Healthy Home Basics - Cabinets, Doors, and Trim

111. How healthy are most kitchen cabinets?

As a rule, the majority of new cabinets—kitchen, bath, etc.—are quite unhealthy. This is because manufacturers all use man-made wood products—hardboard, particle board, and plywood—which contain a potent urea- formaldehyde glue. Even expensive cabinets are made with these materials, and they outgas formaldehyde for years. Although the doors and drawer fronts may be made of solid wood, the end panels, backs, shelves, drawer bottoms, and drawer sides are made of noxious wood products. They can have an attractive thin wood veneer on the surface, but it does little to block formaldehyde. Some manufacturers claim they make their cabinets out of “solid wood,” but they’re playing games with definitions. If you ask if they use plywood, they’ll answer, "Yes, that plywood is solid wood."

When man-made wood products have a plastic or vinyl surfacing, it can block some of the emissions, but almost never enough for sensitive people to tolerate new cabinets. This is because in commercially made cabinets, the plastic or vinyl surfacing rarely covers all the edges, and it often has holes drilled in it for shelf supports.

While the cabinet materials are bad enough, the clear finishes used are often worse. Most manufactures use a urea-formaldehyde clear finish that is one of the strongest formaldehyde emitters found in houses. The good news is that it’s so powerful, it’s usually done outgassing after 4-6 months. After that, you’ve still got the formaldehyde in the plywood, particle board, and hardboard to contend with.

112. Can’t I just coat problem cabinets with a sealant to make them safe?

To be effective, a sealant must be applied to all surfaces—top, bottom, front, back, sides, edges, and all nooks and crannies. We’ve talked to a number of sensitive people who have done this and they almost always say the same thing: “It was a lot of work. We put 4 coats of sealant on everything, and it did help—but it didn’t help enough.” You get imperfect results because most sealers are imperfect at blocking emissions.

Benjamin Moore Paint Co. has a sealer called Impervo that was tested in Canada and found to block 100% of formaldehyde emissions, but it’s an oil-based paint. For sensitive people, it probably wouldn’t be any more tolerable than the formaldehyde. Plus, it won’t do much for the appearance of your attractive new oak cabinets to slap a few coats of paint on them.

113. What healthy options do I have if I want new wood cabinets?

At the time of this writing, Neff Kitchen Manufacturers Ltd. (6 Melanie Dr., Brampton, ON Canada L6T 4K9, 905-791-7770) is a company making cabinets available n...