Follow Your Nose for Environmentally Friendly Paints

Spring is upon us and finally the weather is turning warm enough where we can open the windows. Many people take this opportunity to paint inside their homes since Spring and Fall are the best times to leave the windows open to let out the paint fumes. Most people that have painted before can attest that painting with traditional paints, even with the windows open, can lead to dizziness, headaches and other ailments.

While at the Green Building Expo earlier this month, I had the good fortune of meeting Ronica Sethi. Ronica is the owner of Mythic Paint – Princeton. Ronica was kind enough to explain to me some of the dangers present in paint and why it is important to seek out paints that are more environmentally friendly.

First off, it is important to understand what is in that paint smell, and why it is such a problem. Traditional latex and oil-based paints contain a number of chemicals that give paint its color, durability or ease in application. As the paint dries, some of the liquid chemicals vaporize and disperse into the air. Much of the odor from paint comes from Volatile Organic Compounds, more commonly known as VOCs. VOCs are long chains of organic compounds that exist in a gaseous state at room temperature. Along with VOCs, some paint additives also become airborne.

VOCs react with sunlight and nitrogen oxides in the air to form ground-level ozone, a major component of smog that can also damage lung tissue. According to the EPA, VOCs can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches, loss of coordination, nausea; damage to the liver, kidney, and central nervous system. Ronica reminded me that most paints also come with warning labels because some of the other paint additives (e.g. formaldehyde, mercury) which can be toxic or carcinogenic (cancer causing). The best way to reduce the harmful effects is to look for paints without VOCs or other toxic chemicals.

Paints with “low VOCs” have been on the market for some time now. The EPA defines “low VOC” paints as less than 200 grams of VOCs per liter. The Green Seal standard for paint, referenced by the US Green Building Council, requires “low VOC” paints to contain less than 50 grams of VOCs per liter for flat paints. With nearly 4 liters per gallon of paint, this can still add up to a lot (about 189 grams). Ronica helped put this in perspective by explaining that a regulation softball weighs 192 grams. Regrettably, some of these low VOC paints suffer from poor durability. Moreover, the addition of color tints can sometimes double or triple the VOC content.

More recently, “zero VOC” paints have become available. These have been formulated with essentially no VOCs. Zero VOCs not only are better for the environment, but they also tend to have little odor. Consumers looking for the most environmentally friendly paints should look for these paints and color tints as a starting point. From a health perspective, the paint should also contain no toxins or carcinogens; so be careful of any paint that contains “fungicide” or “bactericide”.

With the help of Ronica’s tutelage, one can quickly come to the conclusion that the best eco-friendly paint would not only be “zero VOC” and zero toxins, but also odor free and durable. As Ronica puts it, it’s a win-win-win; a premium paint that is safe for both your health and the environment. To educate yourself, stop in and see Ronica in Princeton at 1225 State Rd (Rte 206), inside the Studio Green Design Center.