Household Chemicals and VOCs
By Ruth MacEachern
Product Manager
Jun 10, 2025
The quality of the air inside your home is often overlooked as being key to a healthy environment. The air in your home can contain unseen hazards such as so-called volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These chemical compounds evaporate easily at room temperature and are released by everyday household products. Over time, prolonged exposure to VOCs could negatively affect health, so it is essential to understand what they are, and what you can do to reduce their concentration.
What are VOCs
Volatile organic compounds are carbon-based chemicals that turn into vapour at normal indoor temperatures. They’re commonly found in paints, cleaning products, furniture, and air fresheners. Some of the most common household sources include:
- Aerosol sprays such as deodorants, hairsprays, and cleaning agents.
- Air fresheners like sprays, scented candles, and plug-in diffusers.
- Cleaning products including bleach, detergents, and disinfectants.
- Paints, varnishes, and adhesives, particularly older oil-based varieties.
- New furniture and carpets made from synthetic materials that "off-gas."
- Harsh chemicals such as oven cleaners.
With so many household products contributing to the concentration of volatile organic compounds in your home, it is important to recognise how they might affect your health.
How VOCs affect health
VOCs can have both short- and long-term effects on health. While small amounts may not pose significant risks, continuous exposure, particularly in poorly ventilated spaces can lead to a variety of problems.
Short term effects of the presence of concentrated VOCs in your home may include things like headaches, dizziness, eye irritation, and throat discomfort. Over the longer term, exposure can cause serious problems including liver and kidney damage, respiratory issues, and in extreme cases, increased cancer risk.
Many people find that when they reduce the presence of VOCs in their home, the symptoms of conditions such as allergies and asthma become less severe.
How to reduce VOC concentration in your home
Reducing VOCs is simpler than you might think. There are two ways of doing this.
- Using products which release fewer VOCs.
- Improving the airflow in your home to keep concentrations low.
Low VOC products are available in place of many common household brands. Consider using natural alternatives such as vinegar and baking soda when cleaning and choose essential oils or natural scents in place of synthetic air fresheners. Choose water-based paints when decorating too to reduce the amount of chemicals released into the air.
When buying new furniture or carpets, give them time to air out before putting them into your main living spaces.
The most effective change you can make is to improve ventilation.
Make sure that you open windows frequently, especially after using cleaning products or painting to let air in to reduce the concentration of the chemicals in the atmosphere inside your house. Also, ensure that you always use your extractor fans in bathrooms and kitchens to remove lingering vapours. Ventilation systems help to reduce household humidity to comfortable levels which slows the release of VOCs into the air. Whole house ventilation such as PIV systems can aid in this process. They work by drawing outdoor air into your home to displace the stale air that builds up, giving you a more pleasant indoor atmosphere and improving air quality.
Find out more
If you are concerned about the potential health risks from VOCs in your home, book a free home survey from our local ventilation specialists. Enter your postcode below to find an expert in your area and get help and advice about the best way to improve the air quality in your home.
