Formaldehyde gas exposure hazards from laminate flooring products:

This article discusses worries that unsafe formaldehyde gas exposure can occur in some buildings where Chinese-made laminate flooring products are installed. This concern was stimulated in 2015 by a U.S. television 60-Minutes broadcast that reported high levels of indoor formaldehyde gas in such homes where flooring sold by Lumber Liquidator was installed.

Here we describe the challenge of performing an accurate, representative test for any indoor contaminant, we describe methods of testing for formaldehyde gas indoors, and we discuss possible steps to remove formaldehyde gas and formaldehyde gas emitting laminated floor or other outgassing products in order to improve indoor air quality in homes.

Formaldehyde Outgassing from Flooring Materials: sources, tests, remedies

Article Contents

• FORMALDEHYDE in LAMINATE FLOORING
  • Lumber Liquidators LAMINATE FLOORING FORMALDEHYDE CONCERNS?
  • VARIABLES in FORMALDEHYDE OUTGASSING RATES
  • FORMALDEHYDE-RELATED ILLNESS SIGNS

 

 

 

How to deal with suspected formaldehyde outgassing from Lumber Liquidators or A&W Chinese Laminate Flooring

Reader Question: how do we test & what's the best way to get rid of formaldehyde outgassing from a Lumber Liquidators Laminate Flooring Job

7 March 2015 Californian said:

We just purchased a house with Lumber Liquidator flooring that was found by 60 minutes to contain formaldehyde level many times higher than the legal limit in the U.S. However, our installation is more than 2 years old. Do you think the outgas process of our floor is mostly done?

We thought about replacing the flooring but the current floor was installed on top of a plywood subfloor. Now, what if the formaldehyde has transferred into the subfloor so if we re-install any kind of porous flooring (like carpet) then it would only allow the formaldehyde to rise through the new flooring into our living space? Is this a realistic possibility?

What can we do to test the level of formaldehyde in the indoor air? And what's the best way to get rid of it?

This question was originally posted

at FORMALDEHYDE GAS HAZARD REDUCTION

Reply: A little summary of the big formaldehyde offgassing cloud

Thanks for the interesting question, Californian.

Media attention to Chinese laminate flooring off-gassing of formaldehyde has been considerable. Some Chinese-manufactured laminate flooring produces high levels of formaldehyde off-gassing because of the fast hot-process used those laminate flooring fabricators. I suspect the faster process is part of the more lower fabrication cost and thus attractive price of some flooring. We first discussed this question

at FLOOR, WOOD ENGINEERED, LAMINATE, INSTALL.

On 30 April 2015 the New York Times reported that

Lumber Liquidators reported a net loss in the first quarter as the company continued to dispute accusations taht its Chinese-made laminate flooring contained dangerous levels of formaldehyde. ... The retailer also disclosed that the Justice Department was seeking criminal charges against the company under the Lacey Act, an environmental conservation provision that prohibits the sale of wildlife or plants taken illegally.

The company previously said that the department was considering such charges in connection to illegally harvested wood products. ... Robert M. Lynch, the company's president said that the company was not increasing its purchases of laminate flooring from China and that it had been decreasing its sourcing from China even before the accusations surfaced. - Abrams, Rachel, "A Quarterly Loss at Lumber Liquidators After Consumer Flooring Complaints", The New York Times, 30 April 2015 p. B2.

An important if not the principal source of elevated formaldehyde in many buildings is medium density fiberboard (MDF) that is a central ingredient in laminate flooring products.

While the formaldehyde offgassing among laminate flooring products varies considerably for a number of reasons, the core material in the laminate flooring from China that received considerable media attention in 2015 is MDF. Formaldehyde emission rate tests conducted in 2014-2015, show that most of the laminate flooring manufactured in China has core MDF that substantially exceeds the CARB Airborne Toxic Control Measures (ATCM) guidelines.

Really? By early November 2015 it was clear that despite the company's continued suffering under a cloud of formaldehyde, Lumber Liquidators was not the only flooring vendor who had distributed laminate flooring products some of which might be out-gassing undesirable levels of formaldehyde.

