Formaldehyde Free Kitchens?

Formaldehyde Free Kitchens?

Can I buy a formaldehyde free kitchen cabinet? It seems the answer is no.

But what is formaldehyde and should we be concerned about it?

Back in 2006, I was asked just that question and as I did not have a clue what formaldehyde in cabinetry was, my research has been a revelation.

The customer asking the question was the Buying Agent for a Japanese company where more or less all MDF and VOC related products were classed as not environmentally friendly.  They ordered a solid wood kitchen, and we supplied them with kitchen and bathroom cabinets, for many years.    

Formaldehyde is a chemical compound which is naturally produced in all life forms. Most household products will therefore emit varying levels of formaldehyde, solid wood usually emits less than 0.003ppm (parts per million) and is harmless at this level. Long term exposure to higher levels of formaldehyde can cause respiratory problems, and other health issues, and to some it may be carcinogen.

VOC is a volatile organic compound (formaldehyde), meaning that it becomes a gas at room temperature, VOCs from paint & lacquers dissipate fairly quickly with most off-gassing occurring during the first 6 months after application, particle board (MDF & Chipboard) may continue to off-gas for 20 years or more.  

MDF is a medium density fibreboard (particle board), made of wood fibres, combined with wax and a resin binder. The resin binder (adhesive) creates the higher levels of formaldehyde. 

In parts of Europe, America & Australia they cannot sell MDF without a health-warning label as it can release a high amount of formaldehyde, (from 1^st June 2018 products with high levels of VOC are banned in some countries). 

We recently supplied an interior designer with a kitchen for a client with an allergy to formaldehyde, using 100% solid wood, low VOC paints, lacquers and formaldehyde free adhesives, this dramatically reduced the amount of formaldehyde gases released, to give the client an acceptable healthy environment.

Our Cabinets:

Since then all our cabinetry is manufactured with solid pine, we never use MDF or chipboard, we also use formaldehyde free glue and take care in reducing emissions where we can, some of our customers with allergies, choose to paint & lacquer their cabinets with VOC free products.

As formaldehyde occurs naturally, it cannot be avoided, maybe an increase in allergies are a warning that we are starting to be less tolerate of the higher levels we inflict on our bodies? we might be healthier and breathe more easily if we greatly reduce the formaldehyde added to products around us?   

For more information on our low emission cabinets, contact our Head Office.

Gary Whatford

Wood & Wood 

Lifetime Guarantee for all our Solid Wood Kitchens

Just in case you weren't aware all of our solid wood kitchens now come with a lifetime guarantee.

We are so confident of the quality of our kitchen units that we are happy to guarantee them for the rest of your life as long as you (and the units!) stay in the same property.

We think you will find this a hard offer to beat particularly when you factor in how competitive our prices are. At the moment we offer an online discount of 25% off of our online orders.

If you are an architect, designer or builder please contact us for details of our trade discounts. Also please note that if you are in the trade we can arrange a lifetime guarantee in the name of your client to cover our kitchens as per our personal customers.

New Catalogue and Price List - Online and Trade Discounts Currently Available

Responding to customer demand we have simplified customer access to our website and you can now view, print or download our main catalogue, accessories catalogue and price lists directly via our website without the need for a password.

We are also currently offering a discount of 25% for any online orders for our beautiful solid wood kitchens. We do, of course, offer generous discounts to all of our trade customers, including architects, designers and builders.

If you would like any further information please complete the online Contact Form, phone us on 01273 844406 or email us at info@wwkitchens.co.uk

MDF or Solid Wood

I remember when medium-density fibreboard (MDF) was first introduced to the workshop whilst I was an apprentice carpenter in the late 1970's, it was quite revolutionary at the time to have a material that you could cut easily, which gave a smooth, knot free finish mind you, get it wet and it resembles Weetabix – permanently!. Rumours were soon rife apparently the resin used to bind the wood fibres to make MDF contains formaldehyde, we heard that some manufacturers made anyone working with MDF to wear masks and they had to seal the products exposed edges. Was this the next asbestos? It still isn’t known for sure whether the formaldehyde emissions reach harmful levels, the State of California has classified formaldehyde as a known carcinogen

Fortunately, the majority of my time as a carpenter was spent working with the real stuff – solid wood, there were growing concerns at the time that we were damaging the environment by cutting down so many trees but this has been largely overcome by planting sustainable forests so now we can use this beautiful natural product without harm.

Wouldn’t you rather have solid wood from sustainable forests in your home?