Formaldehyde exceeds the standard-fatal injury to environmentally friendly furniture! Buyers need to pay more attention!
Mr. Liu, born in the 1980s of the Beipiao ethnic group, has mixed feelings recently: he is happy that he has finally settled down in Beijing after years of struggle, and worried that although it took two months to ventilate the newly furnished new house, the room There is still some irritating smell, will the pregnant wife be affected?
With doubts, Mr. Liu invited an indoor company to treat formaldehyde exceeding the standard-fatal damage to environmentally friendly furniture! Buyers should pay more attention! Pollution agencies conduct inspections. It emanates from the furniture that Mr. Liu bought. Nowadays, in the process of home decoration, similar incidents are not uncommon. Furniture and building materials have become one of the problems that people pay attention to in home decoration because of "excessive formaldehyde content".
The problem of excessive formaldehyde in furniture is serious
The results of a random inspection of furniture products by the Shanghai Quality and Technical Supervision Bureau in November last year showed that 51 batches of 156 batches of products were unqualified. conform to the standard”. Not long ago, the Shaanxi Provincial Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision announced the results of random inspections on the quality of furniture products in the second quarter of this year, showing that among the 95 batches of products selected by the bureau from 95 production and distribution companies, 19 batches of unqualified samples were tested. . The main problems in these products are not only the material requirements for metal parts and the strength of drawer slides that do not meet the standards, but other reasons are all related to excessive formaldehyde.
According to my country s testing standards for formaldehyde content in furniture, the amount of formaldehyde released should not exceed 1.5 mg/L. However, among the products with problems in the sampling inspection, it is not difficult to find that some formaldehyde releases are less than the limit of 2. times, up to 5 times or more.
According to analysts, the main reason for the increasingly serious problem of excessive formaldehyde in furniture is that most panel furniture in my country is bonded with fiberboard or particleboard, and these materials need to be bonded with aldehyde adhesives during the production and assembly process of furniture raw materials. For example, a lot of panel furniture will use an adhesive called "urea-formaldehyde resin" in the production process. From a chemical point of view, "urea-formaldehyde resin" is a direct compound of formaldehyde and urea. Under natural conditions, this product will undergo a "decomposition reaction" of organic matter, releasing formaldehyde. If you encounter a hot and humid environment, just like adding a "catalyst", the decomposition rate will double, and the smell of formaldehyde will naturally be heavier.
In the home furnishing industry, there are quite a lot of small businesses. In addition to their weak control over raw materials and other product standards, these enterprises wantonly use unqualified wood-based panels and inferior adhesives. People in the industry generally believe that another main reason for the repeated prohibition of formaldehyde exceeding the standard in the industry is that the existing detection methods in our country are highly "destructive", which makes it difficult to operate furniture detection.
The current detection method is "destructive"
Mr. Liu mentioned above told the author that after finding out the problem with the furniture, he asked the merchant to return the product, but the merchant didn t buy it. Instead, he said that a certain amount of formaldehyde can play an antiseptic effect on the furniture. As for whether formaldehyde If the formaldehyde exceeds the standard, he hopes that Mr. Liu can send the furniture to a professional testing agency designated by the state for inspection. If the formaldehyde does exceed the standard, he can exchange it.
"There is no problem paying the inspection fee, but it is not cost-effective to cut the tens of thousands of furniture into several pieces for inspection. If the rights protection fails, the cost is too high." In desperation, Mr. Liu had to give up sent for inspection.
According to a survey, among the complaints about household products, the number of complaints of panel furniture has been among the top for many years in a row, especially "formaldehyde exceeding the standard" is an unspeakable pain for consumers and has become a headache for the furniture industry. But for a long time, due to the difficult operation of the current furniture testing methods in our country, the success rate of consumers rights protection is not high, and in many cases, rights protection has to rely on talking to the merchants!
The current furniture testing in my country is the "dryer method", and the process is roughly as follows: generally, the panel samples are extracted from household products, and then sent to laboratories above the provincial level for chemical testing. It is worth noting that the integrity of the furniture must be destroyed when the panel samples are taken. This kind of cutting the furniture into small pieces for testing will not only incur a certain amount of expenses, but will also lead to even if the test results show that formaldehyde exceeds the standard. It is difficult to guarantee a smooth exchange and refund, because many merchants will refuse to compensate consumers on the grounds that "furniture products have been damaged".
"Environmental test chamber method" is worth learning
Compared with the domestic "sampling and detection method" at the cost of destroying the integrity of furniture, some countries in Europe and the United States have already implemented the "environmental test chamber method". The specific operation of this detection method is: first place a single piece of furniture in the " Airtight air cabin", after a certain period of time, the "air sample" in the cabin is taken for testing.
The difference between this detection method and the method currently used in China is mainly manifested in: first, it does not destroy the integrity of the furniture product structure, which is conducive to rights protection afterwards; second: the furniture will be placed in a "closed air cabin". "Testing is tantamount to simulating the environment in which furniture is used, and the results will be more convincing. Third: The "environmental test chamber method" is less expensive than the "plate sampling inspection method" on the premise of not damaging the products submitted for inspection.
In addition to the large difference in detection means with the United States, my country s standards for the amount of formaldehyde released from furniture still need to be standardized and improved. It is understood that in today s world, the United States has the most stringent checks on "furniture formaldehyde emission testing". In 2009, the "CARB Regulations" promulgated by the United States made detailed regulations on all aspects of furniture production, and even penetrated the detection of formaldehyde into every aspect of furniture product circulation, rather than simply limited to random inspection of "finished furniture" .
In contrast, my country s existing normative standards for "formaldehyde content", the limit value of formaldehyde content in "Indoor Air Quality Standards" is less than or equal to 0.10 mg per cubic meter, and the formaldehyde content in "Limits of Harmful Substances in Wooden Furniture for Interior Decoration Materials" The qualified standard is less than or equal to 1.5mg per liter. Relevant experts said that the inconsistency of the two standards has caused the formaldehyde content of the furniture to be inconsistent with the formaldehyde content in the air. Sometimes, the test results violate one of the standards but meet the other standard. Goods returned.
Buying furniture requires some basic knowledge
The new standard will be introduced soon, which is undoubtedly an exciting news for consumers. However, it is very necessary for consumers to master some basic common sense when purchasing furniture.
There is a saying in the industry that consumers should purchase as appropriate when they encounter the following situations when buying furniture. First: the furniture has a strong pungent smell; second: it is sold in an informal store without a quality inspection certificate; third: the furniture products produced have been on the black list of national and local quality inspection departments for many times; fourth: panel furniture No edge banding treatment; Fifth: Unable to produce formaldehyde content instructions; Sixth: OEM production, the price is ridiculously low; Seventh: The after-sales warranty is incomplete.
Professionals believe that the quality of indoor air is closely related to the health of family members. To deal with indoor formaldehyde exceeding the standard, in addition to using activated carbon adsorption, opening doors and windows to allow air to circulate naturally, placing green plants indoors, and purchasing air purifiers and other common methods . It is best to ask a professional testing agency to conduct an "indoor air quality test" before moving in, and it is advisable to move in after the air quality reaches the standard.
