You can come in contact with formaldehyde while painting, sealing, making repairs or applying pest control treatment in your home or office. Some of these products may also contain other VOCs.
Most of the formaldehyde found indoors can come from:
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Car exhaust from cars without catalytic converters
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Smoke from cigarettes and other tobacco products
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Fuel in heating and cooking equipment, such as wood stoves, gas kitchen stoves and kerosene heaters
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Fabric, drapes and furniture
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Glues and adhesives, including those found in pressed wood products like particleboard, plywood, paneling and medium density fiberboard (MDF)
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Painting, coating and cleaning products
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Insulation materials
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Personal care products with chemical preservatives
Sometimes porous, absorbent products, like sheetrock or carpets, that do not normally contain formaldehyde may absorb it from other sources and release it later. This is more likely to happen if there is a rise in temperature and humidity in the air over a period of time.
Since the indoor and outdoor air that we breathe normally contains some formaldehyde, we all breathe some in. The outdoor air in highly populated urban areas usually contains more formaldehyde than rural areas. Find out more about outdoor air pollutants