About Formaldehyde: Common Uses in Everyday Life

It's a critical ingredient in the production of hundreds of items that improve everyday life. While little or no formaldehyde is present in the final product, the chemical is an essential building block in the production of some of the most common consumer items, including paper towels, photographic film, shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, lipstick and nail polish and acts as an anti-bacterial agent in such consumer products as mascara. Additional products include the following:

Furniture, Flooring, Stairs, Cabinets and More

Glues that use formaldehyde as a building block are exceptional bonding agents. For example, formaldehyde-based resins are used to manufacture composite products used extensively in cabinetry, countertops, moldings, furniture, shelving and stair systems, flooring and many other household furnishings. These items are extremely economical due to the superior bonding properties and efficient production of formaldehyde-based glues.

Cars and Trucks

From the front to the rear bumpers, formaldehyde-based materials are key to the manufacture of automobiles, and used to make components for the transmission, electrical system, engine block, door panels, axles and brake shoes, just to name a few. It's even used in the paint.

Inks

Formaldehyde-based materials are used to produce the dollar bills we spend every day, the documents we print from our computers and the ink used in books, magazines and newspapers.

Wrinkle-Free Clothing

In textiles, formaldehyde-based materials help bind dyes and pigments to fabrics and prevents the colors from running. These materials help improve a fabric's resistance to wrinkles, ease clothing care and maintenance, and allow us to spend more time away from the ironing board.

Industry Uses

Formaldehyde is an important building block chemical that is vital to our economy. The wood products industry uses formaldehyde-based resins in a wide range of panel and board products, enabling efficient and economic use of wood resources. It is also important to agricultural and recreational products.

In addition, the natural gas and petroleum industries use formaldehyde-based resins in drilling operations and to improve oil and gas well yield and service life. Formaldehyde-based glues help paint adhere to surfaces and veneer and paper overlays to particleboard.

Formaldehyde's Unique Nature

Because of its unique and versatile nature, formaldehyde cannot be easily replaced in many consumer and industrial products. Without formaldehyde as the building block, the performance and value of a broad array of products that benefit from its chemistry would suffer. Home buyers would likely face increased costs or reduced performance from home construction materials ranging from hardwood plywood, particleboard and fiberboard used in housing and furniture.