My Chemical-Free House

A Guide to Creating a Healthy Home

These IKEA Furniture Items are Non-Toxic (0-VOC)

Published: May 20, 2022 |

To be clear, all IKEA items are technically non-toxic. Non-toxic means not expected to cause health problems in healthy folks.

However, if you are looking to go further and only want furniture that doesn’t off-gas any formaldehyde or other VOCs, this post will be for you.

This article will be particularly useful for those with chemical sensitivities who have a very low tolerance for off-gassing.

IKEA and Toxics

IKEA actually has great standards when it comes to toxicants. They have led the way when it comes to flame retardants, PFAS, toxic metals, formaldehyde, and other major chemicals of concern.

Flame Retardants

IKEA does not use flame retardants in their foam in the US. They do use some flame retardants on small areas like stitch bonds and zippers plus children’s tents. In some countries where they are required by law to use flame retardants in foam, they still use them. (Source)

PFAS “Forever Chemicals”

In 2016, IKEA phased out PFAS (polyfluorinated water and stain repellant) chemicals from all IKEA textile products.

Formaldehyde

Of course, a large amount of IKEA furniture is made with particleboard which is made with glues, possibly MDI, from the raw edges.

They used to use formaldehyde but they don’t add that anymore it seems based on their documents.

We don’t know what glue they are using instead of formaldehyde though sensitive folks do still pick up off-gassing from their particleboard.

So while this isn’t technically at a toxic level, this won’t make the list of 0-VOC items.

IKEA and Green Certifications

IKEA has never used certifications like Green Guard Gold on their products.

For a review of the lowest off-gassing IKEA beds, see this article.

Fragrance

IKEA stores sell or use fragranced items, but online orders for delivery ship from central warehouses not their store locations.

This article contains affiliate links, upon purchase I make a small commission at not extra cost to you.

the outside of an IKEA building which is bright blue and bright yellow plus part of the parking lot
Table of contents

1. Metal Items

Metal and the powder coating paint that IKEA uses don’t off-gas any VOCs and aren’t expected to leach any chemicals of concern.

ENHET Bathroom vanity is made of all metal with a ceramic sink.

IDÅSEN High cabinet with drawer and doors (dark green), this series looks like school lockers and is all metal.

ADDE Chair (white) is metal and polypropylene.

FJÄLLBO TV unit (black), is metal and solid wood.

FYRESDAL Daybed is also all metal. It does come with 2 foam mattresses. The foam is not 0-VOC but it is low-VOC.

SAGSTUA Bed frame (black) is all metal with plywood slats.

2. Plywood Items

Plywood has extremely low off-gassing and is often totally off-gassed by the time it gets to the customer

NOLMYRA Chair is very simple with a plywood base and mesh fabric. Polyester is also extremely low in off-gassing.

FRÖSET Chair (white stained oak veneer), this chair is all plywood.

3. Solid Wood Items

Some of IKEA’s indoor furniture is 100% solid wood. When it comes to building with wood there will almost always be wood glues involved but those are usually water-based PVA-based glues that have very low off-gassing.

Plywood does have very low off-gassing and is often off-gassed by the time it reaches the customer. As for fibreboard parts, those can be sealed with shellac or AFM Safeseal.

INGO Table, solid pine.

JOKKMOKK Table and 4 chairs, (antique stain), solid pine.

TARVA Bed frame is solid pine and the slats are plywood.

PERSBOL Armchair has solid wood, some plywood, and a cushion.

LISABO Chair (ash) is made of solid wood and plywood.

TARVA Nightstand, TARVA Dresser, pine, is mostly solid wood with fiberboard (HDF) on the backing and draw bottoms. If you like you can seal the fiberboard with shellac and/or AFM Safeseal to block most of the off-gassing.

BJÖRKSNÄS Nightstand (birch), is mostly solid wood except for the bottom of the drawer which is fiberboard and can be sealed as per above.

SNIGLAR Crib which is reviewed in detail by a reader here is solid beech wood.

4. Wicker/Rattan Items

The natural rattan options from IKEA are a very benign option, the clear acrylic lacquer doesn’t have any noticeable off-gassing to my perception (when I was extremely sensitive).

AGEN Armchair (rattan/bamboo) is all rattan and wood, there should not be any off-gassing here.

ULRIKSBERG Armchair (rattan/anthracite) is all rattan and metal, there should not be any off-gassing here.

GAMLEHULT Ottoman with storage, (rattan/anthracite) only rattan and metal there should not be any off-gassing here.

ALSEDA Stool (banana fiber), banana leaves, and steel, there should not be any off-gassing here.

