There are a plentiful of smells that linger inside your home from the candle you lit a couple hours ago, to the dinner cooking on the stove, and even maybe a little bit of a funk that has lingered inside your home for quite some time – that you have tried to disguise to no prevail! The list of potential culprits of the odor could be endless, but one common source of possible odor inside your home is caused by chemicals that have become collected inside your indoor environment.
The production of chemicals in manufactured goods has increased drastically over the years, with more and more finished goods containing a significant number of chemicals within their construction. Most of the chemicals utilized you probably have never heard of, however, there is a chemical that has gained increased notoriety in its over-use in many household items, this chemical is called Formaldehyde.
Formaldehyde is a colorless, flammable, strong-smelling gas that leaves an unsettling odor that can cause health problems in those who breathe in the invisible gas for an extended period of time. This chemical is found in many common household items such as carpeting, upholstery, wood, particleboard, furniture, and more. If you start to develop an odor inside your home, it is important to quickly find the source and treat the contaminate immediately.
How to Clean Formaldehyde
The steps to removing formaldehyde odor from your home can be easy, if you have the right tools. Depending on the source of the formaldehyde there are several different things you may need to do to accomplish the removal of the smell from your house.
- Fresh Air: The first step is to be sure that you have airflow and circulation inside your home. When a home is restricted of airflow and ventilation is poor this will contribute to many issues – allowing contaminates like formaldehyde to linger inside your home’s air and impact the quality of the air you breathe inside your house. Increase airflow by opening windows or adding fans indoors to help push out the formaldehyde odors.
- Treat the Source of the Odor: Formaldehyde can be emitted from many household items but determining the source behind the odor is important. If you have found that the source of the odor is on a surface like a table, couch, or flooring a proper deodorization of the surface is needed to eradicate the odor. This deodorization can be accomplished with the use of a patented earth mineral technology designed for breaking down chemical compounds on the molecular level, like the EnviroKlenz technology. The EnviroKlenz Everyday Odor Eliminator is designed for use on water-safe surfaces to remove the smell of formaldehyde odor and other chemical odors from your home.
- Eliminate Airborne Contaminants: The process of removing formaldehyde from the surfaces of your home may not do the complete trick of eliminating the odor. The need for treatment of your air is something that may be necessary in order to expel the formaldehyde smell. When formaldehyde enters into the air inside your home it can create many issues, especially for those who are highly sensitive to chemical exposure. In some cases, the odor is so bad that it can leave some individuals physically unable to even be inside their home. When this occurs, the safest method to remove the smell of formaldehyde from your home is to conduct a “bake-out”.
A bake-out is the process of heating up your home to high temperatures (usually between 85-87 degrees Fahrenheit) with increased air flow to elevate the concentrations of odors driving the chemical odor off. A critical component to a bake-out is the use of an effective VOC air purifier, like the EnviroKlenz Mobile Air System, that is able to effectively neutralize chemicals without releasing anything back into the environment.
To learn more about how to hotbox a home to remove VOCs read this guide to bake-out your home and get the best results, which will help to make your home once again livable.
