| What are VOCs? Volatile Organic Compounds – or VOCs – vary in toxicity, and carcinogenic compounds such as formaldehyde and benzene are the most concerning. But the main issue is that they can continue... |
| Low-VOC flooring options If you’re serious about reducing VOC emissions in your home, flooring is a great place to start – mainly because there’s so much of it. New carpeting, which is often treated with... |
| Sisal, which is a renewable, natural, and completely VOC-free carpeting option, has been installed in the living room of this Palm Beach home. Sisal is so hardy that it’s grown with minimal pesticides... |
| Laminated floors and floating floors are typically glued together with formaldehyde-based adhesives that can emit VOCs, so if you’re concerned about off-gassing, choose solid timber floorboards and seal... |
| For an easy, cost-effective and low-fuss floor finish that optimises air quality, why not try VOC-free floor paint? This is a particularly good option in playrooms, where children spend lots of time sitting... |
| Healthy kitchens Modern kitchen cabinets are manufactured from a composite timber product called MDF (medium density fibreboard), which is made by binding wood fibres together with – you guessed it – urea-formaldehyde... |
| Victorian architect Ande Bunbury designs environmentally sensitive buildings that are both beautiful to look at and to live in. After sighting international research linking good indoor air quality with... |
| Deck the walls Paint – the most fundamental element of any decorating project – is a veritable melting pot of VOCs. The magic of paint is that it goes on wet and dries to a lovely hard-wearing, dirt-resistant... |
| Fortunately, as paint technology has improved, several manufacturers including Porter’s Paints, Resene, Ecolour, Dulux and Wattyl now offer acrylic formulations and water-based enamel paints with low-... |
| Alternatively, you could opt for a natural paint. These lime- or clay- based formulations contain no synthetic chemicals, so they’re completely safe. While not always as hard-wearing as a regular acrylic... |
| Or you could skip the paint altogether. In this Sydney cottage, rustic reclaimed bricks juxtapose nicely against the streamlined cabinetry. In reusing the existing elements of the home, architects from... |
| Furniture Most low-cost furniture these days is manufactured from MDF, which, as previously mentioned, presents a major source of toxic VOC emissions. In nurseries and bedrooms in particular, seek out... |
| Alternatively, you could save some dollars, help the environment, and create a healthier home by filling it with secondhand finds. Older varnished timber pieces will have already finished off-gassing.... |
| What else can we do? Building materials, furnishings, floor coverings, paint, carpets and furniture slowly release VOCs over time, and these can build up in closed-off, unventilated rooms. So throw open... |
