Formaldehyde Absorbers

Green Living - Questions & Answers

......with Debra Lynn Dadd

After recovering from MCS by removing toxic chemicals in her home, Debra Lynn Dadd went on to become a pioneering consumer advocate for health and the environment. Author of Home Safe Home, she also has a popular website containing a directory with more than 1000 links to nontoxic and eco-friendly products, a Q&A blog with many MCS bloggers, recipes for using natural sweeteners, and more. Debra is also available by phone for consultations. She lives in Florida with her husband, who drives a car powered by vegetable oil. Visit her website at http://www.dld123.com.

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009:

Formaldehyde Absorbers

by Debra Lynn Dadd

Q:

Do you know of any product that absorbs formaldehyde? Something that does not just cover the smell. I would like anything, on or off the web.

I've been searching the web for products that claim to absorb Formaldehyde, and so far have only found one. It's SMELLEZE from IMTEK. Do you know anything about it? I've just started using it & so can't tell anything yet, but wonder about it's effectivness because of the trouble I had with IMTEK. They took my money, but never sent the product and would not respond to my e-mail and phone messages. I had to get the BBB after them before they would communicate with me and send the product.

I've been remodeling my bedroom and I'm concerned about Formaldehyde in the wood products and caulks I'm using. After a few days of outgassing, I can't smell anything now, but even below the smell level, It could probably do me harm because I spend 8 hrs sleeping plus the hours I spend remodeling, on the computer, and watching movies (I'm separating the bed from the entertainment center with curtains so hopefully when I go inside the curtains, my mind will accept that it's time to sleep).

I'm a scientific type of person and so don't rely on how I feel to let me know whether something is good or not. I'm going to have to buy an expensive monitor to tell how much Formaldehyde I'm breathing for sure. I can get a one-time moditor for $55, or a continuous one for several hundred. I found a cheap one for about $60, but don't know if I can trust it because it's so much cheaper than the others I've looked at. It's an Oregon Scientific Indoor Air Quality Monitor AR112C. Do you know anything about it or other monitors?

Thanks for any help.

Francis
Idaho, USA

A:

If I truly wanted to remove formaldehyde from the air in my home, I would use an actual air filter with the proper media designed for that. You can contact any of the air filter websites on Debra's List and they can help you choose an appropriate filter.

As for this SMELLEZE product, I wouldn't trust it. I went to their website and it doesn't say anything about what the product is made of, or what the absorbtive material is (it's basically some material that absorbs odors in a little bag).

I have no personal experience with air testing, but perhaps someone who does will jump in and tell us all about formaldehyde test kits.

Debra :-)

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