The New York Times, in an update on formaldehyde and laminate floors, reported that other companies involved in manufacture and sale of formaldehyde off-gassing laminate flooring included Ark Floors, a California flooring importer of Chinese products who sold the flooring throughout the U.S., A&W Woods, also known as Anxin, the Chinese supplier to ARK and a company singularly unforthcoming to the Times reporter, Wayfair, an online flooring retailer, Walmart, and Home Depot stores (in the U.S. and Canada).

Just how much Chinese-made flooring was sold through these various retailers and how much of that has unacceptable formaldehyde emissions and when such sales stopped (if they have) are data obscured in the formaldehyde cloud.

"Test results from five types of Ark laminate show levels of formaldehyde "well above" the emission standards set by the California Air Resources Board, according to ... HPVA Laboratories... the lab that had done testing on Lumber Liquidator's products.... Wayfair... sold Ark's laminate products as recently as Oct. 1 [2015]" - Abrams, Rachel, "Importer Selling Laminate Flooring From China Faces Formaldehyde Claims", The New York Times, 10 November 2015, p. B3.

Where is the US EPA Formaldehyde Off-gassing Standard?

The TCSA Section 21 citizens' petition regarding formaldehyde off-gassing was received by the U.S. EPA in March of 2008. More than seven years later, in November 2015, and five years after the 2010 law calling for a standard, there was yet no national U.S. standard for formaldehyde out-gassing. What delayed the U.S. EPA's adoption of a standard modeled on California's CARB guidance?

OPINION: A combination of industry pressure and confusion. Certainly there has been confusion among reporters, consumers, even some IAQ professionals and hygienists that could in part be blamed on lack of clear reporting of just how formaldehyde off-gassing tests were performed, making claims of high or low formaldehyde release difficult to compare or even understand.

Flooring products that look identical may vary considerably in their offgassing rate and duration. Tests of some laminate flooring products sold by Home Depot and Loews found no violations of the CARB standard, but Abrams, reporting in the Times noted that it was unclear which flooring mills had produced those samples. Only by consistent and well-defined testing is it possible to draw conclusions about the actual formaldehyde release from specific laminate flooring products made in China or elsewhere.

What about sales of the same laminate-flooring inside China? The Times October 2015 article noted that

"In 2012, some of A&W's products were pulled from Chinese store shelves because of concern over formaldehyde, according to an article from Xinhua, China's official news agency". - Abrams, Op. Cit.

The current status of the U.S. EPA facts, advice, and proposed emission standards for composite wood products, a response to the Formaldehyde Standards for Composite Wood Products Act passed by the U.S. congress and signed into law in 2010 can be found at the U.S. EPA Formaldehyde website - http://www2.epa.gov/formaldehyde

Variables Determining Formaldehyde-Containing Building Product Off-gassing Rates

...

Formaldehyde is a rather volatile gas and it has certainly been detected at high levels in some buildings. And high levels of formaldehyde may be detected after installation of a variety of building products including some carpets or carpet padding, cabinets, counters, particle-board shelving, particle-board subflooring, and possibly laminate flooring products. Usually the outgassing from those products is rapid and the highest levels of outgassing occurs in weeks to months after initial installation.

The rate of formaldehyde off-gassing almost certainly is a function of these variables

• The type of laminate flooring and its components: in the two photos just above the engineered wood laminate flooring at left is made of all wood plies glued together. Formaldehyde may be an ingredient in the glue bonding these plies. At above right is a different laminated flooring product whose inner core is made of a particle-board like material.
  
  The composition of the right-hand laminated floor sample (photo above right) may contain more total formaldehyde than its neighbor. Or maybe not. In addition to the use of core wood-product materials that may contain formaldehyde binder resins, formaldehyde-resin binders are used for the bonding of the finished surface layer on some flooring products. The left hand sample contains more plies and thus would have used more laminate-ply bonding adhesive.
  
  Kim (2005) reported on the effects of using environment-friendly adhesives to replace UF resin to reduce the VOC emissions of laminate flooring.
  
  The density and composition of the original product of any product using formaldehyde affects its off-gassing rate. Open-celled foams and soft goods are likely to off-gas more rapidly than dense products.
  
