Flame retardants are inevitable in a modern home. Flame retardants are unavoidable in appliances and electronic items. They also inevitably come into the house on our clothing from cars.
There are also insulation types that always contain flame retardants like rigid foam board and polyurethane spray foam.
Another item where you will almost always find flame retardants is in synthetic carpet.
Luckily we have made a lot of progress with removing flame retardants from polyurethane furniture foam. You rarely find it in furniture foam these days. But if you have older furniture, especially from before 2015 you likely have toxic flame retardants leaching out.
You might also find flame retardants in rugs, rug backings, curtains, and more.
Flame retardants leach out of these materials and can be found in household dust.
Action Items to Reduce Flame Retardant Exposure in the Home
- Get rid of furniture foam items made before 2015, and replace them with FR-free versions. I have posts on choosing FR-free, non-toxic mattresses and sofas.
- Get rid of electronics made before 2008, replace with brands that have eliminated the most toxic FRs.
This article contains affiliate links, upon purchase I earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
How to Clean Up Flame Retardants in a Home
1. Get a HEPA Vacuum
Flame retardants become mobile in dust as opposed to in gas form. So keeping a dust-free home is of utmost importance. David Suzuki says household dust is one of the most significant sources of childhood exposure to toxic substances.
On top of flame retardants, dust contains phthalates, metals, like lead, mercury, and arsenic, and pesticides.
A HEPA vacuum is necessary to clean up these toxins and is one of the biggest improvements to air quality in the home that you can make right now.
The Nilfisk brand is recommended by the experts and is affordable. This is my first choice for most situations.
A more DIY option where you can get a lot of bang for your buck is to add a HEPA filter to a Shop-Vac. (HEPA filter bags are also needed to catch all the fine dust). Shop vacs are louder than the other options here but more affordable.
Another great high-quality brand is Miele HEPA.
If you have a more serious contaminant like lead, go for a certified HEPA model like Festool which is more foolproof in its filtration system.
2. Wet Wipe, Don’t Sweep!
Vacuuming is more effective than other forms of cleaning. You should use an attachment to vacuum upholstered furniture and mattresses as well. Don’t forget about your car seats!
Sweeping is not a good idea to clean up contaminants found in household dust. But wet wiping with wet clothes (that don’t contain FRs or harmful plastics like these) is the next best method.
Wet wipe the dashboard of your vehicle as well.
If you need to dry wipe something sensitive that can’t get wet, use materials that capture dust like microfiber cloths and dry Swiffers.
3. Use An Air Filter
After cleaning, the best way to remove particulates from the air, including dust and flame retardants, is with a HEPA air filter.
If you don’t need to filter for VOCs, you only need a simple HEPA filter with a high enough CFM (fan size) to move enough air in a room to make a dent in the dust.
I use the Vornado, which has true HEPA, a good CFM, and is very well priced. The version I use has some carbon and a PCO element. It is the best value I have seen for an air purifier with these three technologies.
I have a post with more details about the Vornado. If you have high offgassing, I would avoid the PCO element and either just get a HEPA filter, or get a high-carbon brand to help adsorb VOCs.
Corinne Segura is an InterNACHI-certified Healthy Homes Inspector with certifications in Building Biology, Healthier Materials and Sustainable Buildings, and more. She has 10 years of experience helping others create healthy homes. You can book a consult here.
DKI
I know this is for flame retardant dust clean up, but I have used a Festool ct 15 for paint dust clean up (paint dust had small amounts of lead, below the legal threshold to be considered lead paint, but still not something I was willing to let kids potentially come into contact with.) The body of the extractor itself is compliant with EPA’s RRP rule for HEPA vacs but the attachments are not always, including some of the hoses. There are areas I had to duct tape around where the plastic ring attachment goes around the hose (at connection points). I was a little surprised that I could feel the air actually blowing out from these parts (rather than suction, which I would have preferred to feel!). The Festool rep told me these accessories weren’t made to be totally air tight, which surprised me. They said fine to duct tape everything, just be aware it will possibly leave a sticky residue on the hoses and plastic parts. So if people want to be extra safe, they can duct tape any part where there is a connection. I had my blood lead level tested a few days post clean up and all was well. (I also wore a respirator of course and had prepped the house to avoid potential dust exposure — I am not sure people need to go this far for flame retardant dust).
I swear by Miele for regularly vacuuming of dust. Their HEPA filters last a long time and even have an indicator on them when they need to be changed. I only use bagged vacuums for any type of dust clean up. I had a bagless one that had a HEPA filter but did not enjoy emptying the canister.
I have heard mixed things about Dustless vacs and was thinking of getting one for just general use in garage or around exterior of house although likely will stick with my trusty Miele.
For wet wiping, I’m not sure what sort of surfactants are best to pick up the flame retardants? I know for lead there are specific ones that work better than others (e.g., d-lead has various solutions and wipes, and even clorox disinfectant wipes sans bleach work per Tamara Rubin. Dawn dish soap also works according to state agencies that have lead dust clean up outreach materials.) I was astounded that some microfiber cloths have p65 warnings (e.g., one of the brands that target carries!) I used paper towels for everything, thanks for the link to a nontoxic cleaning cloth brand!
I have used two of Shark’s 3-in-1 clean sense HEPA air purifiers — they worked well fir my purposes. They have an indicator that tells you how clean the air is — and it’s actually somewhat accurate because it’s how I found out there was a bad air quality issue in my area. (Neat thing is that when I use my Miele vac, it improves the air quality in the room according to Shark’s air quality indicator– so Miele’s HEPA filters work!)
Sorry I know this is long but I am pretty passionate about dust clean up and hope it helps your readers out 🙂
DKI
And one of the cool things about Festool dust extractors I forgot to mention. Before you remove the bag from the bottom compartment of the extractor, there is a little gate you close over the opening of the bag, so when you remove the bag it is already sealed. This is the one feature that sold me on Festool over Nilfisk’s euroclean, and after I imroved the seals with duct tape, I was super happy with the Festool ct 15.
Corinne Segura, Building Biologist
thank you