years.
Formaldehyde irritates the nose, eyes and throat. These irritations can happen at low levels of formaldehyde. Other short-term effects include headache, runny nose, nausea and difficulty breathing. Exposure may cause wheezing, asthma attacks and other respiratory symptoms.
What is formaldehyde? Formaldehyde is a colorless chemical with a strong pickle-like odor that is commonly used in many manufacturing processes. It easily becomes a gas at room temperature, which makes it part of a larger group of chemicals known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
As levels increase, some people have breathing problems or irritation of the eyes, nose, throat, or skin from formaldehyde exposure in their homes. These health effects can happen in anyone, but children, older adults, and people with asthma and other breathing problems are more likely to have these symptoms.
How is formaldehyde in flooring measured? To accurately recreate the conditions that may be present in a home or office, an environmental gas testing chamber is used. A sample of your laminate flooring will be placed within a chamber at a set temperature and humidity.
If you want to test your home, hire a qualified professional who has the training and equipment to test formaldehyde levels in your home. Note that these tests can be expensive and don't tell you which products are releasing the most formaldehyde in your home.
Healthier flooring options include solid wood, natural linoleum, cork, bamboo, tile and stone. A key feature of all of these is that they are easily cleaned of dust and dirt.
It all comes down to chemicals – Certain types of flooring can contain various forms of reprocessed plastics and certain toxic chemicals, predominantly lead, cadmium and phthalates. Over time, these chemicals and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can be released into the air via a process called Off-Gassing.
According to experts, concrete floor systems can cause everything from bunions and ingrown toenails to shin splints, lumbar strain, and achilles tendonitis. It can also lead to lower back pain, stress fractures, knee pain, and worsening of arthritis symptoms.
Breathing air containing low levels of formaldehyde can cause burning and watering eyes. As levels increase, it can cause burning of the nose and throat, coughing, and difficulty in breathing. Some people may be more sensitive to formaldehyde and have effects at levels lower than expected.
Acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term) inhalation exposure to formaldehyde in humans can result in respiratory symptoms, and eye, nose, and throat irritation. Limited human studies have reported an association between formaldehyde exposure and lung and nasopharyngeal cancer.
Formaldehyde (gas) is on the Proposition 65 list because it can cause cancer. Exposure to formaldehyde can cause leukemia and cancers of the nose, throat, and sinuses.
Formaldehyde is a colorless gas with a strong, suffocating odor. It often is mixed with alcohol to make a liquid called formalin.
Air purifiers with activated carbon filters can eliminate formaldehyde and hundreds of other chemicals from the ambient air. Activated carbon has a high-efficiency rating when it comes to removing formaldehyde.
Formaldehyde is off-gased from medium density fibreboard (MDF), a cheap alternative to natural wood. But even high-end engineered wood floors may consist partly out of MDF to prevent the actual wood from changing shape.
It is found in cosmetics, cleaning products, air fresheners, glues, paints, hair straighteners, and detergents as well as certain pressed-wood construction products like cabinets, furnishings, plywood or particleboard and laminate flooring. Certain permanent press fabrics may also contain formaldehyde [3] [2] [1].
In homes, the most significant sources of formaldehyde are likely to be pressed wood products made using adhesives that contain urea-formaldehyde (UF) resins.
Bed frame, nightstand and dresser
That is right—if your bedroom furniture is made of pressed-wood products such as fiberboard, plywood, or particle board, it may have been manufactured using formaldehyde. Additionally, if any of the furniture is made with a fire retardant, it could contain formaldehyde.
The noncarcinogenic effects of MDF dust and formaldehyde include eye and skin irritation [2, 7, 8], dermatitis, [9] respiratory illnesses such as nasal inflammation [10], asthma [7, 11, 12], bronchitis [13], coughing, loud breathing, and wheezing [11, 12], and lower chest discomfort [8].
Baking soda reduces odor and gently cleans clothes. To do this, pour some baking soda into the warm water, swirl it around gently to mix the ingredients, and submerge your clothes in the mixture for at least 8 hours to remove formaldehyde.