Dyson’s latest air purifier, the Pure Cryptomic, can eliminate formaldehyde that’s floating around in your home. It’s the main selling point that distinguishes this model from the presently-available Pure Cool and Pure Hot + Cool, which can only capture formaldehyde, not destroy it. But before you drop $649 on a formaldehyde-fighting device there are a few things that you should know.
First, it is almost guaranteed that there is formaldehyde in your home. Formaldehyde is just about everywhere. It’s a chemical that’s found in your body, in the environment, and in furniture and wood products. People tend to hear about it in conjunction with health problems, and it’s true — when there’s enough of it in the air, formaldehyde can irritate your eyes, nose, or throat. It’s also been classed as a cancer-causing substance, but as the American Cancer Society notes: “the effect of exposure to small amounts is less clear.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) agrees — “Most people don’t have any health problems from small amounts of formaldehyde in their homes,” says a fact sheet on their website. Furniture, flooring, or fabrics, especially new items, might emit formaldehyde when they’re new, but this process, called outgassing, decreases over time. The CDC says that after about two years, the chemical has mostly been released. It doesn’t stick around for long, either, and will break down naturally into carbon dioxide in the air in a few hours.
Some homes may have more formaldehyde present than others; according to the CDC, well-insulated homes, homes of smokers, newly-constructed homes, and homes filled with new products may have higher levels of formaldehyde. Also, the American Cancer Society says that “using unvented fuel-burning appliances, such as gas stoves, wood-burning stoves, and kerosene heaters can also raise formaldehyde levels indoors.”
If you think there is a high level of formaldehyde present in your home, Dyson’s new Pure Cryponic may help you — but it isn’t the only option, and it’s certainly not the most affordable. The American Cancer Society, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Center for Disease Control each state that you can keep formaldehyde levels low in your home by not smoking inside, regularly running fans, keeping your home cool with air conditioning, and opening your windows to let fresh air in for a few minutes every couple of days.
you’ll never be able to eliminate formaldehyde completely
If you’re looking to keep formaldehyde out of your home in the first place, there are some other things you can do — though you’ll never be able to eliminate it completely. The CDC states that you should wash curtains before using them in your home, and setting products outside until they no longer emit a chemical-like odor. The agency also says that you can look for products with the label “No VOC/Low VOC” if you want to know with certainty that it doesn’t contain (or doesn’t contain many) formaldehyde-producing materials. If you’re building your home, you can use wood that’s made to comply with formaldehyde emissions standards.
The Pure Cryptomic is the only air purifier Dyson makes that can destroy formaldehyde. But as cool as that sounds, there are other ways to reduce the formaldehyde in your home that won’t cost you much money.
