For many of us, a fresh coat of paint equals clean and new. Think about it: When you get ready to sell the house or rent the apartment, a gallon of paint and a new roller is the first step. Want to change the look or the mood or a room? Head down to the paint counter for a colorful bouquet of sample chips: The wet splat of the brush and heady acrylic scent of tint is filled with promise.
Unfortunately, it’s also filled with low-level toxins. The air inside our houses can be three times more polluted than the air outside. According to the EPA, indoor air is considered among the leading five hazards to human health. For many of us, that’s easy enough to shrug off: Open a window until the paint dries, right? But for those with health concerns, allergies or breathing problems, that might not be good enough. Those toxins — which come from the solvent that sticks the paint pigment to your walls and then evaporates — linger long past the new paint smell. In fact, household paints and finishes emit low level toxins into the air for years after application. For children (and what’s a major step in readying a nursery? New paint!) this can present a greater danger.
But, before you give up on plans for a new shade in the living room, check out low volatile organic compounds (VOC) options.
What the heck is low VOC paint, anyway? While volatile organic compounds used to be integral to paint performance, the demand for healthy and environmentally-conscious products have resulted in the development of low VOC, zero VOC and natural paints.
Natural paints are made from ingredients like water, plant oils, resins, essential oils, clay, chalk, talcum, milk casein, natural latex, bees’ wax and mineral and plant dyes.
Zero VOC describes any paint with fewer than 5 grams of volatile organic compounds per liter. (Web site www.eartheasy.com notes that adding a tint to a zero VOC paint brings the level up to a still-low 10 grams/liter.)
Low VOC paints use water in place of petroleum-based solvents and contain very low levels (if any) of heavy metals and formaldehyde. Though the level of VOCs can vary, to meet EPA standards they must remain below 200 grams per liter.
Why buy low VOC paint? Professional painter Tom Rioux could answer that question: He was in recovery from Wegener’s granulomatosis, a debilitating respiratory disease brought on by exposure to hazardous chemicals, when he created Earth Paint. The Asheville-based company now sells a dozen paints, plasters, solvents and finishes, all from healthy materials. Rioux’s credo: If his young son can be in the lab while he’s making a product, then it’s not a product Earth Paint will carry.
Even for healthy adults, low- and no-VOC paint is a good idea. Avoid potential long-term health risks and (bonus!) no (or much less) bad smell. (For people with health problems and chemical sensitivity, it is worth noting that low- and even no-VOC paint can have some smell from other ingredients in the product.)
Are there any tricks to using it? Some reports suggest that low VOC paint goes on easier than it’s toxic counterpart. Reviewers seem to conclude that, like any paint, you get what you pay for. Having bought the cheap stuff myself, I know this to be true. Buy the best paint you can afford and make sure you have plenty. Benjamin Moore’s low VOC Aura gets points for great coverage, fast dry time and easy application (at $55 per gallon, it better!). Greenopia.com named EcoShield by Dunn Edwards Paints among it’s 5 best low- and no-VOC paints because “it sure doesn’t smell. EcoShield is a low-odor, zero-VOC interior paint formulated with no added solvents.”
Does healthy & earth-friendly have to mean earth-colored? In a word, nope. The all-natural paints from soy-based Green Planet Paints come in 48 mineral and clay based colors including a cherry-red “cochineal”, “Neptune” blue and peachy “shard.” The Freshaire Choice (which claims to be ) offers shades like the mauve “Ancient Rosewood,” teal “Chartered Voyage” and the autumnal “Perennial Gold.”
Where can you find it? The big-name brands found in those ubiquitous big box stores offer zero- and low-VOC options. Try Sherwin Williams new Harmony line, Olympic Paint and Stain’s Zero-VOC Olympic Premium interior line, Benjamin Moore’s low VOC Aura and Benjamin Moore’s Water-based Saman wood stains