  The amount of exposed side and end cuts of laminate flooring probably affects its outgassing rate as well as the passage of VOCs out of the formaldehyde-containing core material is easier through the surfaces that are not also covered and sealed by a laminated surface.
• The amount of formaldehyde in the original product as well as how the product is constructed.
• How the formaldehyde off-gassing test is conducted. For example, a direct test of a formaldehyde-containing particle-board-type wood core of a laminate flooring product would be likely to yield a significantly-higher formaldehyde off-gas level or rate than the actual flooring product would produce once that core has been covered by other layers and the flooring has been installed in a building.
  
  Chamber tests or tests that involve macerating flooring samples to measure formaldehyde outgassing are controlled and accurate in describing the material but are not likely to represent actual conditions in a building where the flooring has been installed.
• The building's temperature and humidity. Higher temperatures speed or increase the level off-gassing of formaldehyde. Higher humidity is likely to increase the level of formaldehyde in indoor air if there is a building source of this gas.
  
  In a separate article from the one already cited, Kim (2005) studied the effect of Korean under-floor heating systems (ONDOL) on the formaldehyde level in Korean homes where both laminate flooring and MDF particle-board furniture were present.
  
  The exposure of the flooring to higher heat resulted in a significant reduction in the formaldehyde outgassing of the laminate flooring over a 10 day period (levels fell from 0.03 mg/l to 0.10 mg/l after 10 days at 37-50°C) while home furnishings, not exposed to those same high temperatures were found to the most significant source of indoor formaldehyde in indoor air in Korean homes.
• The building's fresh air ventilation rate or air change rate: a tight building with little or no fresh air ventilation will generally have higher concentrations of airborne contaminants including gases such as formaldehyde if there is such a source in the building.
• The age of the building material that contains formaldehyde. The older a material is the more likely it is that the formaldehyde offgassing rate has been reduced.
  
  Some sources cite that typically the formaldehyde off-gassing rate is halved in the first year after installation of laminate flooring. According to some, and unlike the CHINESE DRYWALL HAZARDS it would be unusual to find significant formaldehyde off gassing after a few months, or in worst cases a year or two after installation of most such materials.
  
  Really?  we have read anecdotal reports that chamber testing of samples of manufactured home laminate flooring from the 1970's could still yield high formaldehyde levels. However we don't have important details such as how those samples were stored and how they might or might not represent installed-building conditions.
  
  UREA FORMALDEHYDE FOAM INSULATION, UFFI, was an open-celled foam insulation pumped into building cavities. After an initial curing period that varied depending on the original foam mix, it would be unusual to detect any significant level of indoor formaldehyde from that source.
• The actual formaldehyde test that was used: the sensitivity and test requirements vary among different methods for detecting formaldehyde.
  
  See FORMALDEHYDE TESTS for FLOORING for examples.

I'm not sure I agree with your premise that a significant level of formaldehyde has transferred to the subflooring below your laminate flooring. From your note we don't know if your particular floor was the specific Chinese-made product that has raised this formaldehyde concern. Nor do we know if it is outgassing formaldehyde.

At least I would not, without carefully-constructed testing, assume that the subfloor is a meaningful receiver of formaldehyde such that it would continue to offer an outgassing hazard from having had a laminate or engineered floor installed above it, nor would I assume, without proper testing, that the finish flooring in your home is hazardous.

The most significant source of formaldehyde in homes today is pressed wood products made with urea- formaldehyde resins. These include particle board, interior hardwood paneling, and medium-density fiberboard (MDF), which has the highest concentration of urea- formaldehyde of any pressed wood product.

Formaldehyde is normally present at low levels, usually below 0.03 ppm both indoors and outdoors. However, buildings with high levels of pressed wood products can have higher indoor levels.

While the 60-Minutes television program you cite reported unacceptably high levels of formaldehyde, I have not yet located specifics on exactly how the test was performed - so we don't have a clear idea of how well it represents the actual experience likely to be had by homeowners where laminate flooring was installed. - The New York Times, 4 March 2015

Here is what Lumber Liquidators says about the 60-minutes Chinese-made laminate flooring off-gassing test:

60 Minutes used an improper test method in its reporting that is not included in California’s regulations and does not measure a product according to how it is actually used by consumers. 60 Minutes used a “de constructive test,” which would be like testing the emissions of a car by removing the catalytic converter and muffler. In contrast, we perform California Air Resource Board (CARB) testing on the fiberboard core and A SECOND ROUND OF TESTING on the finished product. - Lumber Liquidators, "How is our testing different than 60 Minutes?", retrieved 28 March 2015, original source: http://www.lumberliquidators.com/sustainability/health-and-safety/

