A Table and a Book

We bought a kitchen table the other day. Half price at World Market. We've been using a card table so we were excited to bring it home. Megan and I were careful to examine the "model" in the store. No chemical smells. Nice wood. Well crafted. And $175!

Ryan assembled it for us and excitedly we put it in the kitchen. Several of us, including Colin, sat at the table for maybe 10 minutes.

Something smelled. I vinegared it. Not advisable with wood, but anything to eradicate the smell. Olive oil didn't do the trick. Still a strong smell. I gave Chris the bad news. "I think we need to move it outside."

It took three of us to move it. We put the table on its side and needed something to cushion it.

Lo and behold, we had the perfect bolster sitting right there on the back patio. The book from the other day, "The E.I. Syndrome - An Rx for Environmental Illness."

Colin had an hour-long bloody nose within a few hours after his short exposure. The label on the table says "finished good is compliant with California section 93120 Phase 1 formaldehyde." Formaldehyde is tough to avoid, but after reading this article I'll be checking labels a little more carefully.

Formaldehyde and Cancer Risk

I think we'll stick with the card table for now.