Cabinetry & Formaldehyde

Did you know that 'regular' cabinetry off gasses urea formaldehyde into your home for up to five years?  And, if you have a done a great job insulating and weather proofing your house, those voc's (volatile organic compounds) don't leave the house, you simply breathe them into your lungs.  This is one example of why EPA has determined that the indoor air quality of our homes is 5 TIMES worse than the exterior air quality. 

The quick solution is to purchase cabinetry that is made with a plywood box.  Careful, there is plywood available that DOES have added urea formaldehyde in it.  Make sure that the plywood that you are paying extra for (and you will be paying an up charge) is formaldehyde free.

There are other options to complicate our decisions:  there is a new particle board (EcoCore) that consists of 100% recycled materials that also contains no urea formaldehyde.  There is also 'Environmentally Preferred Particleboard' which has extremely low amounts of urea formaldehyde.  Or, you can purchase cabinets and allow some time to 'air them out' in an area that circulates air out of the home (open the windows?).  They will still off gas into the years, but the majority of the formaldehyde will be gone.

Many of you may be asking the same question that I asked - why do all these products have urea formaldehyde in them?  And why can't we use 'solid' wood?  The answer is that solid wood reacts to water and moisture in the air which causes warpage.  That is why, if you order a 'slab' style door, it is never 'solid' wood, it is a wood veneer on a substrate that does not warp.  And, that is why cabinet boxes are not made of solid wood, because they would be constantly expanding and contracting and warping.  The materials that do not warp significantly are plywood (many layers of wood) and particle board.  Particle board is made up of many particles that are held together with binding agents.  Most of these binding agents contain urea formaldehyde.  That is why some plywood and most particle board off gas voc's.  Sometimes, by solving one problem, we seem to have created others.

Breathe well & Have a Happy Thanksgiving,

Christine

Refrigeration that adapts to our lives

Have you ever notices that many home designs and products do not fit our current lifestyle?  Perhaps at one time all humans were smaller and could easily fit through 28" wide doors and we all needed formal living rooms.  Back when indoor refrigeration was invented it was the center of attention in anyone's kitchen.  It was a single refrigerator and our cabinets, walls, lighting, lifestyle adapted to this new invention.  Finally, (has it been around 70-80 years?), refrigeration is adapting to our lifestyles.  Want your refrigerator to blend in with the cabinets instead of taking the full spotlight?  Then you want a built-in 24"deep unit.  Guess what, you still can have the same amount of interior space, (in cubic inches) they just make them taller!  You can select an all refrigerator, an all freezer, or a combo, or one of each and put them in different areas of your home/kitchen.  You can have the freezer on the top, or on the bottom, or on the side or in a different unit.  You can have freezer drawers or refer drawers which can be located where you want to access that type of food.  Like extra sinks in your kitchen, additional refrigeration can be strategically placed to accommodate specific needs (beverage center, snacks for kids, ice cream in the tv room)  You now have a choice, you can get refrigerators that are bigger stronger and more efficient, or you can have several smaller strategically placed refrigeration units.  Want a new refrigerator but you do not want to tear up your cabinets for the change?  There is a 21" deep refrigerator that fits INSIDE a pantry cabinet (including ventilation space) and has hardware that allows the refrigerator door attach to your existing cabinet door! Check out the Fully Integrated refrigeration units at www.Liebherr-appliances.com for a trip to refrigerator heaven!