Learn: Chemistry - Terrestream

VOCs: the invisible smell

Volatile organic compounds are the carbon-based gases evaporating off everything: cooking, candles, paint, new furniture. Some are merely annoying. Some are not.

Updated 2026-05-25

Cleaning products: the VOC spike you can smell

Pine, citrus, ammonia, bleach. Most cleaning products produce sharp VOC spikes; some combinations are acutely toxic.

Updated 2026-05-25

New furniture and paint: the slow VOC bleed

Particleboard, foam, finishes, and many paints off-gas formaldehyde and other VOCs for weeks to months. A new sofa changes the room's baseline.

Updated 2026-05-25

Bathrooms and showers

A hot shower is a daily humidity event with a side of cleaning-product VOCs. Recognizable, mostly harmless, occasionally a mold-risk signal.

Updated 2026-05-25

How parameters interact

Air-quality parameters do not change in isolation. Humidity pushes the VOC index. Ozone reacts with limonene to make formaldehyde. Knowing the interactions is how the AI avoids false alarms.

Updated 2026-05-25

What to do when VOC won't stabilize

Elevated VOC index for days or weeks. Five possible explanations, each with a different response.

Updated 2026-05-25

VOC Index vs TVOC

VOC Index is a relative signal from a MOX gas sensor. TVOC is a concentration-style lab concept. They should not be collapsed into the same claim.

Updated 2026-06-01

Breathe Better. Live Smarter.

Turn air-quality knowledge into action.

One sensor. Twelve signals. Indoor readings connected to outdoor context and plain-English recommendations. Everything you just read can be measured live in your own home.

$249 USD one-time

Buy Terrestream Explore the sensor