What can be done in a house that was not built with 'Indoor Air Quality' in mind.  Short of gutting the place and starting over, are there measures which can be taken in order to erradicate VOCs?

Much Thanks

Got HRV?

With heat recovery ventilation system you can crank up the air-change rate significantly without huge impacts on energy use. Over time as the VOC level drops you can lower the ventilation rates to whatever they need to be to control humidity/radon/whatever.

Retrofitting HRV into an existing home isn't cheap, but it's far from a full-gut, and typically less than heating or air conditioning systems. The duct diameters are quite modest compared to AC or hot air heating systems. HRV should be standard in all new construction (especially in tight construction) IMHO, but it still the exception rather than the rule.

VOCs from construction materils & adhesive WILL abate over time, but it may take a year or two to get it down to where they're handled by "normal" ventilation rates.

Outside air isn't always the solution for some pollutants:

"EVEN breathing can be dangerous these days. Air pollution is knocking up to nine years off the lives of people who live in pollution hotspots or have a respiratory illness. So says a report by the UK House of Commons' Environmental Audit Committee."

I've used low levels of ozone (unoccupied, followed by ventilation)  to knock down voc levels. It works well (ie, quickly removes the smells) although I don't know much more than that about it (ie, only a recommendation to look into it).  Would also be interesting to see more on the performance of low voc, sealed houses with absorbents (activated carbon, etc) and dehumidification.

Someone I know was building a Green Certified home and while going over the green features, one of the things he told me was that they painted or somehow sealed the insides of the kitchen & bath cabinets so as to seal in the VOCs.  Sorry, I don't know any more than that.

So much for that "new house smell".    I wonder if the same pertains to new cars?

Common sense would say that the VOC items of largest concern are the materials that are used in large quantities in a typical home; things like latex paint, carpeting, insulation and oil based hardwood floor finish.  I was told by someone in authority that the VOCs from latex paint dissipates fairly quickly - as in weeks - based on the fact that the off gassing of VOCs is part of the drying/curing process.  Also, some commonly available and used latex paint, for example Duron Builders Masterpiece is low VOC.  Formaldehyde free insulation is in common use too.  I'd guess that 'point load' VOC items would be of concern too but I don't know what those items might be.

Finally the common $ence approach to your situation would mean letting some fresh air in the new home on a regular basis for a number of months until a lot of the VOCs have mostly dissipated. As a builder I am aware that by in large homeowners these days rarely open their windows.  Once when delivering a new home I told a buyer that I would install the screens on the windows and sliding door ASAP.  Her response: "That is OK, I don't like much air".  I was a bit shocked but simply responded with "the house comes with them".  I have to wonder if that type of behavior might be an important factor behind the VOC concern these days.