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How to Remove & Avoid Formaldehyde Gas Hazards In Buildings InspectAPedia®  -     How to get rid of indoor formaldehyde gas How to avoid formaldehyde gas hazards indoors List of sources of formaldehyde gas or odors in buildings How to reduce formaldehyde exposure levels in a building

Here we describe steps to reduce or eliminate exposure to formaldehyde gas in air or water indoors - how to remove formaldehyde gas and formaldehyde gas emitting building products. This article includes excerpts or adaptations from Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, by Steven Bliss, courtesy of Wiley & Sons. Also see Formaldehyde Hazards - a list of formaldehyde sources in buildings, see Common Indoor Air Pollutants, and see ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS - INSPECT, TEST, REMEDY for our full list of environmental hazard identification and remedy related to buildings. For a discussion of foam outgassing, see URETHANE FOAM Deterioration, Outgassing.

© Copyright 2009 Daniel Friedman, Steve Bliss, Wiley & Sons, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

As we described at Formaldehyde Hazards and as detailed in Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction:

Formaldehyde is a ubiquitous volatile organic compound (VOC) that occurs in nature and is widely used in building products, finishes, and furnishings because of its desirable properties and low cost. Nearly all products made with formaldehyde outgas to some extent, but only a few contribute significantly to indoor air problems.

Suggestions for Reducing Exposure to Formaldehyde Indoors

The best way to limit exposure to formaldehyde is to avoid the use of bare pressed wood products made with urea-formaldehyde resins. Also avoid cabinets, flooring, and furniture finished with acid- catalyzed urea formaldehyde coatings, which emit a very high level of formaldehyde when new. Individuals with formaldehyde sensitivity should take further steps to avoid permanent press draperies, wallpaper, and conventional paints, many of which use formaldehyde as a preservative. Our photo (left) shows bare particle board visible on the under-side of a game table. The yellow growth happens to be a mold infection. If the bare particle board surface had been sealed with a clear sealant or a paint the moisture up-take of this particle board product would have been less friendly to mold growth and possibly to formaldehyde outgassing as well. The highest emitting products are typically medium- density fiberboard, particle board, interior hardwood plywoods, such as lauan, and prefinished interior plywood paneling. In addition to underlayments and decorative panels, these product are widely used in cabinets, countertops, shelving, and furniture. Where possible, substitute solid wood, softwood plywood, or products certified as low emitters of formaldehyde. All exterior-grade plywood and pressed-wood products and all APA-stamped plywood panels use phenol-formaldehyde resins, which are more chemically stable than urea- formaldehyde and have negligible emissions. Homasote products are also free of formaldehyde and can be used as underlayment and sound insulation. For cabinetwork, look for low-emitting substrates using phenol-formaldehyde or methylene diisocyanate (MDI) resin, such as SierraPine’s formaldehyde-free medium-density-fiberboard called Medite II. There are also many “low-formaldehyde” panel products developed to comply with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements for manufactured housing. While these generally have lower formaldehyde emissions than noncertified products, they may still have over three times the emissions of products made with phenolic or MDI resin.

Where panel products with urea-formaldehyde resins must be used, they should be covered or coated on as many surfaces as possible. Panels covered with an impermeable facing, such a vinyl or plastic laminate, have low emissions. Another option is to coat the panels with two or more coats of a water-resistant finish, such as polyurethane, lacquer, or alkyd paint. In general, unless a finish is visibly thick and an effective vapor barrier, it probably has little effect on formaldehyde emissions.

Controlling heat and humidity is also important, since hot, humid conditions significantly raise the level of formaldehyde emissions. Sensitive individuals should also launder permanent-press draperies before using and should avoid newly painted rooms for several days. Prior to use, any new furnishings or surfaces with formaldehyde-based materials should be allowed to air out for several days to several weeks in a well-ventilated space.

