Seeking advice on VOCs/formaldehyde. Are my readings concerning?
I’m moving into a brand-new apartment in Los Angeles (weho) that finished construction a few months ago. When I initially toured it, there was a noticeable but tolerable chemical/new-construction smell, which raised concerns about VOC off-gassing from paint, flooring, adhesives, cabinetry, etc.
Since then, I’ve had the windows open for approximately 3 weeks (i haven’t moved in yet, windows are still open) and hired a company to perform post-construction cleaning, HVAC duct cleaning, and brief air scrubbing.
I’ve also been taking measurements with a Temtop LKC-1000S+ (which I understand isn’t laboratory-grade).
With windows open: – TVOC: 0.05 mg/m³ – Formaldehyde (HCHO): 0.01 mg/m³ – PM2.5: 3.7 µg/m³ and AQI of about 15
After approximately 48 hours with windows closed: – TVOC: 0.38 mg/m³ (peaked at .45 and settled at .36) – Formaldehyde (HCHO): 0.08 mg/m³ (~65 ppb) – PM2.5: 2.1 µg/m³
The chemical/new-building smell was still noticeable after those 48 hours with the windows closed.
My main concern is long-term exposure once I move in and start living normally with the windows closed for extended periods.
I have very bad health anxiety and I’d really appreciate input from you guys as well as any industrial hygienists or indoor-air-quality professionals on a few questions:
Are these readings typical for a newly constructed apartment, or do they warrant further investigation?
How much confidence should I place in the Temtop’s formaldehyde readings, particularly at 0.08 mg/m³?
Would professional laboratory testing for this be justified, or would you consider ordinary ventilation sufficient?
If testing is recommended or am i overreacting, what specific sampling methods would be most appropriate for a residential apartment?
I do struggle with severe OCD/health anxiety especially in how my brain could be damaged in regards to toxic exposure, so I’m trying to distinguish an objectively warranted environmental concern from excessive precaution. I’d especially appreciate evidence-based advice rather than speculation or worst-case scenarios.
Thanks in advance!
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It's very unlikely you're going to suffer any severe problems from most modern buiding materials if they were properly installed.
My usual advice here is to use forced cross flow ventillation for a week or so. "Cross flow" means in on one side of the structure, and out the other. You want MOVING air going through as much of the indoor space as possible. Clearing this stuff out is a matter of reducing the concentrations as much as possible to get the process sped up as much as possible. If it's a multilevel home, put a box fan or two in a window of a lower level blowing IN towards the interior. Open some windows on the OTHER SIDE of the house on the UPPERMOST LEVEL to let air OUT of the structure. Open ALL doors, including closets and cabinets.
Run like that for a week. See if things improve. I expect things will be a lot better. You're likely to still see a bit of an increase after closing things up again, but it should be a lot better. If you want even more reduction, keep the ventillation going for a longer period of time.
For better overall ongoing indoor air quality, consider installing an ERV or HRV, and use a good filter on the intake. You can get MERV13 filters, and you can get activated carbon filters too. If you want really good filtration, use a filter box on the intake that can take two LARGE size filters, so you can run a high-MERV filter first, then an activated carbon filter in the second location. This lets you constantly bring fresh, filtered air into the structure, and exhaust out stale air ALL the time with a minimum energy penalty.
Bill
Humid environments can provide erroneously high results with this meter, as described in the manual (I own well as well). It's common for new construction to have elevated moisture for a year or so; it may be worth considering whether this has obfuscated your results.
Bill has given you good advice; it is more important to avoid bringing contaminants/pollutants inside and establishing a good ventilation regime than to spend additional effort monitoring closely. After this, monitoring can provide insight into your behavior or mechanical equipment.
If that is the same sensor I have, it doesn't have a formadahyde sensor, just a single VOC sensor. A quick check is to see if the HCHO numbers are always a fixed ratio of VOC number.
New construction can have a lot of VOCs that will take a bit to off-gas. As Bill said, cross ventilate. Since they are volatile, they will eventually dissipate.