How Can We Deal w/ Volatile Organic Compounds in Homes?

[kyphysics]

VOC = volatile organic compound

These are gasses that evaporate into the air from common every day products (solids and liquids) around us, from furniture and carpet, all the way to cosmetics and cleaning products - and more. They are everywhere in the environment, but can sometimes build up to unhealthy levels indoors. Exposure to VOCs can lead to various health conditions, including cancer (for example, benzene and formaldehyde are two VOCs considered carcinogenic).

Some advice I've seen is to:

--open windows and increase ventilation (but this lets in other potentially harmful stuff like mold spores, right?)
--use products that off-gas less VOCs (assuming you know for sure the products don't off-gas them)
--use an air purification system that reduces/breaks down VOCs***1
--grow plants that reduce VOCs (they can help reduce VOCs, but some researchers have argued that the effect is too small to be practical***2)


***1 This is what I'm looking for and don't know of any air purifiers that can eliminate or reduce VOCs. Google searching leads me to see that an activated carbon filter can help remove VOCs, as well as something called PCO (photocatalytic oxidation).

However, lots of Googling has yielded minimal actionable results on how to buy an activated carbon filter purifier and/or the effectiveness of PCO technology. As to the latter, I've come across counter-claims/arguments that PCO technology can actually create harmful byproducts, such as ozone and VOCs, such as formaldehyde (the very thing I want to remove!).

2015 science article on PCO tech and byproducts: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150715130835.htm
2024 NASA article on benefits of PCO tech: https://spinoff.nasa.gov/Air_Treatment_Systems_Break_Down_Pollutants_Germs

***2
Drexel 2019 news article: https://drexel.edu/news/archive/2019/november/potted-plants-do-not-improve-air-quality
Nature 2019 scientific piece: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41370-019-0175-9

As a complete NON-science-y person, how can I decipher which research and news articles to believe about VOC elimination/reduction technology when often the sources look super legitimate (professors, NASA, well-known journal, etc.) and yet the findings/recommendations can seem to conflict?

On a personal level, I ask b/c we are dealing with my dad's lung cancer (which has progressed) and wanting to set up a good home environment for him.

 

[DaveC426913]

--open windows and increase ventilation (but this lets in other potentially harmful stuff like mold spores, right?)

Unless you plan to live in a hermetically-sealed environment with bottled air, or in a downtown apartment on a busy street, you can't go wrong with fresh air.

 

[russ_watters]

Before getting too worked up about this, I'd want to measure it to see if there's actually an issue. You can buy VOC meters for not too much money. Generally, though, they are only potentially a problem when you have new carpets/furniture are new. The offgassing decays rapidly over a relatively short time (weeks or months probably).

https://dasilvaautobody.com/blog/eco-friendly/new-car-smell-dangerous

 

[dwarde]

https://www.wired.com/gallery/best-air-purifiers/

 

[kyphysics]

It’s funny, b/c I had a discussion w the pest control guy for my parents home. He said the advice to open windows for fresh air is dated and something mainly older people tout. He said grandmas and granddads used to give this advice, in order to bring in fresh clean air, but nowadays we know more about the world to not do it.

He (age 50’s) said he never opens his windows at his house - ever. He said he only lets outside air in when he’s forced to (coming in through door). He probably neglects that lots of air is exchanged via cracks in the home structure anyways. No house is 100% sealed.

He deals with moldy crawl spaces all day and says there are usually more mold spores outside than inside your home. So, you don’t want to invite mold spores in with open windows. Mold is often not covered my insurance and can cost $10’s of thousands to remediate - not including the disclosure of which will likely reduce your home value by $50,000 (even if you’ve already remediated it - people are freaked out by it).

I hope he never gets a VOC problem!

You are correct that regularly opening windows can relieve VOC build up.

 

[kyphysics]

Before getting too worked up about this, I'd want to measure it to see if there's actually an issue. You can buy VOC meters for not too much money. Generally, though, they are only potentially a problem when you have new carpets/furniture are new. The offgassing decays rapidly over a relatively short time (weeks or months probably).

https://dasilvaautobody.com/blog/eco-friendly/new-car-smell-dangerous

I shall buy a VOC detector then. I hope they pick up all VOCs or the main ones.

That said, the reason we are also concerned is because soil can release VOCs and we are encapsulating my dad’s crawl space, which requires sealing all foundation vents.

