When furnishing your home or office, use furniture that encourages good posture and protects human health. Comfort, safety, and environment-friendly are key terms to remember. Here are some tips on how to choose safe and eco-friendly furniture:
Choose Furniture with Therapeutic Design
Many people mistake overstuffed chairs and sofas as the perfect kind of furniture. Slumping on a chair or hunching over a desk may feel good for a while, but health experts say that doing so will eventually contribute to pain and discomfort. Furniture with soft, yielding mattresses may cause health problems such as poor posture and backache.
Good seating furniture must be designed to encourage a normal spine curve to protect you from back pain. Consider Danish modern designs for your chair; they are made of solid wood with simple lines. You may also want to look for “therapeutic” or “ergonomic” chairs and stools, as they are specifically designed to prevent pain and discomfort.
Desks and kitchen counters must be at a reasonable height so you don’t have to hunch over while using them. If you’re getting furniture for an office, make sure that the worker’s desk and chair are the right height for good posture. Incorrect levels of seats and desks may cause strain on the eyes, shoulder, and back.
Choose Furniture Made of Natural Materials
Try your best to eliminate all plastics. Opt for furniture made of cloth, glass, hard wood, or metal.
Synthetic materials should be avoided whenever possible. Examples of these synthetic materials include synthetic fibers, cellulose padding, and foam rubber. Not only do they outgas, releasing molecules into the air; they can be a deadly hazard when they burn. Foam rubber produces asphyxiating fumes when it burns. Plastic is just as hazardous: Flames from plastic burn and spread quickly, have extremely high temperature, and produce large amounts of dense smoke. Even plastic that’s treated for flame retardancy can produce so much smoke when forced to burn.
Natural materials such as wood and cotton fibers also produce toxic combustion by-products but at a much slower rate than synthetic materials, allowing more time for occupants to escape before gases accumulate to lethal levels.
As rule of safety, all furniture should have perfect finish and provide a reasonable circulation of air. Choose sofa or mattress that has the right amount of natural stuffing. A 7-inch-thick mattress on a 7-inch-thick box is simply overstuffed and does not allow air to circulate. Before purchasing any furniture, check if it is strong and free from protruding nails or splintering wood.
Avoid Furniture Containing Pressed Wood
Furniture made of pressed wood has become a popular choice because of its light weight and cheaper cost. Pressed wood, however, pose certain risks to human health because it contains formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is a colorless, pungent-smelling gas that “can cause watery eyes, burning sensations in the eyes and throat, nausea, and difficulty in breathing in some humans exposed at elevated levels.” (Source: EPA.gov) Studies have also shown that high exposure formaldehyde may result to fatigue, skin rash, asthma, and cancer in humans.
To reduce further exposure to formaldehyde, consider replacing your furniture with those that use “exterior-grade” pressed wood products. These types of furniture emit lower levels of formaldehyde because they contain phenol resins, not urea resins. Increase ventilation in your home or office, especially after bringing in new furniture made of pressed wood. Maintain a steady and moderate temperature and use humidifiers to reduce humidity levels.
Choosing safe and eco-friendly furniture for your home or office ensures safety and good health. You may have to spend pay extra to get the best furniture, but be assured that it's worth the cost.
For additional information about the use of formaldehyde on pressed wood, visit the EPA site at http://www.epa.gov/iaq/formalde.html.
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