The Federal Wood Industries Coalition, an industry trade group, as well as others have published position statements on the use of deconstructive testing to screen materials for formaldehyde offgassing potential. Here is an excerpt from FWIC:

... Most finished goods have laminates, coatings or finishes that further reduce the emission of residual formaldehyde in common use. The regulations do not consider these effects – they only regulate the unfinished panel substrates. ... CARB now has under consideration a proposal that would test laminated panels without removing the laminate, using well established and vetted test methods. We support the use of this technique. - FWIC Statement on Deconstructive Testing, March 2015, retrieved 28 March 2015, original source: http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.iwpawood.org/resource/resmgr/Docs/Deconstructive_testing_FWIC_.pdf

Position statements about methods used for testing for formaldehyde such as those suggested by CARB are available from industries that make considerable use of formaldehyde in the production of products such as cabinets, flooring, and particleboard and are included atReferences or Citations .

Laminate Flooring Outgassing & Illness Signs?

Reliable formaldehyde outgassing test data vs. anecdotal evidence of flooring-related illness

We do not yet know that the formaldehyde outgassing tests made by the two investors discussed in the 60-Minutes program and in subsequent media reports were made following methods that actually describe the level of indoor formaldehyde exposure that would be experienced by building occupants - since we don't know quite how those tests were performed nor under what building conditions.

And we do know that it is very difficult to construct a truly accurate test of flooring outgassing or many other home indoor air pollutants. As we discuss later in this article series, small changes such as opening or closing windows or doors, turing fans on or off, even placement of a test device can make enormous changes in the test result. Just because a test kit gives a number to five decimal places (precision) that does not mean that the test is accurate (anywhere near the actual level of what's being measured).

However certainly there have been anecdotal reports of people complaining of human or pet illnesses that seem to be related to occupying spaces where new laminate flooring has been installed. - The New York Times, 11 March 2015.

In general, if occupants of a building (or their pets) have health-related complaints that seem to occur or worsen after spending time in the building and that diminish when spending time out of the building, that is suggestive that the building is causing or contributing to those complaints.

Watch out: however building contaminant exposure and health complaints are a complex topic to sort-out. For example, other sources of stress, even job or interpersonal stress could be taking place in one location and not others. And some building-related-illness symptoms or actual illnesses may have a slow onset or the symptoms may be slow to diminish when leaving the source of exposure.

Tests to Make Before Taking Any Remedial Action On Suspected Flooring Formaldehyde Outgassing

Before contemplating any costly action to remove, replace, or cover over laminate flooring that you worry may be an formaldehyde gas source in your building,

see FORMALDEHYDE TESTS for FLOORING to confirm that the flooring in your home is a source of formaldehyde gas contamination indoors.

For a discussion of the normal cycle of public fear over environmental contaminants and the independence of anxiety, testing, or remediation costs from actual hazard levels

see ENVIRO-SCARE - PUBLIC FEAR CYCLE

See MOLD / ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERT, HIRE ? for help in deciding if it is probably appropriate to hire an expert to help sort out the question of a building-related illness.

Watch out: beware of self-styled experts who are going to just stop by and perform a test. Without a careful client interview, a taking of the building's history, an observation of its site, construction, materials, history, and other related factors, an environmental test performed alone may give disappointing and expensive results that are not useful: even if a test indicates there is a problem you may have to hire someone over again to perform much the same work in order to find the problem source and to recommend appropriate corrective measures.

Formaldehyde exposure limits: U.S. Federal and State Level

Watch out: U.S. federal government standards for permissible exposure levels of formaldehyde gas were developed for workplace safety not the home environment. There are no federal exposure standards or rules for formaldehyde exposure for end-consumers such as homeowners or occupants of commercial spaces where a formaldehyde outgassing material has been installed.

In the E.U. formaldehyde use in household products and chemical outgassing from wood products is more closely regulated, and as The Times pointed out, in Japan it is home builders who are required to limit the overall formaldehyde levels in new construction. - op. cit. 3/11/15

See FORMALDEHYDE GAS EXPOSURE LIMITS for formaldehyde outgassing from laminate flooring products.

