A new condo or EC comes with a head start on formaldehyde that you did not choose: the developer's fitted joinery. Kitchen cabinetry, vanity units, built-in and walk-in wardrobes are installed long before you get the keys, and the unit is usually sealed up and air-conditioned with very little ventilation in between. By the time you collect it, that fresh carpentry has been off-gassing into a closed box for a while.
Then you add your own layer — furniture, maybe extra carpentry — on top. Handover, before you furnish and move in, is the ideal moment to treat the lot.
Start with the developer's fitted joinery
This is the part people overlook, because it came with the unit and looks finished. It is still new wood. On handover, before the place fills up:
- Built-in and walk-in wardrobes: a walk-in is an enclosed room of new carpentry — treat all the interiors, shelves and drawers.
- Kitchen cabinetry: interiors, pull-outs and the under-sink carcass.
- Vanity units and bathroom cabinets: small, enclosed and often laminate over composite board.
- Any feature joinery the developer included — TV consoles, study nooks, shoe storage.
Then your own additions
If you are adding carpentry or buying new furniture before moving in, treat those as they go in — new wardrobes, the bed, the sofa, flat-pack storage. Doing it while the unit is still empty means you can reach everything easily.
Air out a sealed unit first
Because new units sit closed and aircon-only, the air inside can be stale and loaded on day one. Throw open the windows and run the fans for as long as you can before and after you treat the joinery. Then keep ventilating through the first months, when the new wood is off-gassing hardest — closing up and running only the aircon is exactly what lets levels build back up.
What to use
For DIY work at home, we make the UCOATE Formaldehyde Remover Spray — a 500ml hand spray that runs on the same SGS-tested chemistry we have supplied to Singapore renovation contractors and resellers since 2018. It is water-based and classified non-toxic under OECD 420, so it is safe to use around children and pets when you follow the directions on the bottle. Rather than masking the smell, it binds the formaldehyde and breaks it down into water and carbon dioxide, and it works in normal indoor light — no sunlight or machines needed. In SGS laboratory testing the formulation removed 93.83% of formaldehyde. You can buy it on Shopee with delivery across Singapore.
How to apply it: shake well, spray evenly from 20–30cm onto the surface, let it dry naturally, and avoid wiping or cleaning the surface for 3–5 days. For stronger smells, give it a second coat after about 30 minutes. One 500ml bottle covers roughly 15–20 m². Skip black, water-sensitive or discolouration-prone surfaces, and test an out-of-sight spot first if you are unsure.
