Tip Of The Week: Dangers of VOC-Containing Paints

Hi, everyone.

Welcome to another edition of Tip Of The Week. As the spring and summer fades away, many homeowners are thinking about painting the exterior and interior of their homes. There are a few things to take into consideration when you're planning to do this. Let's for a moment forget about paint color and all that. 

We need to talk about something serious first, VOC. VOC stands for Volatile Organic Compound. Many of the products we use on a daily basis contain VOC's, which are not only horrible for the environment but your lungs as well. When using paint, whether interior or exterior, please take into count for "off gassing." What that means is that anytime you paint, the smell that we all know will continue for at least a week or so. Even if the paint is dry the paint will still emit its gasses for a while. So let's look at that for a moment. 

You paint a room, and it looks great, yet you're sleeping in the room you just painted and you're breathing in all the toxic fumes. Even if you have the windows open and fans going to help it dry, it will not have any effect on the time-line of off gassing. Depending on the area you live in, you will have to check to see which paint you are allowed to use. Many areas will not allow you to use paint that contains VOC. Many paints we all know and use have VOC so be sure to ask and check for ones that don't. Granted, paints that contain no VOC are a lot more money but you'll be saving not only our environment but your lungs as well. 

You are able to get no VOC paint in many colors, so it's not like you don't have a plethora of colors to choose from; you do. You'll need to check with your local home centers to see who carries them, but as they become more popular and more in demand the price will drop as well. So the next time you're thinking about painting, please keep in mind that you have choices when buying paint. Make sure you think about the environment -- and yourself when making a decision.

Thanks for joining me, and until next time, if you have any questions about your home, condo or apartment, please write to me, I'd love to hear from you.