Wish I'd seen this sooner. We just moved into our custom build, and I swear the curtains we picked have been giving me headaches. Never thought fabric could be such a VOC culprit... airing out daily now, hoping it fades soon.
Honestly, fabric VOCs can be sneaky, but are you sure it's just the curtains causing your headaches? Sometimes new builds have multiple sources—paint, adhesives, flooring—that combine to create a stronger reaction. When we moved into our eco-friendly home, I blamed the carpet at first, but turns out it was mostly the glue underneath. Maybe try isolating different rooms or materials to pinpoint the real culprit... airing out definitely helps, but identifying the exact source can save you a lot of hassle down the road.
That's a good point about isolating materials. When we moved into our place, I was convinced the headaches were from the new paint smell. We aired out the rooms for weeks, but nothing really improved. Then I started noticing it was worse in certain rooms, especially the bedrooms. Turns out, it wasn't the paint at all—it was actually the new mattresses we'd bought. They were advertised as eco-friendly, but apparently even some "green" mattresses can off-gas VOCs for a while.
Have you checked your furniture or bedding? Sometimes it's the stuff we least suspect that's causing the issue. I ended up swapping out the mattresses for ones certified with lower VOC emissions, and the headaches cleared up pretty quickly after that. Also, plants helped a bit—nothing dramatic, but they seemed to freshen things up a little.
I agree airing out helps, but sometimes you really have to dig deeper and test things individually. Have you tried temporarily removing the curtains to see if symptoms improve? Or maybe spending a night or two in a different room to see if there's a noticeable difference? It's a hassle, but pinpointing the exact source can save you from replacing things unnecessarily.
"Also, plants helped a bit—nothing dramatic, but they seemed to freshen things up a little."
Plants are nice for aesthetics and mood, but honestly, their impact on VOCs is pretty minimal. NASA's plant studies were done in sealed environments—not exactly your average bedroom. If you're serious about reducing VOCs, investing in an air purifier with activated carbon filters might be more effective. Plants look great though...just don't expect them to solve the problem completely.
