Painting your home is one of the easiest ways to bring new life to your space, make it feel like home, or put the final touches on a remodeling project. If you’re looking to make an eco-friendly upgrade to your home, take a moment to consider the type of paint you’re purchasing. There are plenty of eco-friendly paints – low VOC, no or zero VOC, and natural paint – that you can use to repaint your home while staying environmentally friendly.
So whether you’re looking to paint your entire home a new shade or spice up your rental home in San Diego, CA, there’s a lot to consider when choosing an eco-friendly paint option. Let’s take a look at what these paints mean so you can pick the right option for your home.
What is VOC?
Volatile organic compounds, “VOCs” are gas emissions from some liquids and solids. Different chemicals can be considered VOCs and some may even have short- and long-term health impacts. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that “sources of VOCs” in “Household products, [include] paints, paint strippers and other solvents” and that when applied, “[paints] can release organic compounds while you are using them, and, to some degree, when they are stored.” The EPA continues on saying, “Concentrations of many VOCs are consistently higher indoors (up to ten times higher) than outdoors.”
As a result, the repeated release of VOCs can impact indoor air quality and may cause reactions like headaches, eye irritation, and nausea. Many traditional paints include VOCs, meaning that your home is exposed to these gasses long after that new paint smell is gone. Luckily, there are many low and zero VOC paint options out there that can help reduce the effects of conventional paints.
What is low VOC paint?
Low VOC paint is paint that has fewer amounts of VOCs, typically less than 50 grams per liter. Although this ratio can vary in certain states like California where guidelines are more stringent. Low VOC…