Laminate or engineered wood floor formaldehyde outgassing remediation

After we have such test results then if there is a problem traced to your particular flooring, we can discuss approaches to stop the issue, ranging from demolition and removal to use of sealants and over-layers of other flooring.

See STOP LAMINATE FLOORING OUTGASSING for details.

Sources of Formaldehyde Gas in buildings

We have moved this discussion to FORMALDEHYDE GAS SOURCES in BUILDINGS

Consumer or DIY Formaldehyde Testing

See FORMALDEHYDE GAS TESTS by HOMEOWNERS

Research on Effects on Laminate Flooring Formaldehyde Outgassing Rates

• Kim, Sumin. "Environment-friendly adhesives for surface bonding of wood-based flooring using natural tannin to reduce formaldehyde and TVOC emission." Bioresource technology 100, no. 2 (2009): 744-748.
  Abstract
  
  The objective of this research was to develop environment-friendly adhesives for face fancy veneer bonding of engineered flooring using the natural tannin form bark in the wood. The natural wattle tannin adhesive were used to replace UF resin in the formaldehyde-based resin system in order to reduce formaldehyde and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from the adhesives used between plywoods and fancy veneers. PVAc was added to the natural tannin adhesive to increase viscosity of tannin adhesive for surface bonding.
  
  For tannin/PVAc hybrid adhesives, 5%, 10%, 20% and 30% of PVAc to the natural tannin adhesives were added. tannin/PVAc hybrid adhesives showed better bonding than the commercial natural tannin adhesive with a higher level of wood penetration. The initial adhesion strength was sufficient to be maintained within the optimum initial tack range.
  
  The standard formaldehyde emission test (desiccator method), field and laboratory emission cell (FLEC) and VOC analyzer were used to determine the formaldehyde and VOC emissions from engineered flooring bonded with commercial the natural tannin adhesive and tannin/PVAc hybrid adhesives.
  
  By desiccator method and FLEC, the formaldehyde emission level of each adhesive showed the similar tendency. All adhesives satisfied the E1 grade (below 1.5 mg/L) and E0 grade (below 0.5 mg/L) with UV coating. VOC emission results by FLEC and VOC analyzer were different with the formaldehyde emission results. TVOC emission was slightly increased as adding PVAc.
• Kim, Sumin, and Hyun‐Joong Kim. "Comparison of formaldehyde emission from building finishing materials at various temperatures in under heating system; ONDOL." Indoor Air 15, no. 5 (2005): 317-325.
  Abstract Excerpt:
  Abstract
  
  The objective of this research was to investigate the effect of varioustemperatures, room, 37 and 50°C, on formaldehyde emission from floor mate-rials, such as laminate and plywood floorings, and furniture materials, such asMDF and particleboard veneered with decorative paper foil, by desiccator’smethod.
  
  The temperature conditions were set up by, measuring the tempe raturein a Korean under heating syst em. To maintain an indoor air temperature of 20°C, the temperature of the flooring surface was about 37°C and the tem-perature of the cement mortar was 50°C. The initial form aldehyde emission ofthe laminate floor ing and plywood flooring was 1.44 and 0.63 mg/l, and forMDF and particleboard it was 4.73 and 4.95 mg/l, respectively. Floor materialswere under E1 grade while furniture materials were under E2grade in terms offormaldehyde emission.
  
  Because of the under heating system, the flooringmaterials were exposed to 37 and 50°C, while the furniture mate rials mostlyexisted at room temperature. At 37 and 50°C, the formaldehyde emission level ofthe flooring materials was already under 0.3 ppm (F**** level by JIS A 1460,application possibility without area limit) after 10 days and the emission haddecreased further (0.03–0.10 mg/l) after 28 days. These levels are not injurious tothe human body and will not cause sick house syndrome (SHS).
  
  The problem,however, is the furniture materials such as MDF and particleboard. As thesematerials are not exposed to high tempe rature (50°C in this experiment) in livingcondition, it was still E2 grade of formaldehyde emission level at room tem-perature remained even after 28 days. Although there will be variations with thevolume of furniture materials and the indoor conditions, furniture materials arethe principal cause of indoor air quality pollution in Korean with the underheating system.
  
