Formaldehyde has never been banned from the manufacture of mobile homes. But the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which has jurisdiction over mobile home construction, began setting standards for the levels of formaldehyde used in their construction back in 1985. The current maximum level allowed in plywood is 0.2 ppm (parts per million), and for particleboard it’s 0.3 ppm. The EPA also recently set lower standards for all plywood and particleboard products that overrides the HUD standards.

    Here’s part of the relevant section of the HUD Code (Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards 3280.308) about formaldehyde:

    But we know of no HUD standard for the maximum allowed level of formaldehyde gas in the air in a new home. Because so many products, including cabinets and new furniture, combine with the construction materials to off-gas formaldehyde during the first few months after a home is constructed, it can sometimes be annoying and also cause headaches and throat irritiation. For more on this, see our blog post How can formaldehyde gas in a house be a problem?

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Here’s links to a collection of our blog posts about MOLD, LEAD AND OTHER CONTAMINANTS:

• Is mold contagious? Can mold spread to my home if there is a nearby house with mold?

• Should I buy a house with mold?  

• Why do new homes have more moisture and mold problems than older houses?

• Can infrared thermal imaging find mold behind a wall?

• What is the right humidity level in a mobile home?

• Who can clean up mold found during a home inspection in Florida?

• How do I look for and find mold in my mobile home? 

• Does bleach kill mold? 

• Why is there mold around the air conditioning vents? 

• What can I do to prevent mold problems in my home?

• Why is there a lead paint disclaimer in my real estate sales contract? 

• How can I tell if there is asbestos in a house?

• How can I prevent mold in my Florida winter home when I'm gone for the summer? 

• Should I use bleach to clean up mold?

• There's an old fuel oil tank underground in the yard. Is it a problem?

• What are those powdery white areas on my brick walls?

• What should I do if mold is found during a home inspection?  

• Why is vermiculite attic insulation a problem for both buyers and sellers of a home? 

• Should I buy a house with asbestos siding? 

• Are old vinyl tile floors dangerous?  

• A neighbor told me that the house I want to buy once had a bad mold problem. It was not in the seller's disclosure. What should I do? 

• Does a home inspector check for Chinese drywall? 

• Is wood-decay fungi found during a termite (WDO) inspection the same as mold? 

• Is white mold on wood in a crawl space dangerous?

• Does a home inspector check for lead paint?

      Visit our MOLD, LEAD AND OTHER CONTAMINANTS and MOBILE/MANUFACTURED HOMES pages for other related blog posts on this subject, or go to the INDEX for a complete listing of all our articles.