Protecting Your Children From Volatile Organic Compounds, Ozone, and Irritated Eyes

Do your children often have eyes that are red, inflamed, or just plain irritated? If so, then you need to be on the look out for the culprit, which could be a class of substances called volatile organic compounds, or VOC's for short. These compounds are formed from other chemicals, which occur naturally or not, in your home and other places. Children, whose eyes are sensitive anyway, are easily exposed to VOC's, and they can develop chronically irritated eyes from this. In this article, we're going to talk about your kids, VOC's, and steps you can take to protect your children from this hazard.

Volatile organic compounds, or VOC's are actually everywhere! These compounds are formed from everyday chemicals that we find all through our lives. They're volatile, which means they can get to us through the air. (Gasoline is very volatile, which is why you can smell it from a long distance.) If your child has problems with airways or with their eyes, they're a good chance the issue might be VOC's.

In addition to just being irritating themselves, VOC's can also create ozone. Now, ozone is good, in that it shields us from the sun's more harmful rays, but breathing it often irritates people, especially children and people with breathing problems. You won't be able to get rid of VOC's completely from your home, if you think you have a problem with them. But you can take steps to at least lessen your exposure. Here are some things you can do VOC Testing Sacramento.

Choosing the right cleaners for your home is a great place to start. It's not natural cleaners that you're necessarily looking for. Natural pine scented cleaners, for instance, give off VOC's. Another big offender is chemical carpet cleaners. If you have children, it's best not to use chemical carpet cleaners, especially not in their rooms. Also, as far as vacuuming, you'll want a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter so that you can filter out irritants and allergens. In addition to all of this, you'll want to find out what they're doing as far as cleaning at your children's school, or pre-school. If you're children are spending time playing on a carpet at pre-K and it's cleaned with a strong carpet cleaner, that could be the source of your problem.

While we're talking about carpeting, if you have a child, or children, who is sensitive to allergens, you might want to avoid carpeting altogether. Carpet is a major source of VOC's in homes.