New furniture smell...is it toxic?

ctmamaoftwo

My husband and I just moved into our new home and along with it purchased new furniture. Our couch is letting of a terrible "new furniture" smell. I hadn't even thought about this happening before purchasing. I'm assuming it is letting off some sort of toxins but I was curious if anyone knows if this can cause harm to my pregnancy or baby? Or if there is a way to rid the smell?

sgafbag

It's hard to answer definitively. Some people believe that can be dangerous off gassing. We have gotten a lot of new furniture in the time I've been pregnant, I try not to fixate on the possible issues but generally I don't put my face directly on our new couch. That's what makes me feel ok about it. The smell will go away in a few days in my experience; if you're able maybe run a purifier or open a window.

Rach8672

We have the same issue here ! I'm sure it's not great for the baby but I wouldn't think it would be strong enough to harm her. We actually got new carpet and then a new couch . The smell was almost unbareable as my sense of smell has heightened again. It almost made me sick a few times I feel your pain ! I just tried to avoid it as much as possible. Now the smell is almost gone thank goodness.

ctmamaoftwo

Thanks for the replies ladies. I've been trying to leave the windows open as much as possible (without freezing) hoping that would air it out a bit quicker. I was just sitting on the couch earlier and started getting light headed and had a moment of panic. But hopefully it will fade out soon! Hope yours fades as well and your enjoying the new furniture.

ShannyFann

If you're plant people you can get a wandering jew. It's an air scrubbing plant. I don't think it has magic powers where it'll get rid of the smell but it'll help keep the air inside your house a little more free of toxins. Not a big leafy plant but kind of purple viney and green rubbery leaves that are fuzzy.

ctmamaoftwo

@ShannyFann we were going to look for a few plants this weekend. I'll definitely look into get one of those as well!

EC2016

If you have netflix you should watch the documentary The Human Experiment. It's quite scarey what chemicals our government allows is most household items that are toxic. The answer is yes the furniture probably is toxic but there's not a whole lot we can do about it because these chemicals are in everything (curtains, pillows, mattresses, carpet...) Even the anti flammable stuff they put on wood furniture is known to be cancerous.

LIly436

Most likely you will be fine, but it is toxic. You probably heard about VOCs in paint and about fire retardants. Unfortunately it is almost impossible to shield yourself from those - "green" nontoxic houses and furniture are pretty expencive

knottieb83e9129aa042f6a

This can be VERY harmful to all of you. Trust your instincts.
My husband and I went through that recently-2 days into it our dog was vomiting and my husband had unremitting headaches. We did everything that was recommended (including vinegar wipe down , leather soap and water, and then even covering with baking soda (left overnight x 3 times!). We then had to move it out to our heated shop for 6 weeks to off gas - that only after bringing home a VOC meter and finding out that it was emitting very high VOC’s AND specifically Formaldehyde.
With all of that, the sour and chemical smell NEVER WENT AWAY.
We have just ended up donating our large expensive investment. We feel that our health is worth more than that furniture.