Paint contains various toxins and dangerous chemicals, from binders, to pigments, and even solvents. While each serve their own purpose to ensure the vibrancy of your home’s color scheme, painting with these chemicals comes with a list of potential health and environmental concerns. VOCS, or Volatile Organic Compounds, are more than just a smell. They pose a direct threat to humans and the ozone layer, and should be combated by any means necessary.
Key Problems: Recent federal government studies have discovered the abnormally high exposure to VOC paint for prolonged periods of time show a direct link to eye and breathing problems, nausea, headaches, dizziness, and in severe cases, forms of cancer. While anyone recently exposed to high level of VOCs is subject to these health problems, children and asthma sufferers are more susceptible to these concerns.
Safer Options: Most of the VOCs found in paint are contained inside the solvent elements. Designed to rapidly speed up the drying process, a solvent will evaporate off your newly painted walls and linger throughout your home for extended periods of time. If possible, avoid being in freshly painted rooms for a few days after application. The best way to avoid serious health issues is to use a non-toxic, low-solvent level paint.
Low-VOC Paint: Paint solvents are typically oil-based or water-based. Oil-based solvents have a high VOC content, and contain chemicals like formaldehyde and toluene that are very dangerous to the human body. Water-based solvents have a low (or non-existent) VOC levels, and are more environmentally friendly.
Proper Painting Methods: While VOCS will naturally dissipate as the paint dries, their concentration levels are known to be 10 times stronger indoors than out. With that said, ventilation is of at utmost importance throughout all parts of any indoor painting job. For added safety, keep windows cracked and ensure that there is a constant flow of fresh air within your home at all times.
Protect the Environment: Using low-VOC paint is recommended for exterior projects. Using lower quality paint on such large surfaces as your home or office building can release the dangerous petrochemicals in paint into the surrounding environment, damaging the ozone layer. To protect the already deteriorating ozone layer, use low-VOC paint when painting the exterior or a home.
When possible, use low-VOC paint on all types of painting projects. Using low-VOC paints will protect you, your home, and the surrounding environment from harmful chemical damage. For more information on safe painting, contact the professionals at CertaPro Painters of Central SW Florida.
My Bio - Sherrie and her husband Jim are the owners of CertaPro Painters of Central Southwest Florida. The gratification of helping people and producing a beautiful final product really means a great deal to Sherrie and Jim, who offer highly professional painting services for interior and exterior projects. Sherrie's passion is to raise the standard of quality and professionalism in the painting industry on the southwest coast of Florida.