Mr. Liu, born in the 1980s and a member of the Beipiao ethnic group, has a mixed mood recently: he is happy that he has finally settled down in Beijing after years of hard work, but worried that his newly furnished house, although it has taken two months to ventilate, still has some irritating odors in the room. Will his pregnant wife be affected?

With doubts, Mr. Liu hired an indoor formaldehyde treatment company that exceeded the standard - environmentally friendly furniture is fatal! Buyers need to pay more attention! The pollution agency conducted testing, and after comparing the air quality indicators in environments with and without furniture, the testing personnel determined that the irritating odor was emitted from the furniture purchased by Mr. Liu. Nowadays, similar incidents are not uncommon in the process of home decoration. Furniture and building materials have become one of the concerns in home decoration due to excessive formaldehyde content.

Serious problem of excessive formaldehyde in furniture

The results of a furniture product inspection conducted by the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision in November last year showed that 51 out of 156 batches of products were found to be unqualified. Many of the reasons for the unqualified furniture products were related to "formaldehyde emission not meeting the standard". Not long ago, the Shaanxi Provincial Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision announced the results of the second quarter furniture product quality supervision spot check this year. Among the 95 batches of products selected by the bureau from 95 production and distribution enterprises, 19 batches were found to be unqualified after testing. The main problems with these products, apart from the material requirements for metal components and the strength of drawer slides not meeting standards, are all related to excessive formaldehyde.

According to China's formaldehyde content testing standards for furniture, the formaldehyde emission should not exceed 1.5mg/L. However, among the products sampled with problems, it is not difficult to find that some formaldehyde emissions are as low as twice the limit, while others can be as high as five times or more.

Analysts say that the main reason for the increasingly serious problem of furniture formaldehyde exceeding the standard is that most panel furniture in China uses fiberboard or particleboard for bonding, and these materials need to be bonded with aldehyde adhesives during the production and assembly process of furniture raw materials. For example, many panel furniture use an adhesive called "urea formaldehyde resin" during the production process. From a chemical perspective, "urea formaldehyde resin" is a direct compound of formaldehyde and urea. This product undergoes an organic "decomposition reaction" under natural conditions, releasing formaldehyde. If encountering a humid and hot environment, it is like adding a "catalyst", the decomposition rate will double, and the smell of formaldehyde will naturally be heavier.

There are many small businesses in the home industry. These enterprises not only have weak control over product standards such as raw materials, but also extensively use substandard artificial boards and inferior adhesives. Industry insiders generally believe that another major reason for the repeated prohibition of excessive formaldehyde in the industry is that the existing testing methods in China are highly destructive, which makes it difficult to operate furniture testing.

The current detection method is highly destructive

Mr. Liu mentioned earlier told me that after discovering problems with the furniture, he had requested the merchant to return it. However, the merchant did not buy it and instead claimed that a certain amount of formaldehyde can have a preservative effect on the furniture. He hoped that Mr. Liu could send the furniture to a nationally designated professional testing institution for inspection. If the formaldehyde does indeed exceed the standard, he could exchange it.

There is no problem with paying the testing fee, but it is not cost-effective to cut these tens of thousands of yuan worth of furniture into several pieces for testing. If the rights cannot be protected, the cost will be too high. Helpless, Mr. Liu had to give up sending it for testing.

A survey shows that the number of complaints about panel furniture in home products has been among the top for many years, especially "excessive formaldehyde" which is an indescribable pain for consumers and has become a headache in the furniture industry. However, for a long time, due to the difficulty in operating the current furniture testing methods in China, the success rate of consumer rights protection is not high, and many times rights protection still relies on speaking well of merchants!

The current furniture testing method in China is the "dryer method", and the process is roughly as follows: generally, board samples are extracted from household products and then sent to laboratories at or above the provincial level for chemical testing. It is worth noting that when extracting board samples, it is necessary to destroy the integrity of the furniture. Cutting furniture into small pieces for testing not only incurs certain costs, but also makes it difficult to guarantee smooth replacement and refund even if the test results show that formaldehyde exceeds the standard, because many merchants refuse to compensate consumers on the grounds of "furniture products have been damaged".

The Environmental Testing Warehouse Law is worth learning from

Compared to the "board sampling and testing method" in China, which sacrifices the integrity of furniture, some European and American countries have already implemented the "environmental testing chamber method". The specific operation of this testing method is to first place individual furniture in a "closed air chamber", and after a certain period of time, extract an "air sample" from the chamber for testing.

The main difference between this detection method and the currently used methods in China is that it is positioned at the front and does not damage the integrity of the furniture product structure, which is beneficial for post event rights protection; Secondly, the furniture will be placed in a "sealed air chamber" for testing, which is equivalent to simulating the usage environment of the furniture, and the results of the testing will be more convincing. Thirdly, the cost of the "environmental testing chamber method" is lower than that of the "board sampling and testing method" without damaging the products being tested.

In addition to significant differences in testing methods compared to the United States, China still needs to standardize and improve its standards for formaldehyde emissions from furniture. It is understood that in today's world, the United States has strict control over the detection of formaldehyde emissions from furniture. In 2009, the CARB regulations issued by the United States provided detailed specifications for all aspects of furniture production, extending formaldehyde detection to every stage of furniture product circulation, rather than simply limiting it to sampling "finished furniture products".

Looking at the existing regulatory standards for "formaldehyde content" in China, the limit for formaldehyde content in the "Indoor Air Quality Standards" is less than or equal to 0.10mg per cubic meter, while the qualified standard for formaldehyde content in the "Limit of Harmful Substances in Interior Decoration Materials and Wooden Furniture" is less than or equal to 1.5mg per liter. Experts have stated that the inconsistency between the two standards has resulted in furniture formaldehyde content reaching the standard and air formaldehyde content being inconsistent, leading to sometimes test results that violate one standard but meet the other standard. Merchants may refuse to exchange or return goods on this grounds.

Buying furniture requires mastering some basic knowledge

The new standards will be introduced soon, which is undoubtedly exciting news for consumers. However, it is still necessary for consumers to have some basic knowledge when purchasing furniture.

There is a saying in the industry that consumers should consider purchasing furniture when encountering the following situations. Front: Furniture has a strong pungent odor; Secondly, it is sold in informal storefronts without a quality inspection certificate; Thirdly, the furniture products produced have repeatedly been blacklisted by national and local quality inspection departments; Fourthly, the panel furniture has not undergone edge sealing treatment; Fifth: Unable to present the formaldehyde content manual; Sixth: Engage in OEM production and offer unreasonably low prices; Seventh: Incomplete after-sales warranty certificate.

Professionals believe that the quality of indoor air is closely related to the health of family members. Common methods to deal with excessive indoor formaldehyde include using activated carbon adsorption, opening doors and windows to allow natural air circulation, placing green plants indoors, and purchasing air purifiers. It is advisable to have a professional testing agency conduct an "indoor air quality test" before checking in, and only after the air quality meets the standards can you move in.