That New Cancer Causing Smell

If you live under a roof, you are probably living with formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is a gas, that is produced when certain adhesives vaporize at room temperature or "off gas". The CDC has classified it a known carcinogen and it is responsible for irritation of the eyes, lungs, nose, and throat. Formaldehyde is a leading culprit of poor indoor air quality, and if you own a mobile home, your house is full of formaldehyde producing adhesives. These adhesives are used in the sub floors, decking, and cabinets.

There are three types of wood sheeting commonly used for building in the US; plywood, OSB(oriented strand board), and MDF/particle board(medium density fiberboard). There are two types of formaldehyde resins; urea-formaldehyde (UF), and phenol-formaldehyde (PF). The majority of OSB's and plywood's use PF, which is more stable and off gasses slowly over a long period of time. MDF's use UF, which is much more toxic because it contains more resin than plywood and UF off gasses at a faster rate. Some new carpets also contain formaldehyde, but carpet is a whole different animal, and I will cover It extensively in an upcoming post.

To reduce the levels of formaldahyde you can.

1. Seal it in with a product like, AFM safecoat. Anything made of wood that is not solid wood such as; furniture, building materials, and cabinets, should be sealed. If your house is 10 years old or older, your existing MDF should be safe.
2. Replace cabinets and furniture made with MDF board, with antique or solid wood furniture and cabinets.
3. Replace carpet with hardwood or some other green floor covering.
4. Buy a home that is at least 10 years old. Studies have shown that the majority of offgassing will take place in 10 years. At this point, even mdf cabinets and flooring should be safe.
5. Avoid buying a home that has particle board flooring. Not only is particle board more toxic, it performs horribly when it gets wet. Mobile homes are available, that use OSB and plywood. Our 90's model Clayton has OSB flooring, they are very common.

http://www.epa.gov/teach/chem_summ/Formaldehyde_summary.pdf
http://greenhomeguide.com/askapro/question/im-concerned-about-toxic-offgassing-from-osb-subflooring-and-roofing-are-safer-products-available
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/everything-you-need-to-know-about-particle-board-outgassing#b

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehhe/trailerstudy/pdfs/08_118152_compendium%20for%20states.pdf