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!
Is My Home Embalmed?
|
|
|
What Other Products May Contain Formaldehyde?
|
|
|
Am I Cleaning My Home With Formaldehyde?
The short answer is… probably.
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 things 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.
|
|
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.
Precautions You Can Take to Avoid Formaldehyde Exposure
The first step is getting these chemicals out of your home. Cleaning and personal care products can be easily replaced with natural alternatives (remember to look for products that are “readily biodegradable” and “non toxic to humans and aquatic life”).
Other things, like particle board or pressed wood, may take longer to replace, but should be replaced as soon as practical. Or you can use an organic clay paint to absorb any potential outgassing the next time you paint your walls. In time, you can greatly reduce your exposure to formaldehyde just by knowing what to look for and what to avoid.
And isn’t it worth this small change now to avoid the potential long term health impacts on you and those you care about?
January 26th, 2012 at 7:27 am
My husband and I have also recently joined Melaleuca as a result of this information! What they allow in our products is completely unacceptable and we must get the word out to people
[Reply to this comment]
November 10th, 2010 at 12:36 am
if formaldehyde is such a bad thing then why is it an ingredient of the products listed on this page? if it is an unnecessary additive they might as well consider black widow venom or belly button fuzz, right?
[Reply to this comment]
July 29th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Read all hair color product labels -they all contain formaldehyde-which is carcinogenic .Educate your self now before is to late.Hospitals use formaldehyde to safe tissue post operation in laboratory with huge red warnig signs-and sceleton picture.
[Reply to this comment]
June 30th, 2009 at 8:49 am
Thank you for this article.
Formaldehyde exposure may lead to a rather severe contact allergy. While more and more people became aware of formaldehyde content in their grooming, beauty, household articles, etc., it is widely unknown that the clothes you are wearing or your bed shits are made of formaldehyde-treated fabrics.
I am an airline stuff and I developed a severe formaldehyde allergy after my airline made us wear uniform blouses that were loaded with formaldehyde. Wearing the shiny cotton blouses on an intercontinental flights was a torture and no matter how often the blouses were washed, there was enough formaldehyde in the fabric to cause skin rashes and breathing problems. For a while the airline ignored the reports from affected employees. However, when the cases multiplied, new blouses from a different fabric were designed. The new fabric was tested for formaldehyde and the contact allergies disappeared. What was left, however, was the incredible sensitivity to the smallest amount of this poisonous substance.
Formaldehyde may also be found in shoes and leather attire as well as in products made of rubber.
[Reply to this comment]
Erika Harvey replied on June 6th, 2011:
I am glad to see that there is an alternative to formaldehyde products!
[Reply to this comment]
June 24th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
wow.. that’s some scary stuff!
[Reply to this comment]
Kate Murphy replied on June 30th, 2009:
I couldn’t believe what household products contain these toxic chemicals! I joined Melaleuca as a result- over 400 natural products with no carcinogens. What a difference it’s made for me and my family!
[Reply to this comment]
Kristen replied on January 9th, 2011:
My husband and I have also recently joined Melaleuca as a result of this information! What they allow in our products is completely unacceptable and we must get the word out to people because they simply remain uneducated on what they are using every day.
[Reply to this comment]
Amy replied on July 15th, 2011:
Me too! I love Melaleuca!