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If your walls could talk, they would probably go off on a tirade about how disgusted they are being covered in conventional paint. The EPA says indoor air quality is 2-5 times worse than outdoor air because of volatile organic compounds in stuff like paint. Grist’s painted lady, Ask Umbra, shows us a better way to color our worlds. If you care about your walls, indoor air quality, your health, and the planet’s, watch this!
“Ask Umbra” is the first video series produced by GristTV. Look for new video tips for greening your life from Umbra nearly every week.
Watch it on the go! Subscribe to GristTV video podcasts via iTunes.
Helpful links:
• Ask Umbra on Paint
• Check out the paints in the video at Green Depot
• IVY Paint — local, affordable, and No VOC
• Great, green painting accessories
Painted Love
Ask Umbra on paint that’s better for the planet [VIDEO] 8
![Will we ever get off oil? [AUDIO] image](/phpThumb/phpThumb.php?src=http://www.grist.org/i/assets/2/offshore-oil-drilling-rig.jpg&w=50&h=50&zc=C&q=100)
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Pondering "more people buy these paints the price will go down" ...
In my own opinion and experience, the product with greater value isn't the one which can be had at a lower price. Greater durability and ease of use are primary. Cost, within reason, isn't one of them.
We painted our young son's room with an eco-friendly (no VOC) paint...and the smell of the paint made sleeping in the room impossible. FOR MONTHS. Seriously, the child had to sleep on the couch until we felt that the odor wouldn't harm him. It was ridiculous! Even now, more than a year later, we won't allow him to sleep in his room with the door closed. We pitched (responsibly, following local laws) the can of paint after we realized that we'd never use it again. And, now I can't recall who made it! I believe we bought it at Lowes, but it may have been Home Depot.
It's upsetting when you try to do the right thing (for your family and the planet) but then it goes very, very wrong.
Umbra! Great video. I just spent two weeks in Hardwick, VT, shadowing Andrew Meyer, who's the owner of Vermont Natural Coatings and Vermont Soy. VNC makes an awesome wood finish that has a super low VOC count. It's made from whey, a derivative of the cheesemaking process. So cool. Check'm out at www.vermontnaturalcoatings.com
Nice, but nearly impossible for most people to find. I tried to find Eco-Friendly paint, and found that I have to have it mailed to me. Not easy when picking colors. On top of that, they were extremely expensive and I am willing to pay a bit more for organic/eco-friendly things, but the cost of the paint I ran across was more than I even could pay.
In my opinion, people need to remember that if they aren't paying the cost, then someone else is. So buying VOC paint means that some company is employing people to stand in a factory and inhale/ingest/absorb those chemicals every single day. Presumably, a gallon of paint is a once-a-year or less purchase and is exactly the kind of purchase where it pays off to budget a little bit more to significantly reduce the indoor air quality in your home.
Can you get these low VOC paints in mold resistant for high humidity areas? Have there been any studies as to how well these hold up in comparison to traditional paints?
I like the anna sova food paint because it is zero VOC and smells like milkshakes when you are painting with it; fortunately that smell does fade after it dries, but very pleasant compared to the smell of chemicals! I have painted with traditional paints most of my life and I am SO happy to have made the switch. Although more expensive, I think the extra cost to improve my health, and the planet's for that matter, is very small in the big picture.
@EnAct in Madison: I agree with you; I also believe that inhaling those chemicals is very dangerous to their health and really your health when painting with it.