The smell of fresh paint is a measurement. This guide is for anyone buying paint, strippers or cleaners who wants the EPA's label and ventilation advice in one place.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says concentrations of many volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, are consistently higher indoors, up to ten times higher, than outdoors. It says studies found levels of several organics averaging 2 to 5 times higher indoors, and that during and for several hours after certain activities, such as paint stripping, levels may be 1,000 times background outdoor levels.

Quick answer

  • VOCs are gases from certain solids and liquids; paints, varnishes, strippers, cleaners and many other household products give them off, to some degree even when stored.
  • The EPA's steps: follow label precautions, increase ventilation, buy only what you will use soon, store containers out of reach of children and pets, and use household hazardous waste collection.
  • The EPA says no federally enforceable standards have been set for VOCs in non-industrial settings.

Where they come from

The EPA lists household products (paints, paint strippers and other solvents, wood preservatives, aerosol sprays, cleansers and disinfectants, moth repellents and air fresheners, stored fuels and automotive products, hobby supplies, dry-cleaned clothing and pesticide); and other products such as building materials and furnishings, office equipment like copiers and printers, and craft materials including glues, adhesives and permanent markers.

What the EPA says about effects

The EPA says health effects may include eye, nose and throat irritation, headaches, loss of coordination and nausea, and damage to the liver, kidney and central nervous system; some organics can cause cancer in animals and some are suspected or known to cause cancer in humans. It says the ability of organic chemicals to cause health effects varies greatly, and that at present not much is known about the effects at the levels usually found in homes. We quote only with attribution and make no "safe" or "non-toxic" claims.

What to check before you buy

The EPA's steps, as a checklist:

  • Read labels and follow precautions; use products as directed and do not mix them unless the label says to.
  • Increase fresh air when using VOC-emitting products. Use them outdoors, or where an exhaust fan works, if the label recommends it.
  • Buy only what you will use soon.
  • Store containers in a well-ventilated area out of reach of children and pets: gases can leak even from closed containers.
  • Do not bin partly full chemicals; the EPA says to look for local household hazardous waste collection, and notes that gases can leak even from closed containers.
  • For paint strippers, adhesive removers and aerosol spray paints that contain methylene chloride, the EPA says to use them outdoors when possible and indoors only if the area is well ventilated.
  • The EPA lists paint supplies as a source of benzene and advises maximum ventilation during painting and discarding paint supplies you will not use immediately.

US rules only; we have not covered UK or EU paint and lead rules.

Last checked: 21 October 2026. General information, not legal, medical or financial advice. Sources: EPA, Volatile organic compounds' impact on indoor air quality (no page date shown; read 21 October 2026).