on June 01, 2026
You can't see them, you can't always smell them, and yet they may be the single most overlooked thing about the cleaning products under your sink. They're called VOCs, and once you understand what they are, you'll never look at a conventional spray the same way again. At FrickN' Clean, we built our entire lineup around being non-toxic and plant-based precisely so you don't have to second-guess what you're breathing while you clean.
Here's a plain-English guide to what VOCs are, why they matter for the air in your home, and how to spot (and skip) them.
What are VOCs, exactly?
VOC stands for volatile organic compound. According to the EPA, VOCs are chemicals that get emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids, and they cover a wide variety of compounds, some of which can have short-term and long-term health effects. The word "volatile" is the key: it means these compounds evaporate easily at room temperature, releasing into the air you breathe.
Translation for the real world: when you spray a conventional cleaner, you're not just wetting a surface. You may also be releasing a cloud of airborne chemicals into the room, where they linger long after you've wiped the counter.
Why VOCs matter: your indoor air is the problem
Most people assume the air inside their home is cleaner than the air outside. The data says otherwise. The EPA reports that concentrations of many VOCs are consistently higher indoors, by as much as ten times higher, than outdoors.
It gets more specific. The EPA's long-running Total Exposure Assessment Methodology (TEAM) studies found that levels of about a dozen common organic pollutants ran roughly 2 to 5 times higher inside homes than outside, whether those homes were in rural or industrial areas. And during and right after activities that release VOCs, levels can spike dramatically, with the EPA noting that some activities can push concentrations far above normal background levels for hours.
In other words, the cleaning you do to make your home healthier could be quietly degrading the air quality inside it, if you're using the wrong products.
Where VOCs hide in cleaning products
The EPA lists household cleansers, disinfectants, aerosol sprays, and air fresheners among the everyday sources of VOCs. That covers a huge chunk of a typical cleaning cabinet. Common offenders include:
- Surface and all-purpose sprays with solvents and synthetic additives.
- Glass and window cleaners, many of which lean on ammonia and other volatile solvents.
- Bathroom and disinfecting sprays loaded with harsh chemicals.
- Air fresheners and scented products, where "fragrance" can hide a long list of undisclosed VOCs.
That last one deserves a flag. The catch-all word "fragrance" on a label can legally stand in for dozens of individual chemicals that the manufacturer never has to name, and many of those are VOCs. A product can smell "fresh" and still be filling your air with compounds you'd never knowingly choose.
What VOCs can do to your health
The reason any of this matters comes down to exposure. The EPA notes that VOCs include chemicals with potential short-term and long-term adverse health effects, and that elevated indoor concentrations can persist well after you've finished the activity that released them. Commonly cited short-term effects associated with VOC exposure include irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, headaches, and nausea, with the severity depending on the compound and the level of exposure.
The takeaway is not to panic about every cleaning session. It's that cleaning products are one of the few VOC sources you can actually control. You can't swap out your building materials in an afternoon, but you can absolutely swap out what's in the spray can.
The good news: cleaning products are the easy fix
Of all the sources of indoor air pollution, your cleaners are among the most controllable. You can change them in a single shopping trip. The smartest move is to choose products that are upfront about what's inside and built to keep harsh, volatile chemicals out from the start.
That's exactly the standard FrickN' Clean is built on. Our cleaners are non-toxic and plant-based, formulated without the harsh chemical solvents and mystery "fragrance" loopholes that drive VOC exposure. We use plant-derived ingredients to do the cleaning, so you get the results without the airborne baggage.
And because FrickN' Clean uses Bag-on-Valve (BOV) compressed-air technology, the propellant pushing the product out of the can is simply clean compressed air, not a flammable hydrocarbon propellant like you'll find in many conventional aerosols. It's a cleaner spray in every sense, delivered from an infinitely recyclable aluminum can.
How to spot a lower-VOC cleaner
When you're shopping, here's a quick checklist:
- Look for full ingredient disclosure. If a brand hides behind "fragrance" or vague terms, that's a red flag.
- Choose non-toxic, plant-based formulas. Plant-derived ingredients are far less likely to off-gas the harsh solvents associated with VOCs.
- Be skeptical of "fresh scent" claims. A strong synthetic scent often signals added fragrance chemicals.
- Mind the propellant. Compressed-air systems like Bag-on-Valve avoid the hydrocarbon propellants used in many traditional aerosols.
- Ventilate anyway. Even with non-toxic products, opening a window during cleaning is never a bad habit.
The bottom line
VOCs are the invisible side of cleaning that the industry would rather you not think about. The science is clear that indoor air can carry far higher concentrations of these compounds than the air outside, and conventional cleaning products are a major, and fixable, contributor. Switching to a non-toxic, plant-based cleaner is one of the simplest changes you can make for the air in your home.
Breathe easier while you clean. Shop the non-toxic, plant-based FrickN' Clean lineup, Everything, Windows, and Shower, at fricknclean.com.
Sources: U.S. EPA, "Volatile Organic Compounds' Impact on Indoor Air Quality" and the EPA TEAM studies. Internal link suggestions: link "non-toxic and plant-based" to your ingredients page, "Bag-on-Valve (BOV) compressed-air technology" to your how-it-works page, and "fragrance loophole" to a future post on the fragrance loophole.