That can be an issue for radon (not a VOC) and soil VOCs that potentially escape the vapor barrier, get trapped in the crawl with nowhere to go (normally it’d get circulated out via vents), and wind up in the home.

Northern VA has procedures and code to create a crawl ventilation system for those purposes, but NOT Southeastern VA where we are and no one does it here.

 

[Mondayman]

He (age 50’s) said he never opens his windows at his house - ever. He said he only lets outside air in when he’s forced to (coming in through door). He probably neglects that lots of air is exchanged via cracks in the home structure anyways. No house is 100% sealed.

I question this. Maybe if it's a humid environment outside you shouldn't. Even then, airing out your house reduces allergens and other pollutants that might build up.

 

[DaveC426913]

... nowadays we know more about the world to not do it.

Do we?

He deals with moldy crawl spaces all day and says there are usually more mold spores outside than inside your home. So, you don’t want to invite mold spores in with open windows.

The point is that spores are everywhere anyway. You can't keep them out, and it's not necessarily a good thing to try to. Artificially conditioned homes are not necessarily free from toxic air problems (anybody remember 'sick building syndome'?)

What you want to do is ensure that your house is well-ventilated so that the spores - that are always present anyway - do not have an environment to bloom in.

But, in light of your posting history, I suspect that you are already set in your ways when it comes to germophobia, so I doubt you're going to be comfortable with coming to terms with nature.

 

[DaveC426913]

That can be an issue for radon (not a VOC) and soil VOCs that potentially escape the vapor barrier, get trapped in the crawl with nowhere to go (normally it’d get circulated out via vents), and wind up in the home.

Northern VA has procedures and code to create a crawl ventilation system for those purposes, but NOT Southeastern VA where we are and no one does it here.

You definitely want to ensure the space is ventilated, no matter how lax your local codes.

 

[AlexB23]

VOC = volatile organic compound

These are gasses that evaporate into the air from common every day products (solids and liquids) around us, from furniture and carpet, all the way to cosmetics and cleaning products - and more. They are everywhere in the environment, but can sometimes build up to unhealthy levels indoors. Exposure to VOCs can lead to various health conditions, including cancer (for example, benzene and formaldehyde are two VOCs considered carcinogenic).

Some advice I've seen is to:

--open windows and increase ventilation (but this lets in other potentially harmful stuff like mold spores, right?)
--use products that off-gas less VOCs (assuming you know for sure the products don't off-gas them)
--use an air purification system that reduces/breaks down VOCs***1
--grow plants that reduce VOCs (they can help reduce VOCs, but some researchers have argued that the effect is too small to be practical***2)


***1 This is what I'm looking for and don't know of any air purifiers that can eliminate or reduce VOCs. Google searching leads me to see that an activated carbon filter can help remove VOCs, as well as something called PCO (photocatalytic oxidation).

However, lots of Googling has yielded minimal actionable results on how to buy an activated carbon filter purifier and/or the effectiveness of PCO technology. As to the latter, I've come across counter-claims/arguments that PCO technology can actually create harmful byproducts, such as ozone and VOCs, such as formaldehyde (the very thing I want to remove!).

2015 science article on PCO tech and byproducts: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150715130835.htm
2024 NASA article on benefits of PCO tech: https://spinoff.nasa.gov/Air_Treatment_Systems_Break_Down_Pollutants_Germs

***2
Drexel 2019 news article: https://drexel.edu/news/archive/2019/november/potted-plants-do-not-improve-air-quality
Nature 2019 scientific piece: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41370-019-0175-9

As a complete NON-science-y person, how can I decipher which research and news articles to believe about VOC elimination/reduction technology when often the sources look super legitimate (professors, NASA, well-known journal, etc.) and yet the findings/recommendations can seem to conflict?

On a personal level, I ask b/c we are dealing with my dad's lung cancer (which has progressed) and wanting to set up a good home environment for him.

Maybe buying old second hand furniture could help, as most of the VOCs have offgassed in the past?Hopefully, your dad gets better.

Source: https://www.airthings.com/resources/top-five-tips-avoid-voc-contamination

 

[Tom.G]

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=air+purifier+with+activated+charcoal

At least here in the States, there are also filters for central Heating/Air Conditioning with Activated Charcoal in them.

Cheers,
Tom