Interior Design for a Healthy Home
Minimizing Formaldehyde in Homes – An Environmentally Friendly Approach for Healthier Living

Your house is a refuge, a place of rest and rejuvenation. But is it possible that your dwelling is making you sick? People generally want happy, clean, healthy, and safe homes. However, many routinely used home furnishings contain pollutants that cause indoor air pollution and pose health risks. You may significantly minimize your exposure to toxic chemical substances by adopting more eco-friendly and nontoxic interior design solutions in your residence.

Many chemical compounds used in household items, home furnishings, and paintings have been associated with health complications such as congenital impairments, infertility, hormone disorders, and even malignancy. It’s disturbing, but at the same time, it is also necessary to be aware of these risks because we spend more than 90% of our time inside the house with our loved ones.

 

It is critical to learn about and keep informed about the interconnections between our health and the environment that we live in so that we may make better-informed choices when constructing a new house, renovating, or buying furniture. Thankfully, there are numerous nontoxic home design options that are stylish, sustainable, and promote your overall well-being.

 

For many years, we have used wood as the main material for creating various pieces of furniture in our houses. The resin used in a lot of these hardwood furnishings contains formaldehyde. Exposure to formaldehyde, even while inhaling or touching the skin, may well be harmful to your health and the health of your loved ones too

What are the Indoor common pollutants – VOCs?

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are a class of compounds present in many of the items used to build and maintain our houses. Once in our houses, these chemicals are dispersed (off-gassed) into the air we inhale. They might or might not be odoriferous, and odor is not a reliable indicator of a health hazard. One of the common VOCs found in our daily lives is formaldehyde. Exposure to formaldehyde, even while inhaling or touching the skin, may well be harmful to your health and the health of your loved ones too.

What is formaldehyde?

Formaldehyde, commonly known as methanal, is a colorless, pungent-smelling chemical compound that exists in the form of a gas at ambient temperature. Because formaldehyde is found in practically every household product, from furniture to cosmetics, no home can be totally free of it. It is used to make fertilizer, paper, hardwood, and some resins. It is also used as a preservative and in home items such as antiseptics, medications, and cosmetics. Formaldehyde is a highly carcinogenic and poisonous chemical that poses several health risks.

Short term and long-term effects of formaldehyde

The risk of health consequences from formaldehyde inhalation depends on the amount of formaldehyde in the air, how long and frequently a person breathes it in, and how much of it is inhaled.

 

Long-term exposure to low levels of formaldehyde may increase the likelihood of health issues in some people. Several studies indicate that exposure to formaldehyde may aggravate airway inflammation in people who are chemically vulnerable, especially those with respiratory illnesses.

Short-term effects

  • Eye, nose and throat irritation
  • Coughing, wheezing
  • Chest pain
  • Headaches
  • Nausea/vomiting
  • Dizziness
  • Watery eyes
  • Aggravated asthma symptoms
  •  

Long-term effects

  • Bronchitis
  • Allergic contact dermatitis
  • Lesion of the respiratory system
  • Risk of lung and nasopharyngeal cancer
  • Liver and kidney damage
  • Central Nervous System (CNS) damage
  • Leukemia 

The most vulnerable groups are those who are most likely to be affected by formaldehyde and other VOCs.

  • Infants and children
  • Elderly
  • People who are already suffering from respiratory illnesses
  • Pregnant ladies

How to improve indoor air quality?

There are various factors that impact indoor air quality. The most common factors that influence indoor air quality are wood and wood-based furniture, as well as interior fittings. Furthermore, the ventilation conditions have a direct impact on the indoor air quality.

While it is impossible to completely eliminate formaldehyde and other VOCs from our home, here are the different ways in which we can reduce our exposure to it and improve indoor air quality.

 

  • Opening the windows for a better inflow of clean air from the surroundings
  • Increasing air circulation by installing exhaust fans
  • Maintaining proper indoor temperature and humidity levels
  • Making use of formaldehyde-free furniture, cabinets, flooring, and other items.
  • Using items with non-VOC tags.
  • Keep indoor plants to freshen the air.
  • Add an air filtration unit to your home.

The Singapore Government is all set to introduce air quality regulation

In Singapore, a new set of rules has been released to assist businesses in regulating the indoor air quality inside their facilities. The Industry Guidelines for Indoor Air Quality advise employers to “augment” their efforts to improve indoor air quality.

 

The Alliance for Action (AfA) on Sustainable Spaces has prepared the guidelines. One of the recommendations in the guidelines is to set emission thresholds for formaldehyde, a chemical compound often found in construction materials that, at excessive levels of exposure, can cause skin irritation, breathlessness, wheezing, and impairments in pulmonary function. 

 

According to Singapore Furniture Industries Council (SFIC) President Phua Boon Huat, this approach is aligned with the furniture industry’s commitment to its own Sustainability Blueprint and 2025 Furniture Industry Roadmap.

 

The new guidelines especially with respect to adopt no or low formaldehyde products at home would mean that in the future, the society and customers will be able to experience cleaner and healthier urban interior environments.

Singapore’s Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, Grace Fu, stated that the Government is considering indoor air quality regulations.

Make smarter and healthier home decisions.

Choose EGGER products made from F**** Certified Materials

Homeowners may reduce formaldehyde exposure by building eco-friendly homes with JP F0,3 (F****) MR grade certified wood products. The type of resin utilized is the primary distinction between wood products of F0,3 (F****) MR grade and regular wood. E1 wood boards release much less formaldehyde. EGGER offers E1, CARBP2, and F**** Products that contain relatively low levels of formaldehyde and other VOCs.

Why choose EGGER products from NORM?

Buying EGGER products from NORM ensures that you are purchasing safe products for furniture and interior design suitable for healthy homes.

  • NORM offers F**** products from EGGER, which has the lowest formaldehyde emissions in Singapore’s market now.
  • F**** grade Melamine Faced Chipboard (MFC) is Singapore green label certified.
  • EGGER products are low in formaldehyde and TUV PROFiCERT certified.
  • EGGER products have antibacterial properties, which makes them safe to use especially in areas that demand certain hygiene requirements.

Low-Formaldehyde Products: An Excellent Choice for Healthy, Eco-Friendly Living

To protect your own health and the health of those you really care about, you must make more informed decisions about the materials you are using in your house, particularly cabinets and storage shelves. At NORM, we offer low formaldehyde products to protect our users.

It is crucial to understand that toxicity results from being exposed to small levels of chemicals like formaldehyde, which can escalate to more serious health issues over time.

 

Your house should be a safe environment where you can live a healthy and stress-free life. Focus on your health, fitness, and well-being, but keep in mind that progress, not perfection, is the ultimate objective.

 

When it comes to interior design for a healthy home, prevention is better than cure. Homeowners need to think about source control for keeping away formaldehyde and other VOCs from their homes. This will ensure good health and overall well-being.