HOLMSTA Armchair (handmade beige), made of handwoven rattan, bamboo, and wood. The paper rope does usually have some off-gassing.

BUSKBO Armchair (rattan), the rattan IKEA items with a clear lacquer do not seem to have any off-gassing. You will have slight off-gassing from cushions.

TOLKNING Ottoman (with storage, handmade rattan) is made of rattan, clear acrylic lacquer with a little bit of plywood on the bottom.

5. Plastic Items

Solid polypropylene and polyethylene are both very safe plastics and can usually be used by the chemically sensitive. The harder the plastic the less off-gassing.

RISHOLMEN Wing chair, in/outdoor, (brown) is made of plastic rattan (polyethylene and polypropylene) and should not have any off-gassing.

LIDÅS Chair (white/Sefast white), these mid-century modern chairs by IKEA are made with a solid polypropylene seat and come in many colors and styles.

SKARPÖ Armchair, outdoor, (white), is made of solid polypropylene which does not off-gas.

And most of IKEA’s outdoor chairs are safe as they are either plastic, wicker, metal, or solid wood. I won’t list all the outdoor options.

6. Particleboard Completely Encased in Plastic Items

While particleboard is pressed with a binder like MDI, when it’s encased on all sides by plastic or metal this does essentially block the off-gassing.

GRÅSALA / ADDE Table and 4 chairs, gray gray/black, table top is particleboard encased in Melamine.

BODARP matte gray-green kitchen cabinet series is made of particleboard. The front-facing pieces are all totally encased in PET plastic.

7. Sofas

In 2025, IKEA introduced the STOCKHOLM natural latex sofa (no polyurethane foam), with a natural cotton/linen fabric.

This is the most non-toxic sofa from IKEA since they are using natural foam and natural fabric, though it does still contain some polyester wadding and particleboard, plywood and fiberboard.

This isn’t going to be 0-VOC, but it is the most “eco-friendly”/natural sofa from IKEA.

a banner that says new course on non toxic building materials on demand course by my chemical free house get it now with images of a computer with the course on the screen

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.

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Comments

  1. Don Peabody

    Hi–
    Thanks for the information on IKEA products. Have you done a similar article on IKEA’s mattresses, or, if you haven’t, know where I might find one such?
    Thanks–
    Don

    Reply

  2. Sarah

    Ikea just came out with a new metal storage cabinet and it’s adorable: SAGMASTARE cabinet, light gray-blue, has closed storage and open storage. Looks like they just rolled it out last month, but so far, the handful of reviews are ver positive. fyi

    Reply

  3. Lisa Bassetti

    Hi Corinne, What do think of the Ikea Pax wardrobes? I’m concerned about the paper foil, laminate and melamine foil listed in Materials. Are there off gassing plastics here that are endocrine disruptors?

    Many thanks for your website.

    Lisa

    Reply

  5. Mimi

    Hi, thank you so much for sharing this information. It is so super helpful to me. I have two questions that I’m hoping you can help me with.

    I just got this dresser from Ikea thinking it was safe but am thinking of returning it. What are your thoughts on this one?

    Thanks so much!

    Reply

    • Corinne Segura, Building Biologist

      We don’t know what glue IKEA is currently using in it’s particleboard and fiberboard so I can’t make a real assessment of it.

      Reply

  6. Emmy Vahlman

    Hi Corinne,

    Thank you for this post. I am just starting to learn about this as we bought new wardrobes from Ikea (Pax in the fake wood). I am experiencing a strong reaction to the smell on these and thereafter started learning about formaldehyde and similar chemicals. I guess these are not good from a non-chemical perspective? Are there any other wardrobes you would recommend?

    Best,
    Emmy

    Reply

  7. Stephanie Amos

    Hi Corinne, Thank you for this super-helpful post. Thanks to the info you provided, we took a chance on an IKEA Hemnes TV stand. It did have a little odor, but it was from anywhere the wood was unfinished, so I sealed it with AFM Polyureseal, and it has been perfect – no MCS issues at all! I wanted to order a coffee table and end tables now, but I can’t find anything with the same materials. The ones I like are IDANAS, which come up in the search under the Solid Wood filter, but it says it’s particle board and Beech veneer. Do you have any experience with that? Thank you!

    Reply

    • Corinne Segura, Building Biologist

      ive not seen their particleboard recently but there is of course glues used to make particleboard so I would expect it to be worse than solid wood

      Reply

    • Corinne Segura, Building Biologist

      some offgassing from the polyurethane foam, very minor offgassing from the polyester components. no PFAS.

