Why it’s a good idea to replace your pre-2014 sofa
For many of us, flopping down onto a comfy couch at the end of the day (or anytime!) is the ultimate way to relax. But what if we told you that most older couches have an invisible danger hiding in the cushions? It doesn’t seem possible because the “new” smell seems to fade quickly (especially in homes with children and pets), but fire retardants hang around in upholstered furniture for decades.
Here’s how the fire retardants got into furniture in the first place. Anyone who can remember the 1970s likely knows more than one person who smoked in their home (or office, or car, or all those and more...). Accidental home fires ignited by cigarettes were the reason that cigarette companies lobbied furniture makers in the 1960’s to add flame retardants to their furniture, which succeeded in legislation in California. (Getting rid of old furniture immediately starts lowering the toxic flame retardants in your body. Here’s why) Furniture companies added flame retardants to all their upholstered furniture from 1970-2013, not just those sold in California, and so up until 2013, these were made with polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) or organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs). PBDEs were the original choice of flame retardant until the early 2000’s, when evidence of the health effects associated with PBDEs, particularly for neurological development for children, started accumulating. At that time, furniture makers switched to OPFRs, which have their own halo of toxic effects (see the diagram below). Finally in 2013, furniture sold in California was no longer required to contain fire retardants, so the rest of the country could also be free of these dangerous chemicals.
Diagram: The main toxic effects of OPFRs
Since the second-hand furniture market is alive and well thanks to social media platforms and thrift shops, and some types of vintage furniture are popular, it’s tempting to save money by buying second-hand or nab a used couch in a vintage style. However, just like thrifting any kind of furniture, you just don’t know what you may be bringing into your home with it. In this case, you won’t be able to smell or detect the flame retardants except with expensive laboratory tests.
Here’s where science showed that these flame retardants hang around in emissions decades after they were first applied in the furniture. In the study (Flame retardant biomarker changes with furniture replacement after flammability standard update), scientists measured urine and blood biomarkers for the chemicals in people before and after replacing their pre-2014 couches. They compared these to a control group, ie., people who did not replace their couches. Blood serum was analyzed for 19 PBDEs and urine for 3 metabolites of OPFRs. The researchers measured the “half-life” of chemicals in the body, or the time it takes for the chemicals to decline by 50%. For 3 PBDEs, time to decline by half was on average 1.4 years in the furniture replacement group versus 2.6–5.2 years in the control group (1.9–3.9 times longer for the control group). There was not a significant difference in the OPFR testing between control and replacement, which is due to OPFRs being present in other exposure sources, such as automobiles. Here’s a visual from the study:
This is not the only research regarding the ongoing presence of flame retardants in our environment. This work cited several other studies which examined effects of interventions on flame retardant exposure, and all found decreases after interventions (removing the furniture). Wow! If ever there was an excuse to buy a new couch, it should be to detox your body faster from flame retardants.
So, what can you do if you can’t afford to get rid of your pre-2104 couch right away? The best thing to do is to clean your floors and anywhere else that catches dust thoroughly using a HEPA vacuum or soap and water. These chemicals tend to attach themselves and concentrate in dust, which we are susceptible to breathe in (even more so children as they spend more time playing on the floor).
If you can afford to replace your couch, don’t pass it on to anyone else, even if it’s “in great shape”. It may sound terrible, but the best thing to do is to take it outside and slash the cushions so that no one else will be tempted to take flame retardants into their home. Unfortunately, there’s no way to remove the flame retardants from the cushions, so they have to dissipate in the landfill.
Photo by Leilani Angel on Unsplash
