­Melamine is not only a threat to pets; it also poses a danger to humans

How a local merchant, will only sell cabinetry free of Melamine and still compete with large box stores. AtlantaDiscountCabinets.com is now melamine free.

Atlanta, Georgia- Melamine has been in the news of late with the revelation that it was a contributing factor in the deaths of thousands of pets in the much publicized tainted pet food scandals originating in China.  It seems that melamine was added to pet food to increase the Nitrogen levels as a means to artificially raise the levels of protein that are used in pricing pet foods. Subsequently, many pets got sick and died from kidney failure.

Other than the obvious danger to food supplies, Melamine may be a danger to humans in their own homes. Melamine is low pressure laminate resin consisting of a white crystalline organic base. Melamine is mainly used to produce melamine resin that, when combined with formaldehyde, produces durable thermoset plastic that acts as the bonding agent found in particleboard furniture. Over time, this furniture releases pollutants into the air inside the home in the form of breathable dust and vapor particles. This is when exposure to formaldehyde occurs. 

Whether the danger that caused this resin to be put on the Hazardous Substance List (National Toxicology Program (NTP) and International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)) is related to the well known carcinogen formaldehyde or the fact that it is a byproduct of several pesticides, Melamine is proving to be concern to much more than pets.

“We became aware of a concern for melamine when customers around the country began to ask if we had melamine free kitchen cabinets” said Clay Polston, general manager of AtlantaDiscountCabinets.com. “After filling their requests and learning more about their worries, we decided to move to sell only Melamine free cabinets. We wanted to be the first to institute such a policy. At first we feared that our policy would hurt sales but the opposite was true. Since the change, sales actually tripled in the first 3 months.”

Polston described that the most surprising result was that he was able to offer his new melamine free cabinets 35% cheaper than the pressboard cabinets sold at the big box stores. “When customers figured out that our melamine free, 100% wood cabinets were 35% less expensive than their pressboard, they could not believe it.”

As the scandal of melamine in pet food dominates the media, people in the US are wondering if there is another threat within their own homes. The demand for melamine free furniture may prove to be costly move for many, but for AtlantaDiscountCabinets.com, this move has proven to be a wise move.