Dongwha Enterprise (CEO Kim Hong-jin) has become the first in the industry to launch ‘Anti-Mold PB (Particle Board)’ and ‘MDF (Medium Density Fiber Board)’ products equipped with mold-prevention functionality.
The new products apply the anti-mold technology developed in-house by Dongwha Enterprise, suppressing airborne mold from settling on and spreading across the product surface. Mold, which mainly arises from condensation caused by the temperature difference between indoors and outdoors, travels through the air and spreads throughout the home — to furniture surfaces, walls, floors, plants, and more — causing secondary damage. Once mold develops, its spores enter the body through the bronchial tubes via the air, causing various illnesses such as pulmonary and respiratory diseases and allergies.
When furniture is made with Dongwha Enterprise’s new product, the ‘Anti-Mold Board,’ additional damage can be prevented because it fundamentally blocks mold from propagating onto the furniture even if mold develops within the home. In fact, in a mold cultivation experiment conducted by the Korea Furniture Test & Research Institute (relative humidity 95%, temperature 25–35°C, measured over four weeks after introducing four species including black mold), no mold at all developed on the surface of furniture made with the Anti-Mold Board. By contrast, furniture products made with ordinary boards lacking the anti-mold function developed mold on more than 30% of their surface area. In particular, furniture made with imported boards developed mold across most of the surface area, reaching 80% of the product surface.
Dongwha Enterprise’s ‘Anti-Mold Board’ passed the anti-mold tests of the U.S. ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials), a global test-standard governing body — ASTM D 6329 and ASTM G 21 — with the highest grade. These test standards can only be achieved when mold spores are introduced directly onto the product and no mold develops after a set period of time. Dongwha Enterprise’s ‘Anti-Mold Board’ demonstrated outstanding anti-mold performance, with no mold developing at all even a month after a total of five mold species — including black mold (Aspergillus niger) and blue mold (Penicillium) — were introduced directly onto the product.
Kim Hong-jin, president of Dongwha Enterprise, said, “Board products such as PB and MDF are used as materials inside furniture, so they determine indoor air quality and have a major impact on family health,” adding, “Dongwha Enterprise will continue its research and development of functional products such as the Anti-Mold Board in order to create a healthy living environment.” 02-2122-0625