      Reply

  9. Mel

    This is a store helpful post! The ADDE chairs isn’t all metal though. The seat and back is plastic. It’s the safer plastic though. I bought 2 for my girls desks. No issues for us!

    Reply

  10. Sarah

    Be aware that the Persbol chair is very low. Most chairs are around 18″ but that chair is 16.5″ measured to the top of the cushion.

    Reply

  12. Justin

    Hi Corrine: I was wondering if you have any experience with IKEA mattress toppers, or foam or latex mattresses? I know that memory foam can be a major issue but I also wonder if IKEA options are less toxic? Thank you!

    Reply

  13. Jan W

    Thank you so much for this list. We have no couches because of offgassing. So I am curious what you think of the Ikea Rocker Chair Poang? I would get it without the upholstery.

    Reply

    • Corinne Segura

      just depends on how sensitive you are, if youre super sensitive you should go with solid wood for a chair frame

      Reply

    • Corinne Segura

      billy is made from particle board which most sensitive people avoid. Bror looks to be all metal so that looks good.

      Reply

      • NANCY MALACHOWSKI

        How long does particleboard take to off gas? I’m highly sensitive to many chemical and was pleasantly surprised by the low odor from the KALLAX series tv stand we purchased a few months back.

        Reply

        • Corinne Segura, Building Biologist

          i dont know what binder they are using in the particle board so I have no idea how long it takes to offgas. some very sensitive folks have been able to use IKEA particleboard furniture lately

          Reply

      • June

        I just bought a Tarva dresser but the smell is so intense. I am glad to learn it’s solid wood so shouldn’t be off gassing….but what am I smelling? I had to move it outside and am considering returning it.

        Reply

        • Corinne Segura

          there are some wood glues which normally offgas quicky and the HDF parts are offgassing though i don’t know what glues they use in that. the post suggests some sealers for those parts.

          Reply

    • Corinne Segura

      they have furniture made of different materials some offgas since they are made with particleboard and others are made of 0-VOC materials like the article explains

      Reply

  18. Sarah

    I had a bad reaction to their Hemnes dressers a few years ago. They were listed a solid wood, but it appeared they glued together strips of the wood to make the “boards.” It had a significant glue-like odor. I had nausea and vertigo for days. Thankfully we were able to return them.

    Reply

    • Sarah

      (From a different Sarah who sometimes posts here.) I’ve had very good luck with things from the Hemnes line, though I did have one piece that smelled very nasty and never did off gas sufficiently enough even after many months. Strangely, it was stained white instead of the white lacquer. I think they’ve been moving away from the lacquer and doing more stain which actually looks quite ugly. So many products have changed post-covid for a host of reasons. Things that were once reliable and reasonably well made, are no longer. It’s so frustrating.

      Reply

  19. Chantal

    This is so very useful and well laid out with links! This helps to also extrapolate for other furniture. For ikea you answered my question regarding the bjorksnas!

    Beyond those you mentioned I’ve had great success with some ikea things like the Oskarsham chair (so comfortable) but not others like the soderhamn and their feather cushions (big no). But my all time favorite is the outdoor chair Havsten which I put in my bedroom!

    Reply

    • Katy

      Hi Chantal – I saw you mentioned the Oskarsham chair which I am thinking of buying, but I am sensitive to VOCs. You said you had great success with it – could you be more specific? Did you find it didn’t offgas/smell/cause issues? Did you leave it to offgas for some time before using it? If so, how long? Thanks for any help you can give 🙂

      Reply

  20. KB

    Do you think metals cabinets would have a condensation problem? It might be subtle, but I wonder about storing fabrics and paper products and might they be more mildew/mold prone when stored in metal. New England is a humid environment.

    Reply

    • Corinne Segura

      you wont have actual condensation but if it’s airtight then it wouldnt be the best places to store textiles youre right

      Reply

  21. Carly

    Hello, I purchased the IKEA Tarva dressers and nightstand. There is a smell coming from the drawer.

    I know the AFM seal coat can be used on the part that isn’t sealed and can be absorbed. For the drawer bottom that is white and shiny, what can be used?

    Reply

    • Corinne

      depends on the finish, Ikea uses very good water-based finishes that offgas fast, if this uses a higher offgassing finish it wouldn’t be as good.

      Reply

      • karen

        Thanks so much for that info to ask! I just called them to ask and I wish customer service folks had access to better info from the company. Customer service didn’t seem to know about the kind of finish or not on the wood. If I can find out, are there finishes that are a absolute no? They didn’t know though.

        Reply