"Green" Kitchen Cabinets

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

We're currently renting and believe the off-gas and Formaldehyde coming from our brand new cabinets has been making our toddler sick (severe asthma and allergies).

Now that we're buying our first home and gutting our kitchen, we're looking into real wood cabinets to lower those formaldehyde levels. The thing is, we'd really like to have painted white shaker cabinets.

Would real would look good painted white? Also, our budget only allows for pre-assembled cabinets, not custom. Where do I even begin to find "healthy" cabinets at a big box store? Or are there any local cabinet makers in Austin, Texas that could make these for a comparable price?

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Comments (4)

User
9 years ago
Check RTA cabinets (made in USA) available online, as well as a local cabinet maker. You are lucky to be in Austin- great place with high quality people running great businesses. BTW, it could also be your flooring- news story from yesterday on the subject of cheaper imported flooring through Lumber Liquidators and others. Also, carpets and other fabrics can also contain enough formaldehyde to cause trouble.
michellebelle81 thanked User
jhmarie
9 years ago
Talk to your pediatrician about having some allergy testing done. It would be best to know what is causing the problems then guessing. Having as non-toxic a house as possible is important. However even some rather non-toxic and natural things like pet hair and foods can be a source of allergies.
michellebelle81 thanked jhmarie
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michellebelle81
Original Author
9 years ago
sooz001 - Thank you for that info! Yes I'd agree, the business owners I've met in Austin are pretty remarkable people and seem to really care about what they do. Our flooring downstairs is stained concrete, and upstairs it's a cheap looking soft wood. We also just installed new blinds and Ive heard those emit some fumes too. Unfortunately we moved in at the height of the Austin heat, so our windows were always closed since the day we moved in.

jhmarie - Thank you for your response. We had our son allergy tested a few months ago and all that came up was mold (and all food was fine). We watch the daily mold levels here and give him Zyrtec and Benadryl as instructed by his Pedi. We do have a small dog, but we've had her for years and he's never had a problem with her. We also eat clean and organically whenever possible. This is why we think it's the materials in the home. He only got sick when we moved in here. We went back home to SoCal last week for one week and his symptoms cleared up and I felt better too.
jhmarie
9 years ago
I understand how you feel. I have developed allergies in the past few years and so has our youngest daughter. I actually feel better during the summer when everyone is struggling with pollen, and worse during the winter and am concerned about something in the house - mold hiding somewhere maybe. I think I need to get the vents cleaned again. I have 25 boxes of hardwood (USA made) sitting in my living room ready to be installed as soon as I tear out the carpet in the upstairs master bedroom, hall, and youngest child's room. I ripped the carpet off the stairs to refinish them last fall and the carpet and pad were horrible. It was all my husband needed to see to be convinced to put hardwood upstairs.