Many household chemicals contain formaldehyde and other solvents
Formaldehyde is a toxic and carcinogenic gas that is produced by some polymers and wood products. The most common sources of formaldehyde in residential houses are:
- New furniture
- New laminate floor
- New hardwood floor
- Urea Formaldehyde Foam Insulation (UFFI, UFI)
- Wood glues and wood varnish
- Any burning or smoldering process: cigarette smoke, burning candle, wood fireplace, gas stove
While the outdoor level of formaldehyde is relatively low and rarely exceeds 10 ppb (part per billion), its concentration inside the house can be as high as 100’s ppb. At this level, it can cause nose bleeding, asthma, eye irritation, and can trigger cancer. Health Canada recommends 40 ppb as a safe limit of formaldehyde in residential dwellings. This is an extremely low concentration that cannot be detected without laboratory testing. Our laboratory offers an air-sampling kit for testing of formaldehyde in indoor air.
Who Should Use Formaldehyde Sampling Kit?
- If you own a house with UFFI insulation, you may have an elevated level of formaldehyde in the air. Check your house to make sure that your family is safe.
- Did you installed a new floor or purchased new furniture recently? Do you feel a chemical smell in your room, and your eyes burn? You are likely exposed to formaldehyde in your home or office, and this kit may help you.
Plan Your Testing. People do this test for different reasons. Below we offer a few common strategies and how to get the most of this test.
- The First Scenario. Your house is insulated with UFFI and you want to be sure that air inside the house is safe. This can be addressed by taking one sample on ev
ery level (every floor + basement) of the house. If air quality comes below the regulated limit of 40 ppb, on every floor, then it is all safe there is nothing to worry about. If any result comes above 40 ppb, then you need either eliminate the source or improve ventilation, whatever is more practical. - The Second Scenario. A family member is experiencing symptoms, that can be related to formaldehyde exposure. Collect an air sample in the room here the symptoms are the strongest. Another sample can be taken in the room where the person spends most of the time (TV room or a bedroom), and the last sample in the “clean” room or outside. If the symptoms are consistent with the measured formaldehyde concentration, then the person is affected by formaldehyde.
- The Third Scenario. You have put new wood or laminate flooring (or you bought new furniture) and you start to feel a chemical smell. Take one sample in the room with the new wood product, one in the adjacent room, and one in the most remote room. If air quality comes below the regulated limit of 40 ppb, in every room, then it is all safe there is nothing to worry about. If any result comes above 40 ppb, then you need either eliminate the source or improve ventilation, whatever is more practical.
Sampling Kit. Your formaldehyde sampling kit includes several formaldehyde dosimeters and sampling instructions. You will need to open the dosimeters and place them in different rooms for 24 hours. You need one dosimeter for every room that you need to test. Each dosimeter is slowly adsorbing formaldehyde from the air of your room. The more formaldehyde is captured by the dosimeter, the higher is the concentration of formaldehyde in the room. Once the sampling is complete, you close the dosimeters and ship them to our laboratory in London Ontario, Canada for chemical analysis. We extract formaldehyde from dosimeters and analyze its concentration using the HPLC UV technique as described in OSHA method 1007. Our laboratory will send you a formal certificate of analysis that shows the concentration of formaldehyde in the air of each room.
Understand your Laboratory Report. Your laboratory report will show the concentration of formaldehyde in ppb:
- If your result looks like that: “<7ppb” (means “less than 7ppb”), then the air is very clean, and no formaldehyde was detected in this room
- If the result shows any number less than 40ppb, then some residential formaldehyde is detected, but its concentration is below the Heath Canada Standard of 40ppb
- If the concentration is between 40 ppb and 100 ppb, then it is too high for residential houses. It is unlikely that it can cause immediate damage to your health, but you need to find and eliminate the source.
- If the result is above 100 ppb then it is unsafe to stay in this house or office.
You can also place your order online, by following the link below. This is an order for our smallest kit for 2 rooms:
If you want to order this test offline, please email us with your shipping address and the number of rooms that you want to test. Thank you for your interest and stay safe.