  Practical Implications:
  Koreans spend most of their time sitting on ONDOL (heated) floors, with their buttocks always in contact with the floor surface. The flooring materials are exposed to high temperatures (37-50°C) why [sic] the effect of bake-out is rapid. The emission of formaldehyde from furniture materials are more important for the IAQ because usually MDF and particleboasrd of E₂ grade are being used as furniture materials in Korea.
  
  Excerpts from the article conclusions:
  
  From the results of measuring the temperature in the under heating system, we analyzed the formaldehyde emission of flooring and furniture materials at the dry oven temperatures of 20, 37 and 50°C. Because of the under heating system, the flooring materials are exposed to 37 and 50°C, while the furniture materials mostly exist at room temperature.
  
  Flooring materials were exposed to temperatures of 37 and 50°C while furniture materials were only exposed to room temperature during under heating. After bake-out the formaldehyde emissions of flooring materials were much lower than those of furniture materials.
  
  Although the results depend on the volume of the installed, building finishing materials, furniture materials such as MDF and particleboard are the principal offenders of indoor air quality pollution in Korea.
  
  Furthermore, it is necessary that the temperature factor should be considered for the management of indoor air quality because we live with the under heating system (ONDOL).
• Kim, Sumin, and Hyun-Joong Kim. "Effect of addition of polyvinyl acetate to melamine-formaldehyde resin on the adhesion and formaldehyde emission in engineered flooring." International Journal of Adhesion and Adhesives 25, no. 5 (2005): 456-461.
  Abstract
  The objective of this research was to investigate the effect of adding polyvinyl acetate (PVAc), for reducing the formaldehyde emission level, on the adhesion properties of melamine-formaldehyde (MF) resin for fancy veneer and plywood in engineered flooring.
  
  We controlled the hot-press temperature, time and pressure to determine the bonding strength and formaldehyde emission. Blends of various MF resin/PVAc compositions were prepared. To determine and compare the effect of PVAc content, 0, 30, 50, 70 and 100% PVAc floorings, by weight of MF resin, were used. Wheat flour, 25% by weight of adhesive, was added as material to increase the quantity.
  
  To determine the level of formaldehyde emission, we used the desiccator method. The formaldehyde emission level decreased with increased additions of PVAc.
  
  At a PVAc replacement ratio of only 30%, the formaldehyde emission level of the coated sample by UV-curable coat was under E1 grade. Curing of the high MF resin content in this adhesive system (MF resin with PVAc) was well processed indicating that the bonding strength was increased. In the case of PVAc only, the bonding strength was much lower due to the already high temperature of 120 °C.
  
  The adhesion layer was broken by high temperature and pressure. The sample with 30% PVAc added to MF resin (MF resin: PVAc=70:30) showed good bonding strength compared with MF resin only in all cases, hot-press temperature, time, pressure and boiling test.
• Wiglusz, Renata, Elżbieta Sitko, Grażyna Nikel, Irena Jarnuszkiewicz, and Barbara Igielska. "The effect of temperature on the emission of formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from laminate flooring—case study." Building and Environment 37, no. 1 (2002): 41-44.
  Abstract
  The effect of temperatures of 23, 29, 50°C on formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emission from laminate flooring Type A (with particleboard as substrate) and Type B (with high density fibre (HDF)) was examined. At 23 and 29°C the measurements did not show any emissions of formaldehyde and very low emissions of VOCs.
  
  At a temperature of 50°C, Type A showed a high initial emission of formaldehyde and VOCs, which decreased with time. The emission from Type B was much lower. In conclusion, some laminate flooring may affect the chemical contamination of indoor air with the use of floor heating.
• US EPA, QUESTIONS & ANSWERS REGARDING LAMINAE FLOORING [FORMALDEHYDE EMISSIONS] [PDF] U.S. EPA, retrieved 2022/09/14 original source: https://www.epa.gov/formaldehyde/questions-and-answers-regarding-laminate-flooring
• US EPA, FORMALDEHYDE EMISSION STANDARDS FOR COMPOSITE WOOD PRODUCTS [PDF] US. EPA, retrieved 2022/09/14 original source: https://www.epa.gov/formaldehyde/formaldehyde-emission-standards-composite-wood-products
  
  See details in Code of Federal Regulations 40 CFR Part 770
• Also see additional citations at FORMALDEHYDE GAS SOURCES & HAZARDS RESEARCH

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Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

On 2018-06-05 - by (mod) -

depending on what the material of construction is for your laminate floor there could be a formaldehyde off-gassing problem. I can't guess at that accurately from just your message. Regarding the specific burning sensation complaint the right place to start with that is to ask your doctor for advice.

