Pure Maintenance Austin TeamQuick answer: VOCs, short for volatile organic compounds, are carbon-based chemicals that evaporate into a room's air at ordinary temperatures. Paint, floor finishes, cabinets, adhesives, cleaners and air fresheners all give them off, and they cause much of the "new house" smell. Fresh air, time and a house that doesn't run hot and humid are what bring them down; most of that smell fades over weeks to months.
What does "volatile organic compound" mean?
It's three chemistry words doing three plain jobs. "Organic" means the molecule is built on carbon, not that it came from a farm stand. "Volatile" means it evaporates easily at room temperature, the way nail polish remover disappears from a cotton ball. "Compound" just means a chemical.
So VOCs are carbon-based chemicals that leave a product and drift into the air around it. Many have a smell and some don't. Formaldehyde, which comes from pressed wood and certain glues, is one of the best known.
Where do VOCs come from in a Central Texas house?
Mostly from things that were recently made, applied or opened. The usual sources:
- Paint, primer, stain and caulk, especially in the first days after they go on.
- Floor finishes and adhesives under vinyl plank, tile and carpet.
- Cabinets, shelving and furniture made from particleboard or MDF.
- New carpet and pad, mostly from the backing and glue.
- Cleaners, aerosols and plug-in fresheners, which add their own scent chemicals every day.
- Garage and hobby products like thinners, glues and gas cans.
In a new build in Leander or Kyle, nearly all of these arrive in the same month, which is why a brand-new house has its signature smell. In a 1960s ranch in Allandale, the same smell turns up in one room after new cabinets or a weekend of painting.
Why does new-house smell fade, and how long does it take?
Because most products give off the bulk of their VOCs early. Emissions are usually highest in the first days to weeks after a product is made or applied, then taper off.
Wet products drop fastest: paint smell is mostly gone within days in a ventilated room. Solid ones release more slowly, so pressed-wood cabinets and closet shelving can carry a faint smell for months. Nobody can give you an exact timeline, because it depends on the product, how much of it there is and the conditions in the house.
Do heat and humidity make it worse?
Yes. Warmer materials release VOCs faster, and higher humidity increases the formaldehyde that pressed wood gives off.
That's why a house closed up for a July week at the lake, with the thermostat pushed to 85, greets you with a stronger smell than the same house after a cool January week. Keeping indoor humidity near 40-50% and the house from cooking slows the release. Our Central Texas humidity guide covers how to hold that range.
How do you bring VOC levels down at home?
Dilute them with outside air, give them time and keep the source sealed. In practice:
- Open windows and run box fans blowing out during and after painting or floor work, when the weather allows.
- Run kitchen and bath exhaust fans, since they send air outdoors.
- Let a new dresser or rug air out in a spare room with the door shut and a window fan running.
- Choose low-VOC or zero-VOC paints and finishes, and follow the can's drying times.
- Store paint, solvents and gas cans in the garage or a shed with the lids tight.
- Cut back on aerosol sprays and plug-in fresheners.
On a cedar or ragweed day, lean on the exhaust fans and leave the windows shut. In a newer, tighter house, ask your builder or HVAC company whether the system has a fresh-air setting and how it's adjusted. Our guide to new homes and tight homes explains why.
Can a dry fog treatment remove VOCs?
No, and we'd rather tell you that up front. Pure Maintenance Austin's dry fog is an odor treatment for hard, non-porous surfaces. It doesn't remove, reduce or neutralize VOCs. If the smell is fresh paint, new cabinets or a new floor, time and outside air are the answer.
Where we do fit is a second smell layered on top of the new-material one: a previous owner's dog, cigarette smoke, years of cooking, or the stale note of a house that sat empty. Our whole-home dry fog treatment carries a very fine, dry mist into every room, closet and duct run, where it helps control the growth of odor-causing microorganisms on hard, non-porous surfaces like countertops, tile, window sills and shelves. It's done in one day, and people and pets come back after 4 hours. Our move-in guide covers timing it before the boxes arrive.
This is general home-care information. Questions about VOCs and your own health belong with your doctor.
Common questions
Are VOCs only a new-home issue?
No. Any house has some, from cleaners, fresheners, dry-cleaned clothes, hobby supplies and fuel stored in an attached garage. New homes and fresh remodels simply have more sources at once.
Do houseplants lower VOCs?
Not in a way you'd notice. The often-quoted NASA work used small sealed chambers, and later reviews found that ordinary ventilation does far more than a few pots on a shelf. Keep the plants because you like them.
Does a portable air cleaner help?
A HEPA filter catches particles, not gases, so VOCs pass right through it. Units with a thick activated-carbon filter can hold some VOCs, but outside air and time still do most of the work.
Do air fresheners cover VOCs?
No. Plug-ins, sprays and scented candles give off VOCs of their own, so the scent sits on top of the new-material smell rather than replacing it.
What should you do next?
- Ventilate during and for several days after any paint or floor project.
- Move solvents and fuel out of the living space.
- Hold indoor humidity near 40-50% and keep a closed house from overheating.
- Call us about a separate, lingering smell, not about new-material smell itself.
Get a free phone consultation
Book a free phone consultation. A Comfort Advisor will call you, learn what's going on in your home and send a written quote based on square footage. Pure Maintenance Austin, brought to you by Gold Eagle Services, serves all of Central Texas, including College Station, Round Rock, Georgetown, San Marcos, Bastrop and Marble Falls.
Call 512-904-4646 or email IAQ@goldeagleservices.com. We're open Monday through Saturday, 7am to 7pm.