There are some plants that work well as air purifiers

http://www.mnn.com/health/healthy-spaces/photos/15-houseplants-for-improving-indoor-air-quality/a-breath-of-fresh-air

Plus Himalayan salt lamps are meant to be air purifiers as well.

http://healing.about.com/od/saltrocks/a/salt-lamps.htm

These may not be enough for you but worth a go and won't cost too much - maybe still a couple of hundred.

Good luck!

My ENT doc diagnosed me with formaldehyde allergies. I can't be around new carpet or wall covering or even newspapers for too long. I get a sore throat, weakness and headache. Also same reaction to perfumes and cleaning supplies. Even though it is cold outside, try to ventilate as much as possible. If you are leaving the house, leave some windows open. Even if you are home, leave them open a crack. Sprinkle baking soda on the carpet and keep pans of baking soda in each room of the house. It absorbs the smell and the molecules. Change the baking soda every day, as well as vacuum up the backing soda. It is cheaper to buy a dozen boxes of baking soda then that $1000 air cleaner. The smell should be gone in a week or two.

I have a problem with chemical fumes too, so I can definitely sympathize. It's something happening in my neighborhood, don't know what...maybe somebody's making drugs.

I looked into those charcoal-based air cleaners too, very pricey...actually more than a thousand for them, but don't remember how much more. Then there's all the sacks of charcoal you have to buy too. I can't afford one either.

I don't believe anyone can be allergic to formaldehyde. It's very toxic to the human system, so I think the proper term would be formaldehyde-sensitive. I think the distinction is important, because the term allergy implies it's the patient's fault somehow. It covers up the fact that these industrial chemicals poison all of us...sensitive or not.

My best hope for you is that with time the fumes will dissipate. I've noticed that freshly constructed cabinets of particle board lose their pungent odor with time.

The source is the polymers they make from formaldehyde. They're used in many construction materials because they allow the use of waste sawdust as building material. And they find uses in rugmaking, furniture, etc. Then there's all the fire-retardant treatment they give fabrics, those chemicals are toxic too.

Environmentalists have fought for a ban on these respiratory irritants, but so far the industrial interests are winning. When I was a kid, these compounds didn't even exist...new houses smelled like freshly cut wood and plaster...the "good old days"? I do think so.

I hope this works out for you somehow, I really do.

Here's something I did years ago for this problem. I swabbed varnish or sealer on the underside of a table that was giving off fumes from the particle board. It stopped the fumes.

This might work if the fumes are coming from the kitchen cabinetry...and the bathroom cabinets. Home Depot has sealer in big cans.

Austin Air's Health Mate purifiers are very good and are around $500. They only need new filters every five years, and yes they have charcoal and Hepa both inside.

Air Free has purifiers for around $200. They are more geared for mold, though, but they might help with other stuff, too. They do not use filters, but incinerate stuff via heat. So you never have to do any maintenance or pay for new filters.

That said, even the very best filters only do so much. Some of the new things will outgas and that helps, but that can take awhile, and some things, like carpet can continue to put out toxins for years. Heat is also definitely not good; gas seems to be the worst. If you could get by with space heaters instead, that could help, as long as you find ones that do not also put out odors and toxins.

The hepa-type filters described are for odors, not chemical fumes. In order to remove chemical fumes from indoor air, you need much more than the few spoonsful of charcoal you find in those household air cleaners.

Industrial-grade air cleaners use charcoal by the gallon, not by the spoonful. And they cost a lot more than a few hundred dollars.

Hi
Hoping you're doing alright and are finding ways to cope with the chemicals.
Wanted to let you know your post helped me and my hubby decide to buy a house that was older vs having one built. We had been waffling and I had forgotten about all the off gassing. So, thanks because we bought one that is 14 yrs old so once I have the carpets green-cleaned we should be good to go.
thanks again and really hoping you are doing well.

The Austin air purifiers I am talking about have way more than a few spoonfuls of charcoal (the replacement filters are very heavy from all the charcoal), and they do work on chemical fumes. Like I said, they are not perfect, but they do help a lot.

Thank you Tammie, I'll definitely be looking into that.

RichieD

Agree with you completely concerning environmental contaminants. Personally I believe chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, etc. are all if not directly caused, then greatly influenced by toxic environmental chemicals.

I looked up Austin air purifiers. The Health Mate model is the one you need for chemical fumes, it lists at $649 and the replacement filters are $325. Too pricey for my budget, but maybe not for yours, luna.

The filters are supposed to last five years, but if there are chemical fumes coming into your house like I have at times, I doubt if they would last that long. An industrial model air purifier could handle it, but they start around three to five thousand.

I'm thinking of buying a big sack of activated charcoal and repacking old filter cartridges from my current air purifiers with the charcoal in mesh bags, like they do with aquarium filters. You can buy a half-gallon of activated charcoal at any pet shop.

Years ago I read that the best way to combat formaldehyde is to have a couple live houseplants per room. The plants help to clean the air.

Well worth a try and not the most expensive treatment.

Another thing to try is an ozone machine. (Though I would still do the houseplants even if you do this.) You can rent one from a rental shop. I've been told that it is best to not be home while it is on.

Ideally, use the ozone machine when you're not there. Then, after it's off bring in the houseplants.

As someone who's had a lifelong problem with air pollution, I've tried to keep up with the science of air quality and health effects of pollution.

So Chiklet's post on ozone generators really set off my alarm bells. Here's a link to a technical article on ozone and human health that specifically addresses these generators...

http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/ozonegen.html

Please read this before buying or using an ozone generator. They are NOT air purifiers, and they do NOT remove chemical or particulate pollutants from indoor air.

As I often say in my posts, we have to be careful about advertising claims and articles that allege things online related to health. It's easy to be taken in by false claims and articles that use key words like "could possibly", "might", "possibly implicated" and so on. Always do your homework and look for hard evidence.

I know it's not easy, there are a lot of smoke and mirrors out there.

Thank you Richie. I wasn't aware.