Terpenes + Ozone = FormaldehydePart 4: Conclusion

In parts one, two and three we discussed terpenes, ozone and formaldehyde. What does it all mean? If you use any household cleaner that contains terpene you are going to raise the levels of formaldehyde in your home especially when combined with an ozone generator. Proper ventilation is required when using hazardous chemicals in your home. Ozone generators cannot clean the air in a home environment at levels that are safe for human occupancy and may be helping to increase the levels of formaldehyde in your air. Ozone generators are not regulated and have been found to produce dangerous levels of ozone in indoor environments.

We recommend looking for cleaning products that don’t contain terpene to replace the ones you may currently be using. If you have an ozone generator, do some research to see how much ozone it produces. The California Air Resources Board has a list of approved air cleaning devices that don’t emit dangerous levels of ozone AND a list of dangerous ozone generators. If you have dangerous ozone emitting device please consider not using it in occupied living spaces.


Resources:
1.  Common household cleaners and air fresheners may lead to health risks.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/2006/05/24/18127.aspx
News Medical. May 24, 2006.
2.  Guide to Air Cleaners in the Home.
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/airclean.html#Ozone%20generators
US EPA. May 2008.
3. Fact Sheet: Beware of Ozone-generating Indoor “Air Purifiers”.
http://www.arb.ca.gov/research/indoor/ozone_gen_fact_sheet-a.pdf
California Air Resources Board. March, 2006.