Air Formaldehyde (HCHO) DIY Test kit - Know What's in The Air That Surrounds You (1)

I have not submitted a review on Amazon before but I am so impressed I really need to do that now. I ordered two of these kits and they arrived on time, in good shape. There was a date of 03/19/2018 printed on the plastic overwrap on each package. I assumed, like many products, that this was an expiration date. Because formaldehyde is a very serious issue, and a known carcinogen, I was dismayed that I received what I thought was expired products. I submitted a question to the seller via Amazon and was satisfied and impressed with their immediate response. Even though the package does have a statement about “Production date: see package” this is ambiguous particularly for something this important. The seller confirmed that the date stamped on the package is the production date, not the expiration date. So I am able to use the kits with confidence regarding the product viability. In addition, the most critical color range is on the lower end particularly around the “safe” threshold of 0.10. The colors on the low end are very light and similar. So, I exchanged additional emails with the seller regarding possible improvements such as changes to the sample container and color card. They were very open to feedback and as before, we exchanged a series of emails about possible improvements. I actually trim the excess white off the color card and lay the color strip across the top of the powder box to take the reading. This enables me to get the color card as close to the liquid without touching the liquid inside the powder box. I’ve included an image of two samples side-by-side along with the color swatches. I found it difficult to discern the score for the sample on the left and sent an email to the seller. It’s not in the yellow/brown range (0.01), and it’s definitely not blue (0.15). To me it looks like it’s in the green region but I could not distinguish between the 0.08 and the 0.10 score (safe threshold). I asked the seller if they would tell me what they thought and they quickly replied saying they consider this to be a 0.09. This makes sense to me and I agree. This seller met and went above and beyond my expectations. It was very clear that the seller has thought through a variety of options regarding the ease of use of this product for a person at home, as well as the ability of someone to properly use and interpret the results. They are very open to improvements and are currently investigating improvements in the color card for future versions of the test kit. I originally gave this 3 stars due to the ambiguity when scoring the sample at low levels. But, I have been repeatedly impressed with this seller’s attention to detail, their quick responsiveness, and thoughtful replies in our somewhat lengthy email exchanges. While I do think photographic examples of control samples would help reduce ambiguity, the seller explained the difficulties and cost associated with this approach. Based on my experience with the kit and the seller, and given the low cost, I do think this is a 5 star product and provider who has a genuine interest in the quality, safety, ease of use, and ongoing improvement of this product.

This is an easy-to-use product, we can follow the instruction very easily without a problem. However, it is kind of hard for me to read the result since the only reference is the color panel on the product box. We don't actually know the concentration or if the current level is harmful.

I moved into a new home and after a few months I started getting a sore throat and occasionally had a burning sensation in my eyes. I also noticed a slight odor that I though was formaldehyde. I went online to see if I could find an easy to use, quick test to see if we had a formaldehyde issue. I found the Air Formaldehyde (HCHO) DIY Test kit on Amazon and figured for the price I’d give it a try. The test was very easy to use. At first I had some concerns because the date on the package was in the past by a month, but after correspondence with the seller realized this is the manufacture date. We are all so used to having expiration dates on boxes that I didn’t think it might be the manufacture date. I performed the test per the instructions in one of my rooms that I could easily close off. The entire process took less than an hour. The test indicated that my levels were between 0.20 and 0.25. As others have said, determining the levels with a color test strip can be difficult so I sent an email with a photo of the results to the seller to get their interpretation of the results. They confirmed what I had observed. With these results I contacted my builder. The builder sent in a company that performs air analysis and specifically tested for formaldehyde. Their test took almost three weeks to get results, and cost close to $1000. Their results confirmed the results I received from this test kit that I paid $10.00. The builder is now performing additional tests to identify the source of the formaldehyde. I am totally pleased with this test kit and will use it to monitor the levels as we work to remediate the formaldehyde from my home.

I opened the package and started to follow instructions, including closing the nursery for 3 hours, only to find out the white bottle of test liquid was empty after all the previous setup was done. It was completely waste of my time while I was eager to find out if we need to move our baby out of the nursery for the formaldehyde issue

Fast and good

I had order 3 boxes of it, but one of the brown tube is empty or dry. Therefore I just can use two of it.

In general, this test kit works well and the guidelines are easy to follow. The reason that I give a 4, instead of a 5, for accuracy is that the result I get is fairly low (i.e., the colour of the liquid is very faint from my test. It's kind of difficult to tell whether it is 0.02 or 0.04) I guess if someone is really exposed to a high level of CHOH, s/he will definitely get a darker shade of blue/green which would be easier to read. After all, I think the test kit serves as a great self-testing device. Once you find that the level exceeds 0.1, you can always contact professional teams to retest and remove the CHOH.

Only two of the three kits in the pack had the developing chemicals. Luckily I had only planned to test two rooms. Otherwise relatively easy to use.