Formaldehyde is used a lot in manufacturing, primarily as an 
adhesive or glue to bind materials like laminate wood flooring, fiber 
board, plywood, etc. It's also found in high levels in carpet coatings 
and in cigarette smoke, fumes from fuel burning appliances, kerosene 
heaters. The important point, however, is that formaldehyde does release
 a gas into indoor areas where these materials have been used. Most 
recently, a Lumber Liquidator's Chinese flooring product was found to 
release fairly high levels of formaldehyde and creating many health 
concerns.
Should you be concerned about formaldehyde gas in your 
indoor air? If you've had any of that Chinese laminate flooring 
installed, yes. Though most of us are exposed to low levels of 
formaldehyde on a daily basis, it isn't something you want to breathe, 
as it doesn't take a lot to reach a point of toxicity. And higher levels
 are going to create symptoms like burning, watery eyes, irritated 
throat, nausea, breathing problems, and new or worsened asthma attacks. 
Long term, formaldehyde is known to cause nasopharyngeal cancer and 
myeloid leukemia and no one needs that. If you have any kind of laminate
 or hardwood flooring, I would at least test the air in your home and 
find out what is there or not, for your own peace of mind.
If 
you're pregnant, you definitely don't want formaldehyde or any other 
chemical pollutant in the air you're breathing, and certainly not when 
your baby gets here. Formaldehyde gas has been linked to various birth 
defects, brain damage, deformities, and more. It just isn't good to 
breathe, period. Air quality during pregnancy is very important, and 
some say almost as important as your diet. Great care should be taken to
 ensure than your indoor air is as clean as possible, using the best 
home air filtration systems you can find with substantial activated 
carbon filters, HEPA filters, and UV if that's an option. The UV light 
is very good for destroying airborne bacteria, mold spores, viruses and 
VOC's (volatile organic chemicals) in the air that contribute to odors 
as well as a variety of unpleasant health effects.
What to do: you
 can easily use a formaldehyde gas detection kit to find out if there is
 any of that pollutant floating around in your home. A good brand is BHC
 and it's under $100. Or, (and this is recommended if you're pregnant) 
you can buy an air cleaner that is capable of removing gases like 
formaldehyde, particles, dust mites, VOC's, etc. A very good air cleaner
 for this purpose is the Austin HealthMate Plus. It has a significant 
amount of quality carbon, it's designed to remove chemicals like 
formaldehyde and others, as well as a medical grade HEPA filter, great 
warranty, handles 1500 square feet and it's under $650.
Regardless,
 if you think you may have formaldehyde in your home or even if you're 
not sure, at least buy a test kit and find out. You don't want to end up
 with problems down the road from this chemical, and it's proven to 
cause issues. If you did have Chinese laminate flooring installed like 
the type from Lumber Liquidators, definitely consider getting an air 
filtration system to protect your health. There also seems to be a 
class-action suit going on for this, so you may want to consult an 
attorney to find out what your options are.
   
 
    Hi, it's Rex Murphy at Air Purifiers and Cleaners.com. We 
regularly publish articles like this to help people avoid the hazards of
 indoor air pollution and live better lives.
At our online store, we offer a full selection of quality 
Austin air cleaners,
 replacement filters and formaldehyde detection kits--all at the 
cheapest discount prices with free shipping. Call us today with your 
questions--we're here to help!
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