Painting a room sounds like the most mundane thing you can do. It’s one of those things that you see people content with spending the weekend at home with their families do. By no means are we saying that spending time with your family is a bad thing, on the contrary? However, you can agree that when it comes to dangerous activities or “living life on the edge,” painting your house doesn’t make the top. It should, however. If you’re surprised by that, it’s ok; there are plenty more that don’t know about the risks involved with using household paint or about the much safer low VOC alternative.
What is VOC?
VOC stands for volatile organic compounds, and it’s what you can find in the regular household paint. If you’re not familiar with what these are, you can be sure that it’s not good for you. In fact, there are over 300 toxic substances used in the fabrication of regular paint, half of which are linked to cancer and other terrible diseases. On top of those 300, there are the rest of the 10.000 chemicals which can be found in a bucket of paint.
The benefits of using low VOC paint
While most are unaware, these volatile organic compounds linger and disperse into the atmosphere inside your house for a very long time. In fact, after a year of painting a room, you can expect only half of the total number of VOCs to have left the paint on the wall. They are a critical cause of air pollution through the creation of ozone when they come in contact with other chemicals and can be deadly.
By using low VOC paint, you are ensuring that you aren’t exposing yourself and your family to incredibly toxic substances which may very well kill you. Sure, death by paint might not be the most popular subject you’ve heard of on the news, but make no mistake in believing that these chemicals aren’t affecting your health.
Allergies can also be triggered or even developed due to being exposed to these dangerous chemicals, and using low VOC paint will help you avoid triggering your allergies or developing new ones. Keep in mind that children have weaker immune systems as well so they are even more so in danger.
Overall, using low VOC paint brings you the benefit of being less exposed to toxic and dangerous chemicals. The next time you prepare to paint your home, remember that using the wrong kind of paint will expose you and your loved ones to toxins known to promote cancer. Also given the fact that you can find low or even zero VOC paints at approximately the same price, there’s no downside in the investment and ensure that you live in a less toxic environment. Before setting on a bucket of paint, make sure to do some more research.
Dan from Calgary Painters was kind enough to help us with the facts.
