Can formaldehyde removal really be DIY?
Many people are aware of the harm of formaldehyde. After decorating or buying new furniture, they are very worried about the impact of formaldehyde on the body, especially in the environment of pregnant women, infants, children or the elderly. However, not every family has a sufficient budget for formaldehyde removal services. For example, a family spends HK$4,000 to buy a set of furniture. They don't want to spend more than HK$1,000 to do formaldehyde removal services for this furniture.
Therefore, many customers ask: Can I do formaldehyde removal myself? Is DIY formaldehyde removal okay?
The answer is: YES! Below we will introduce several safe and effective formaldehyde removal methods and points to note. We will also explain some formaldehyde removal methods and products that are ineffective or have little effect.
Different formaldehyde removal sprays use different materials. The more common formaldehyde removal spray solutions in the market are photocatalyst and nanosilver. When purchasing, you need to pay attention to whether the relevant materials are safe, because the fundamental purpose of formaldehyde removal is to improve the level of a healthy environment, so Do No Harm is always our first principle for choosing formaldehyde removal materials. If some formaldehyde removal materials in the market have some allergenic ingredients or will cause secondary pollution, you should pay more attention. Allerfree uses the original BioNatro imported formaldehyde removal spray, which has been safety verified and is safe and effective. The first choice for DIY formaldehyde removal of small furniture.
Are formaldehyde removal remedies reliable?
There are several common formaldehyde removal remedies on the Internet. The following items are often found in customers' homes/offices when we provide formaldehyde removal services. Let's take a look at which methods are effective, which methods are ineffective or have little effect, and which methods are safe and effective.
Tea
We have seen clients buy a large amount of tea leaves to fill every piece of furniture and even every drawer in a 4,000-square-foot duplex house, but the formaldehyde content in the house still exceeds Hong Kong's safety standard (0.08PPM) by several times.
Although some studies have shown that a substance in tea can absorb formaldehyde, the effect is very small. Therefore, it is more practical to use tea leaves to make tea than to remove formaldehyde.
Pineapple
Pineapple has a sweet and fresh scent. Many people believe that placing pineapples in newly renovated homes can eliminate odors and achieve the effect of removing formaldehyde.
Indeed, placing fresh pineapples can effectively cover the pungent smell of formaldehyde, making the indoor smell more acceptable. However, there is no scientific evidence that pineapples can remove formaldehyde. Therefore, pineapples can only cover up the smell but have no effect on the decomposition of formaldehyde.
Green plants
Green plants are not only ornamental, but also have a certain degree of formaldehyde removal effect. According to an experiment conducted by a research institute, in a 1.5 cubic meter experimental space, the formaldehyde removal efficiency of different varieties of green plants ranged from 1% to 9%. Among them, the best effect was achieved by ivy, which had a formaldehyde removal effect of 9%.
However, a 400-square-foot home is equivalent to approximately 75 cubic meters of space. If you want a significant effect, it seems that you will need a lot of green plants (see picture), and the premise is that the formaldehyde concentration cannot be too high.
Activated carbon
Activated carbon is a very good formaldehyde adsorbent. It uses charcoal, bamboo charcoal, various fruit shells and coal as raw materials, dries them at high temperatures, carbonizes their organic structures, and then reacts with activators and water vapor to complete the activation process and make finished products. In the process, rich pore structures and larger specific surface areas are generated, which give activated carbon a certain adsorption capacity.
Many air purifiers that can remove toxic gases such as formaldehyde and VOCs are equipped with activated carbon filters. However, the formaldehyde removal process of activated carbon is attraction rather than decomposition. Therefore, when the absorption is saturated, it must be discarded or placed under the sun to release the formaldehyde molecules adsorbed on its surface.
