Rock the Coat

Umbra on eco-friendly paint 7

Dear Umbra,

I just bought a home that needs lots of TLC, and would like to do it in a way that is best for the environment and my health. Do you have any advice about the best choice of interior paint? Every room in the house desperately needs new paint, but I'd like to avoid inhaling all the toxic who-knows-what in your basic everyday latex paint.

Carrie Wadman
Phoenixville, Pa.

Dearest Carrie,

My advice is to go with yellow, always the best choice for interior and exterior.

Different strokes for different folks.

For your own health, the top repainting environmental priority should be avoiding lead dust. If your home was built (and painted) prior to 1978, there is a layer of lead paint lurking, and you will likely encounter it when prepping and scraping. Be careful. The EPA will send you as many pamphlets as you like on avoiding lead paint hazards, so take advantage and follow their instructions as best you can.

Paints contain a variety of recognized toxic materials, most notably the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that assist in rapid drying, but sometimes also fungicides, halomethanes, hexavalent chromium, heavy metals ... you know.

We're lucky in that less-toxic paints are now available for a variety of applications. The fumes are less nasty and the toxins are fewer. I can't vouch for their performance, as I am not a product reviewer, but I've heard good things from folks who've tried them.

There are a few ways to find less-toxic paint. One is to look for Green Seal-certified paints, or read up on Green Seal's standards for less-toxic paint, then hunt down the material safety data sheet for the paint you're using and cross-check it. You could look for a purveyor of less-toxic paints online or locally -- perhaps your eco-building supply store.

Dare I say that the city of Seattle has put out a variety of excellent pamphlets on green home remodeling, including one on painting that is beyond compare? (To be fair and balanced, I'll mention that it has been raining here daily since early December.) Ye lucky dry folks can download them as PDFs. The painting pamphlet will go over ways to find less-toxic paint, but also the many steps in prepping and applying the paint that will make the remodeling job a showcase of environmental responsibility. For example, be sure to buy the amount that you need, and never, never dump leftovers down the drain. And remember: yellow.

Lemony,
Umbra

 

Yours is to wonder why, hers is to answer (or try). Send your green-living questions to Umbra.

Umbra Fisk is Grist Research Associate II, Hardcover and Periodicals Unit, floors 2B-4B.

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  1. peekadog Posted 8:03 am
    01 Feb 2006

    "Green" PaintIn Portland, Oregon the city has a recycled/used paint program. http://topaz.metro-region.org/article.cfm?articleID=521

    You can purchase 5 gallon buckets of paint that are donated by contractors, home remodelers, etc. Admitedly, the color choices are not as extensive as you'll find at Home Depot, but it's a great way to use up paint that would otherwise be dumped. Perhaps other cities have similar programs.

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  2. flashgrl Posted 10:46 am
    01 Feb 2006

    Green PaintI just painted my bathroom with Benjamin Moore's low VOC Eco-Spec paint.  I have to say I was very impressed with the results.  The walls were already white so I didn't have to prime, but I only had to do one coat to get good coverage.  It's a bit more expensive than the non-eco friendly paints, but in my mind it's well worth it.  

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  3. mathemagician Posted 1:28 am
    02 Feb 2006

    Benjamin MooreI too recently repainted with BM's Ecospec paint.  I also think that it covered just as well as their Regal line.  As for cost, BM has always been more expensive than other paints you'd find at home depot, but the Ecospec was a few dollars cheaper than the Regal at the store I went to in northern Virginia.  If I have to paint again, Ecospec will be at the top of my list.

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  4. oryahk Posted 5:32 am
    07 Feb 2006

    Milk PaintDon't forget milk paint -- http://www.milkpaint.com.
    I haven't seen an entire wall painted with it, but the samples I've seen are very nice indeed!

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  5. thirt7s3ven Posted 3:50 am
    18 Feb 2006

    Why yellow?

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  6. boa Posted 11:59 pm
    08 Mar 2006

    responseThe odors of paint sure is disturbing. I never have to ensure with them since the paint I usually got from the store is odorless. I'm not sure if it's termed under eco-friendly paint. But I think it should. Nice tips on though.

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  7. mbp1111 Posted 2:09 pm
    06 Sep 2007

    Green Seal LinkHere is a working link for Green Seal's list of certified paints.
    http://www.greenseal.org/findaproduct/index.cfm#paints

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