Generally, formaldehyde levels will drop off rapidly at first and eventually level off at very low levels. Monitoring of 40 new houses by Oak Ridge National Laboratory found that, after five years, nearly all houses, including those insulated with urea-formaldehyde (UF) foam insulation, had formaldehyde levels below 0.1 ppm.

-- Adapted with permission from Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction.

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• Daniel Friedman - principal author/editor of the InspectAPedia^® Website
• Steven Bliss served as editorial director and co-publisher of The Journal of Light Construction for 16 years and previously as building technology editor for Progressive Builder and Solar Age magazines. He worked in the building trades as a carpenter and design/build contractor for more than ten years and holds a masters degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Excerpts from his recent book, Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, Wiley (November 18, 2005) ISBN-10: 0471648361, ISBN-13: 978-0471648369, appear throughout this website, with permission and courtesy of Wiley & Sons. Best Practices Guide is available from the publisher, J. Wiley & Sons, and also at Amazon.com.
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Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS GUIDE
AIR POLLUTANTS, COMMON INDOOR
ALLERGEN TESTS for BUILDINGS
ALLERGENS in BUILDINGS, RECOGNIZING
ALLERGY TESTS for PEOPLE
ALLERGY TEST ACCURACY
FLOODS IN BUILDINGS-priorities
FLOOD DAMAGE ASSESSMENT, SAFETY & CLEANUP
MOLD: A COMPLETE GUIDE TO MOLD
ACTION GUIDE - WHAT TO DO ABOUT INDOOR MOLD
INDOOR AIR QUALITY & HOUSE TIGHTNESS
INDOOR AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT GUIDE
  Health Effects of Air Pollutants
  Common Indoor Air Pollutants
  Key Strategies for Improving Indoor Air Quality
  Whole House Ventilation Strategies
  Exhaust-Only Ventilation
  Supply-Only Ventilation
  Balanced Ventilation
  Air Filtering Strategies
  Particles in Indoor Air - Chart
  Quick Guide to Gases
  Air-Cleaner Types
  Air Filter Effectiveness
  Real-World Effectiveness of Air Cleaners
  Finding & Reducing Air Pollutants
  Radon Hazards
  Formaldehyde Hazards
  Formaldehyde Gas Hazard Reduction
  Biological Pollutants
  Urea Formaldehyde Foam Insulation UFFI
  URETHANE FOAM Deterioration, Outgassing
  Volatile Organic Compounds VOCs
  Pesticide Exposure Hazards
  Lead Exposure Hazards
  Asbestos Exposure Hazards
  Carpeting and Indoor Air Quality
  Combustion Appliance Contaminants
  Backdrafting Appliances
  Fireplace & Woodstove Contaminants
  INDOOR AIR HAZARDS TABLE
  INDOOR COMBUSTION PRODUCTS & IAQ
INDOOR AIR QUALITY METHODS COMPARED
LEAD POISONING HAZARDS GUIDE
MOISTURE CONTROL in BUILDINGS
MOLD ACTION GUIDE - WHAT TO DO ABOUT MOLD
MOLD ATLAS & PARTICLES INDEX
MOLD BY MICROSCOPE
MOLD CLASSES, HAZARD LEVELS
MOLD CLEANUP GUIDE- HOW TO GET RID OF MOLD
MOLD DETECTION & INSPECTION GUIDE
ODORS, Smells, Gases in Buildings-Diagnosis & Cure
RENTERS & TENANTS GUIDE TO MOLD
SEWAGE BACKUP TEST & CLEANUP
STAIN DIAGNOSIS
TECHNICAL & LAB PROCEDURES
THERMAL TRACKING

• "Urethane Outgassing", Q&A article, Solar Age, April 1984

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

• Our recommended books about building design, inspection, and repair, and about indoor environment testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore.
• Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, by Steven Bliss. John Wiley & Sons, 2006. ISBN-10: 0471648361, ISBN-13: 978-0471648369, Hardcover: 320 pages, available from Wiley.com and also at Amazon.com. See our book review of this publication

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