After having the inside of their home repainted, Mia and John were concerned that the chemicals responsible for the "paint smell" in the home may adversely affect their young children. The smell was particularly noticeable in the warmer weather. They therefore sent the children to live with their grandparents and asked Building Wellness to assess the indoor air quality of the home to determine whether or not VOC levels were safe for long term exposure.

Test outcomes

Three weeks after the home had been painted, assessment found that the Total VOC (TVOC) levels inside the home , when it had been closed up overnight and all morning, were 4 times the level that building biologists consider to be safe. However, readings quickly fell to within the safety guidelines when the windows and doors were opened and the air conditioning fan switched on to force the contaminated air out of the ventilated home.

Mia and John were therefore advised to continue ventilating the home, with the fan on, every day for the next 2-3 weeks, after which time another assessment was recommended to determine whether or not TVOC levels in the unventilated home were within the building biology guideline.

Nearly three weeks later, a second TVOC test was conducted inside the unventilated home and levels were found to be only slightly above the safety guideline. The occupants were advised to continue ventilating the home for another 3-4 days, after which time they could return there to live if they so desired.

Outcome

Mia and John followed the above recommendation and were most grateful for the peace of mind fhat came from knowing that they had not exposed their children to high overnight VOC levels after the home had been painted.