Is your home as safe as you think it is?
We ready ourselves for bed by following a routine. We may shower and brush our teeth, then walk through the house locking windows and doors as we go. Making our home as secure as we possibly can. Satisfied we drift off to sleep, never thinking that we may have brought an enemy into our own home. And yet it is there in our homes in every room a silent bad very deadly enemy.
The enemies name is CH2O also known as Formaldehyde ( MSDS Sheet ).
Most of us are aware of Formaldehyde as an embalming fluid used to preserve the dead for open casket viewing.
Did you know that it is in most every room in your house in one form or another? Here are just some of the ways this chemical has found its way into your safety zone.
Glue
Plywood
Fiberboard
Insulation
Particleboard
Timber Paneling
Lotions
Shampoos
Sunblock
Soap Bars
Cosmetics
Body Wash
Toothpaste
Baby Wipes
Bubble Bath
Are you reading every single label? If not, chances are that you are probably using some fairly toxic chemicals in your house cleaning regime. The best rule of thumb is to look for products that say things like Non-toxic to humans and aquatic life, or readily biodegradable.
You must be aware that those tricky manufacturers often use synonyms that dont usually create attention in their consumers. Synonyms and chemicals that act like formaldehyde are often used on ingredient lists. Be wary of products containing the following ingredients:
Formalin
Methanal
Oxymethyline
Urea
1,3-Dioxetane
Quaternium 15
Methylaldehyde
Methylene Oxide
Formic Aldehyde
Oxomethane Formalin
Phenol Formaldehyde
The Dangers of Using Products Containing Formaldehyde
Watery, burning eyes, nose and throat, asthmatic attacks, skin irritation, headaches and nausea are all possible short term side effects of formaldehyde exposure. Long term effects include cancer and possibly leukemia.
Most products contain only very small amounts of harmful chemicals. The danger lies in our modern habits of using many of these products, and for a long time. As you surround yourself with more and more formaldehyde-containing products your exposure level increases. Similarly, the longer you expose yourself to these products the more exposure you are getting.
It is also critical to note that the 11th report on carcinogens classifies formaldehyde as "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen".
Ref:
http://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/text_version/chemicals.php?id=14
http://www.formaldehydetesting.com/whatisformaldehyde.html
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/12/22/five-products-that-contain-formaldehyde-is-your-health-at-risk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formaldehyde
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Great PSA article Larry and it pays for each of us to go through our household cleaners, paints etc. and check to see if these chemicals are found there.
You'll find it in most soaps, shampoos, and toothpastes in your bath room.
And of course if you live in a new mobile home you will be inundated with formaldehyde . That was a big problem with many of the FEMA homes supplied to the New Orleans area .
I shall make sure I am completely dead before I let them embalm me with that nasty stuff.
Formaldehyde is everywhere. It's nearly impossible to get away from. In high school and college I would sit around in a biology lab breathing formaldehyde fumes all afternoon while I cut specimens up. It's nasty.
Thanks for showing us some of it's other names. I knew urea was pretty much the horrible "f" word. I didn't know about the others.
It's a big part of the reason why I switched from Pre-Med to Arts, having had to dissect an embryo pig that was soaked in formaldehyde.
I'm pretty sure it isn't . Urea is a nitrogen containing compound . Formaldehyde is strictly a hydrocarbon .
That was caused by the wood adhesives they were built with and that isn't just going to go away.
You're right it is every where Grumpy, that is the reason we need to read labels more carefully. No need to increase our contact with this chemical if we can avoid it.