How to Reduce VOC Levels in Your Home

How to Reduce VOC Levels in Your Home

Unless you have asthma or chemical sensitivities you probably are not familiar with the term VOC. VOC stands for Volatile Organic Compounds. VOCs are organic chemicals that can be released, or off-gassed, from many common building materials, paints, new furniture, new carpeting, personal care products, and cleaners that can be found in, or be part of, your home. In fact, according to the EPA, levels of invisible, toxic VOCs in your home can be 2 to 5 times higher that of outdoor air.

Why Are VOCs a Concern?

The problem with high concentrations of VOCs is the health-related issues they can cause. Breathing them in can cause:

• Eye, nose, and throat irritation
• Shortness of breath
• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Liver, kidney, and central nervous system damage
• Some have been shown to cause cancer in humans

The health effects caused by VOCs will depend on the concentration levels and the length of exposure to them.

Ways to Reduce Exposure to VOCs

Control the Source – The most effective way to reduce VOC exposure is to avoid them in the first place. Buy furniture that has some age on it. Shop at estate sales and consignment shops, or buy floor models. Furniture like this has already had time to off-gas any VOCs. When you buy personal care items, avoid products that contain fragrances. When you repaint a room or refinish woodwork, opt for “low” or “no” VOC paint  and refinishing products.

Never buy more of a product than what you actually need at that time. And when you store any product, store it outside of your living area, in a garage or storage shed. With some cleaners or chemicals, it’s best to dispose of what is left over instead of saving it for the next time it may be needed.

Ventilation – Especially when doing home renovations, keeping VOC levels low or returning them to normal is a major concern. This can be accomplished by ventilating the area. Open doors and windows whenever possible. Use exhaust fans or place a box fan in a window to blow inside air to the outside. A saying of the IAQ industry is “dilution is the solution to indoor air pollution”, meaning bringing in fresh outdoor air will reduce VOC concentration levels.

Air Cleaning – Sometimes source removal and ventilation just aren’t enough to remedy the problem. That’s when you may have to resort to using an air purifier. If you do need to go that route, make sure that your choice of purifier uses an activated carbon filter. VOCs are gases and standard filters will not remove gases from the air. An activated carbon filter will absorb many, if not most, VOCs.

Conclusion

The most important thing you can do to reduce VOCs in your home is to be a smart consumer. Shop for products with low to no VOC emissions. Store unused products outside of your living space, and open windows and doors when using products that contain higher levels of VOCs.