What Steps Can I take to Reduce My Chemical Reading?

Ventilation: it’s important to have proper ventilation. If you are using cleaning products, adhesives, or paints it’s a good idea to open a window. Also, since VOCs slowly evaporate off of many things that will always be in your home or office, such as carpeting, it’s not a bad idea to ventilate once in a while even if you aren’t actively using products that produce VOCs.

Storage: materials that cause a lot of indoor pollution should be stored away from living and working areas. Make sure that heavy VOC contributors such as paint are stored outside of the home or tightly sealed in a garage if possible.

Air purification: air purifiers can drastically improve your air quality, especially if you have one that targets VOCs specifically. If you have an air purifier, make sure to check the filter regularly. 

Moderation: using perfumed substances, cleaning products, or other VOC contributors occasionally isn’t a bad thing. However, excessive use can contribute heavily to VOC pollution. For example, burning a scented candle once in a while is fine. Doing it daily can contribute heavily to the pollution in your home. The same goes for many of the materials listed above such as adhesives and cleaners.

It’s impossible to avoid all VOCs and all indoor air pollution. However, by making conscious choices about ventilation, the materials, and products you use, how often you use them and where you store them, you can drastically reduce the levels of VOC pollution in the air.