Human Bodies Produce Formaldehyde and It’s Even In The Air We Breathe
What is formaldehyde? It’s a colorless flammable gas at room temperature, and has a strong odor. It can cause some forms of cancer, irritate your skin, eyes, nose,and throat areas. There are traces of it in paper towels, fabric softeners, cosmetics, paper money, apples, potatoes, and fish. Plants and animals also produce formaldehyde
It’s all around us, and we’re exposed to it each and every day of our lives. It’s in our homes, work environment, and public facilities. Everywhere you go there is a small possibility that you may have been exposed to it and not even realized it. It isn’t something you probably don’t really give a whole lot of though to. After all why should you? If you’re a builder you might think about it on occasion. After all you should have the best interest of a perspective home buyer and their families in mind when taking precautionary measures to protect their long term health and safety.
Facts
Can formaldehyde be found in your home? Yes. it can be found in plywood, particle board, and paneling. If your a homeowner you shouldn’t worry about formaldehyde impacting your home directly and the air you breathe inside your home.. In fact, while it’s present both indoors and outside the home there are actually only small traces of if present. Did you know that there’s even formaldehyde in fiberglass insulation? Th’s right it’s used as a binding ingredient in the manufacturing process to glue or bind glass fibers together. The binder gives the fiberglass insulation its shape and ability to recover from highly compressed packaging.
Does formaldehyde in traditional insulation present health issues? No. In fact both the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) don’t even list fiberglass insulation as a major source of formaldehyde in the home.
Available Options
Are their alternative Insulation options? Yes. Roxul offers a light density mineral wool insulation that has been developed to meet the market demand of architects and building owners designing to no-added-formaldehyde specifications. Owens Corning will also be releasing a formaldehyde free based insulation later 2017 . However, just as the case with fiberglass insulation, it does contain small trace amounts of formaldehyde—though less than traditional fiber glass insulation.
There are industry professionals who do favor the traditional tried and true method of fiberglass insulation and those who prefer formaldehyde free insulation based on the simple fact that many believe that formaldehyde free insulation helps improve indoor air quality and it helps to produce a healthier and safer home environment.
Some area builders prefer to use this form of insulation because of its benefits. Without formaldehyde glass fibers are more flexible and less brittle. Formaldehyde free insulation also means less dust throughout the home and an odor free environment.
If you have any additional questions regarding the differences between Fiberglass insulation and formaldehyde free insulation please contact the experts at Cameron Home Insulation and ask to speak with one of our industry experts by calling (443) 290-5182.
