Entering any building materials market, the first thing salespeople say is almost always: 'Our board is ENF grade, zero formaldehyde.'. "

You believe it. You think you have bought the safest board. But the fact may not be so simple.

The first misconception is that ENF level is zero formaldehyde.

This is the most widely spread and harmful cognitive error in the industry. The standard for ENF level is that the formaldehyde emission should not exceed 0.025mg/m ³. Please note that it is "not exceeding", not "equal to zero". Any natural wood itself contains trace amounts of formaldehyde, which is a normal product of wood cell metabolism. The so-called 'zero formaldehyde addition' refers to the absence of artificially added adhesives containing formaldehyde during the production process, rather than the final product being formaldehyde free.

So, when someone tells you "zero formaldehyde board", what you need to do is not to be happy, but to ask in return, "What are the testing conditions for the test report?" Because under different testing conditions, the formaldehyde emissions from the same board can vary several times.

The second misconception is that not being able to smell is environmentally friendly.

Formaldehyde is colorless and odorless at low concentrations, and only has a pungent odor at higher concentrations. Many people use their nose as a detector, thinking it's safe just because they can't smell anything, which is a very dangerous way of judging. The truly reliable approach is to look at the testing report, and to look at the testing data under the climate chamber method, rather than the dryer method - the former is closer to the real home environment, while the latter is easier to "beautify" the data.

What's more troublesome is that some boards may meet formaldehyde standards, but their TVOC (total volatile organic compounds) exceed the standard. TVOC contains various organic compounds such as benzene derivatives, alcohols, esters, etc., which also have an impact on health but are rarely noticed by consumers. The 'new furniture smell' you smell is likely not formaldehyde, but TVOC at work.

The second misconception is that not being able to smell is environmentally friendly.

Formaldehyde is colorless and odorless at low concentrations, and only has a pungent odor at higher concentrations. Many people use their nose as a detector, thinking it's safe just because they can't smell anything, which is a very dangerous way of judging. The truly reliable approach is to look at the testing report, and to look at the testing data under the climate chamber method, rather than the dryer method - the former is closer to the real home environment, while the latter is easier to "beautify" the data.

What's more troublesome is that some boards may meet formaldehyde standards, but their TVOC (total volatile organic compounds) exceed the standard. TVOC contains various organic compounds such as benzene derivatives, alcohols, esters, etc., which also have an impact on health but are rarely noticed by consumers. The 'new furniture smell' you smell is likely not formaldehyde, but TVOC at work.

The third misconception: Solid wood is definitely more environmentally friendly than artificial board.

This is almost a 'politically correct' mistake. Solid wood does not require adhesives, but it requires paint. The VOC content in paint is often more difficult to control than the formaldehyde emissions from high-quality artificial boards. A solid wood cabinet board that has been painted three times may have indoor air pollution far exceeding that of an ENF grade melamine decorative panel.

What truly determines whether it is environmentally friendly or not is not the "origin" of the board - whether it is solid wood or artificial board, but what glue, paint, and finish it uses throughout the entire production chain. The environmental protection level of adhesives, the sealing ability of decorative processes, and the tightness of edge sealing are far more important than the word "solid wood" itself.