Is My Home Embalmed?

Producers are tricky, and their business sometimes involves tricking consumers. They trick us into buying very handy products for cleaning, deodorizing, softening, smoothing, and beautifying that often contain dangerous chemicals.

If the word “formaldehyde” doesn’t remind you of an embalmed body on a cold steel table, it should! Formaldehyde has been used for decades to embalm dead bodies for open casket burials. It is a preservation fluid that replaces the blood, it is a recognized cancer causing agent (carcinogen) by the National Cancer Institute, and oh, by the way, it is in most of the products you buy and use around your home, even the materials your home was built with!

It might surprise you to know that much of the shelving, furniture, wall finishes, carpet, cabinetry and flooring in your home could contain this dangerous chemical. Formaldehyde can also be found in these building materials:

Particle-Board 

Plywood

   Paneling               
                                                                         
                      

AND LASTLY...................G....L....U....E...................... 

Formaldehyde is most commonly used as a preservative in laboratories. It is a chemical which is colorless and has a pungent, suffocating odor. But, what actually is formaldehyde and how is it formed?

When you burn methane, formaldehyde is produced as an intermediate product of combustion. It is chemically known as methanal, and its chemical formula is CH2O. The image above shows the 3 dimensional structure of formaldehyde. The aqueous solution of formaldehyde is called formalin. Commercially available formalin has 10 to 12% methanol, along with a few impurities like aluminum and copper. Almost 21 million tons of formaldehyde is produced annually all over the world.

Many personal cleansing and beauty products contain formaldehyde; think about that before you put them on your skin, your largest organ. Here are some of the personal products that might contain this toxin:

Am I Cleaning My Home With Formaldehyde?

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 hings like “Non-toxic to humans and aquatic life,” or “readily biodegradable.”

I’ve read my product labels, and they don’t say I’m using formaldehyde containing products.

While it’s great you’re reading product labels, you must be aware that those tricky manufacturers often use synonyms that don’t 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 U.S. Department of Health and Human Safety provides a quick reference list of someproducts known to contain formaldehyde. I’m appalled at the number of baby and kid products on the list, as these little angels usually have no say in whether they’re being exposed or not.

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.