JACOB BARLOW is Homebuilding & Renovating’s Production Editor. A selfconfessed eco worrier, Jacob is interested in sustainability, and the steps we can take to make our homes greener.
There’s been a bee in my bonnet recently about volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Plenty of products are advertising themselves as low-VOC, and there’s concern that certain insulations might leak them and cause health problems. But the term itself is actually very broad. ‘Volatile’ sounds worrying, but in this case it just refers to compounds that produce vapour under normal, room temperature conditions. Lavender oil has volatile organic compounds in it. That’s what makes it smell nice.