Green Painting Tips. Even for White Paint!

One of the most common home renovations is painting the walls. It is a great, inexpensive and effective way to “spruce up the place”.

An important, but sometimes overlooked consideration when choosing the paint to use is how it will impact the indoor air quality both before and after application. The key product characteristic to look for is the level of Volatile Organic Compounds [VOCs] that the paint has.

VOC's are the gases that are emitted or released by paints, solvents and adhesives primarily in the curing process. Some products continue to off gas even after curing. VOC is a key issue when discussing indoor air quality. It is that ‘paint smell’ that occurs during the application of the paint and can at times linger for a long time after as the paint continues to cure and off gas.

The good news is that most major paint manufactures now have a Low/No VOC paint product line. However, you might have to look for it, or contact the manufacturer directly, for information as this product line is sometimes not readily available at your local paint or hardware store.

Here are some Green Painting Tips to help you make your next painting project as environmentally friendly as possible:

- Choose Low VOC or No VOC paint products

- Whenever possible, choose latex over alkyd paint

- Do not buy more paint then you need for a particular job. Take the time to carefully calculate the area to be covered and the amount of paint required.

- Scrap off as much excess paint as possible before washing them. There is even a brush and roller paint cleaning tool with serrated edges to help with the task

- When cleaning brushes and rollers used with latex paint do so in a bucket of water rather then directly under the tap. This will prevent paint entering the water system.

- When cleaning brushes and rollers used with alkyd paint let solvent used clarify. The paint particles that settle to the bottom can then be filtered out.

What to do with unused paint:

- Offer it to friends, family, neighbours and local groups who might have a need for it.

- Contact your local municipality for the safe way to discard the paint. Paint is a hazardous waste and should be treated as such.

The only thing remaining is to sift through the millions of colour swatches to pick one. How tough could that be...