Modern Solutions Inc.

So you like that “New House Smell”?

Oddly enough, many people like that new house smell, or even that new car smell. Some people will pay extra at the car wash just to have chemicals added to the car’s interior to make it smell new again. Of course no thought is given as to what those chemicals are doing to their health when inhaled.

What is that smell?

What people are smelling is called “off-gassing”. This is a term used to describe the release of chemicals from man-made materials used in manufactured products and home construction. There are various chemicals off-gassed from these components but the one of chief concern is formaldehyde.

The greatest amount of off-gassing occurs from man-made lumber products. These products are essentially made of sawdust and wood chips which used to be discarded. Now they are mixed with large amounts of adhesives and pressed into boards. While it is great to recycle, the off-gassing from the adhesives can be very unhealthy indoors.

People exposed to formaldehyde contamination in the air become increasingly sensitive to all other chemicals as well. I have worked with many chemical sensitive people who cannot enter retail stores where new products are displayed, or be anywhere near people wearing perfumes, cologne or hair spray. Many sufferers are told it is all in their heads, …It is not.

I like to believe that if people suffering from exposure to formaldehyde were to avoid all chemical exposure, they may return to normal over time, however, it is currently believed that these symptoms are irreversible. Further, chemical avoidance is not at all easy to do because chemicals are used in so many manufactured products today. To make matter worse, “chemical fragrances” are added to a kazillion consumable products, from pencils to toilet paper.

How long does off-gassing continue?

This depends largely on the product. Some thinner items like clothing, paint coatings, or vinyl wallpaper, may fully off-gas within a few weeks to month. Other items such as carpet and foam cushions in furniture may take much longer. Some of the more solid materials such as modern engineered floor joists and particle board products used in sub-flooring, countertops and furniture, can take as long as 20 years to fully off-gas.

Just because the intensity of the off-gassing odors diminishes, does not mean there is no longer a concern. Our noses are pretty good at picking up odors but no where near capable of detecting the presence of formaldehyde levels. To give you an idea of how inferior our senses of smell are, they are calculated to be about one million times less sensitive than those of dogs.

What happens when formaldehyde is inhaled?

People living in new homes or working in new buildings have experienced the following symptoms from formaldehyde exposure:

Chronic Headaches
Abdominal Pain
Ear Infections
Tiredness
Dark Eye Circles
Behavioral Episodes
Dizziness
Scarlet Ear Lobes
Depression
Chronic Cough
Runny Nose
Fatigue
Exhaustion
Scarlet Cheeks
Burning sensations in the throat, chest, eyes and nose
Extreme Chemical Sensitivities

Formaldehyde has also been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals and may cause cancer in humans. The long term health affects are most concerning but no symptoms should be ignored.

Anywhere where there are new products or building materials, the health risk is present. Some people may not experience the acute symptoms while in these environments, but everybody is affected to some degree.

What can be done?

There are three possible solutions for you:

Air Filters If you will be using air filters, they must be impregnated with carbon in order to work at all. Carbon has the ability to adsorb gasses, at least for a while. The downside is that they do not work very well and are typically quite expensive to maintain. Furthermore, there is no way they could possibly keep up to the rate of off-gassing.

Ventilation Opening windows and inviting in copious amounts of fresh air. This is certainly the best approach but is also the least practical. When it is hot and humid outdoors, or for that matter, freezing cold out, no one wants to open up their windows and let the weather inside. Ventilation can however be a partial solution to the off-gassing problem with the use of “make-up air” vents. (See the article about make-up air vents.)

Regarding opening your windows, even though impractical, I still recommend it highly. A large portion of the air in your home can be evacuated in relatively short order if done right. Even in the middle of winter cold or summer heat, it is possible to flush a house of most of the rancid or chemical laden air. Simply open one window in each room for about five minutes. Often the difference in indoor air temperature will assist in a quick air exchange. The house and your belongings do not change temperature, only the air brought in. This will quickly warm right up or cool down after one cycle of the system. It is worth it to get oxygenated air back in the house. Even without intense off-gassing, I do this myself on a regular basis, especially after entertaining with lots of guests using up the indoor oxygen.

Air Purifiers Air purification systems that produce ozone seem to work well on chemical gasses and are certainly the least expensive approach of eliminating these odors. (See the article on air purification systems.)

Ideally, the best solution for formaldehyde contamination is a combination of a make-up air vent, an air purification system, and periodic opening of windows.
 

by Building Inspector and Indoor Air Specialist, Dan Schilling
© Copyright 2002 Residential Inspections LLC, All Rights Reserved