On 2018-06-05 by Carol Gibson

Three years after installing a laminate floor, I'm getting a suspicion that it's an irritant. It doesn't really make sense, because a reaction has taken place so long afterwards. I've developed a burning sensation in my crotch area. I thought it was from the laundry detergent, and so I changed that. I thought it could have been nitrates, so I quit eating bacon or sausage. Now this. what could be the cause?

On 2016-03-11 - by (mod) - will formaldehyde have off-gassed from an older mobile home?

Maureen

Previously I thought that formaldehyde-containing building products all off-gassed rather rapidly, months to a year, but on study, particularly of materials such as laminate flooring whose formaldehyde-bearing core may be sealed on both sides by plastic laminates, offgassing may continue for years .. or not.

It depends on the product. Not all flooring offgasses at a problem level, and certainly other products such as particle board shelving are formaldehyde sources too. As very basic testing is not costly, and as it can be a reasonable screen provided the test is conducted properly, perhaps that's what you ought to consider as more reliable than looking for a rule of thumb that honestly cannot be reliably applied to an arbitrary, unknown building.

On 2016-03-11 by Maureen

I have some chronic although relatively minor respiratory issues which are aggravated by environmental toxins.

I'm thinking of buying an older mobile home, as it will have off-gassed much of the formaldehyde found in the building materials. At the same time, I don't want to purchase something that is too old and "worn out". Is there any rule of thumb as to how long it takes to off-gas the formaldehyde to an acceptably safe level? If it takes 20 years, I'm not sure I'd want to purchase a home that old!

On 2016-02-22 - by (mod) - Is there a strong odor to the materials suspected of off gassing?

I'm sorry to have to arm-wave Michael, but basically, "it depends" - brand new flooring that is of a manufacture producing high off-gassing of formaldehyde may indeed produce an odor that people can smell as "strong" but more likely the odor level is very low. My OPINION is that that's more likely to be the case in normal indoor conditions of temperature and humidity and flooring age because the main source of formaldehyde is in the core of the flooring - material over which other layers have been laminated.

On 2016-02-22 by Michael

Is there a strong odor to the materials suspected of off gassing?

On 2016-02-02 by Helen

Can boiling hot water bring off toxic gases in laminate flooring. My floor smells now after the water heater blew up.

Question: report of formaldehyde outgassing from cabinets - how to speed the clean-up or clear-up of formaldehyde outgassing

(July 26, 2014) PCantelli@cfl.rr.co said:
My new cabinet's were off gassing .24 .27 .29 I kept coughing and couldn't stop went to the Drs now using inhaler

(Sept 21, 2014) Anonymous said:
I have new paneling in my basement and the smell is giving me asthma attacks. I also have parrots. Will the smell eventually lessen?

Reply:

Anon,
Normally yes for most products outgassing diminishes substantially over time. There may be some formaldehyde outgassing products that continue to release detectable formaldehyde for a longer period. In our OINION in the first group are carpets and carpet paddings, in the second group, harder materials such as flooring and particleboard. You can speed the process with heat and ventilation with fresh air.

Watch out: however. Heating a building interior and increasing its relative humidity will increase the formaldehyde level indoors, potentially increasing occupant exposure. There fore these steps are better for unoccupied spaces, while instead, balanced ventilation or a heat exchange fresh air venting system is perhaps safer for reducing formaldehyde levels in an occupied indoor space.

...

Continue reading at FORMALDEHYDE TESTS for FLOORING where we discuss how to remove, avoid, or eliminate indoor formaldehyde or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

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• ENVIRO-SCARE - PUBLIC FEAR CYCLES
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  • Lumber Liquidators LAMINATE FLOORING FORMALDEHYDE CONCERNS?
  • FORMALDEHYDE OUTGASSING RATES
  • FORMALDEHYDE-RELATED ILLNESS SIGNS
  • FORMALDEHYDE TESTS for FLOORING
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