When Maggie was born, I knew little about off gassing. I knew it existed, I knew it caused problems, but I wasn’t overly concerned. Then she was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis and protecting her lungs became our number one priority. That is when my husband and I began to pay much closer attention to the products in our home. We rid our house of chemical cleaners and bleach and we keep the windows open as often as possible. We also used no VOC paints and run air purifiers throughout our home.
Off gassing has become a serious threat to our health. Many people have no idea it even exists, but it causes asthma and cancer among other health problems. Off gassing is the term for the evaporation of volatile organic compounds or chemicals in our everyday products such as furniture, paint, stains, carpet, cleaning products, insulation, flooring, countertops, plastics, cabinets, and mattresses. Chemicals used in the production of these products evaporate for years as you and your family continually inhale them into your body.
The introduction of particleboard and plywood in our furniture and fire retardant chemicals in baby pajamas and our mattresses, pillows and furniture is one of the biggest threats. We are in close contact with these products on a daily basis. The same goes for cleaning products, and air fresheners, which are chemicals we are spraying into our air and breathing. Formaldehyde is a chemical that is in many of our products including furniture, flooring and cabinetry as well as construction materials. Even low levels of formaldehyde have lead to respiratory problems in many people.
Young children are especially at risk for developing health problems from off gassing. Not only is there a case for off gassing contributing to SIDS due to newborns and their fragile systems spending so much time on their mattresses breathing in chemicals, but as children are growing they are exposed to so many VOCs that their little bodies just can’t get rid of. It is leading to asthma and allergies in young children including puffy, red, watery eyes, and congestion and coughing, in addition to rashes and hives.
So what can we do as parents and consumers to both protect our children and make our home comfortable? There are many options out there for environmentally friendly home products. There are organic mattresses, no and low VOC paints, organic carpeting, and natural stains for your hardwood floor. Most of these will cost you more than the versions that do off gas, so you many need to pick and choose.
If you can’t afford to buy all organic products for your home, or if you just remodeled your home or built a new one and didn’t know about the effects of off gassing, there are steps you can take to protect your family.
* Always keep the air moving through your home. Outdoor air is much cleaner than indoor air. Use fans, and in nice weather keep your doors and windows open. A fan in children’s bedrooms, especially newborns will help keep the chemicals moving away from them. Also, make sure your bathrooms and kitchen are properly vented.
* Keep the humidity levels low in your home, below 45%, since formaldehyde and other chemicals off gas quicker and in higher amounts as temperature and humidity increase.
* Remove items such as bleach and chemical cleaners from your home and replace them with environmentally friendly products by companies such as Seventh Generation. Or you can learn to make your own cleaning products with peroxide and baking soda.
* If you have recently purchased a new product for your home, allow it to sit in the garage for a few days outside of its packaging. This will help to keep the initial influx of chemicals out of your living space.