Formaldehyde from Citrus Cleaning Products
Cleaning products and air fresheners can produce formaldehyde. UC Berkeley researchers found that chemicals in pine oils and citrus oils react with ozone in the air, producing formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is a strong eye, nose, throat, and lung irritant. Formaldehyde is also an asthma trigger and a carcinogen, according to the EPA.
Formaldehyde can cause red watery eyes, sore throats, skin rashes, and sinus infections. Persons with asthma are more likely to have asthma symptoms when exposed to formaldehyde. Health effects appear in many persons at about 0.1 ppm. Formaldehyde concentrations in some homes can exceed 0.3 ppm.
- » See also: Glidehouse Homes Designed for Clean and Simple Green Living
- » Get Green Building Elements by RSS or sign up by email.
Researchers found elevated exposure to contaminants in the following situations:
- Cleaning a small bathroom for 15 minutes.
- Air freshener plus an ozone producing air purifier in a child’s bedroom.
- Cleaning a kitchen and remaining in the kitchen for two hours on a day when ozone levels are high.
Open windows to increase ventilation and decrease formaldehyde concentration in the home. It is especially important to open windows after using pine or citrus cleaners in warm weather, when ozone is highest. Avoid “air purifiers” that generate ozone. Ozone itself is an irritant, plus it increases formaldehyde concentrations in the presence of common cleaners.
The California Air Resources Board has the following recommendations:
- Limit the use of pine- or lemon-scented cleaning products or air fresheners, especially on high ozone days.
- When using cleaning products, avoid use of air cleaning devices that emit ozone.
- Use only as much of the cleaning product as necessary.
- Rinse surfaces to remove residual cleaning agents.
Photo from Wiki Commons.
Related articles: Dream Kitchen or Health Hazard: Formaldehyde and Indoor Air Quality
Ilene,
Radon test kits do not measure radiation.
To measure radiation, you will need an insturment designed for that purpose. We use a Ludlum 19,a PM1703 gamma dosimeter, and Arrowtech gamma dosimeters.
We also provide film badges for homeowners that want to test their own granite for radiation. Place the film badges on the grantie for a week, and then mail them back to the lab. The lab will analyze the badges and prepare a report giving the radiation exposure.
Um, my comment was supposed to go on the formaldehyde post.
The point of this article is quite simple, the MIA attacked this author and she replied with information from a Radon researcher that proved the MIA’s study was a dog and pony show.
Stay tuned for more. The science is being done, some of it is complete and nearing publication in a scientific journal. Bottom line is that some granites DO raise homes Radon levels.
Rather than fight the obvious, you granite guys would be better served if the hotter granites were removed from the market.
My can of air freshener was making me sick. I discovered that formaldehyde content was the problem. Now I just open the window.
[...] Formaldehyde from Citrus Cleaning Products [...]
The article states citrus oils but then later specifically only says “lemon”. I’m assuming this applies to orange based cleaners as well?