Healthy Paints, Low VOC and Non Toxic Paints: Here’s What’s Safe and What’s Not!

On average, we are exposed to 129 different chemicals each and every day. While “chemicals” aren’t always bad per se, there are a fair number of unhealthy and toxic chemicals found throughout our homes. 

Cleaning products, personal care products and even paint can all contain harmful chemicals that can be detrimental to our health. 

When choosing paint for your home’s interior or exterior, I would highly recommend looking into the type of paint you use. There are healthy paint options, like non toxic paint and low / non VOC paint, that are much safer for you and your family.

Let’s look at a few examples of paints that are healthier and safer for use in and out of the home!

Low and Non VOC Paints

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are often types of human-made chemicals. These chemicals are commonly found in household cleaning products, industrial solvents, varnishes, hydraulic fluids and, of course, paints.

VOCs in low concentrations and in open areas can be safe, especially when proper safety precautions (like wearing masks and gloves) are taken. However, VOC concentration increases significantly indoors often by up to ten times, especially where there is less air circulation. This makes using products with VOCs indoors (like interior paint colors, for example) unhealthy and potentially dangerous for your health.

VOCs have been directly linked to a number of health effects. This effects can include:

• Ear, nose and throat irritation/itchiness
• Nausea 
• Balance issues
• Headaches
• Allergic reactions (usually skin reactions)
• Damage to organ systems (often kidney and liver)

Exposure to VOCs has even been linked to certain types of cancer.

Thankfully, low VOC and non VOC paints do exist! 

These types of paints can improve your indoor air quality, reduce your exposure to these chemicals and they look just as vibrant and beautiful as standard paints!

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Deciding on paint type and brand is just as important as colors.

Let color expert Amy Wax help you out with her online paint consultation services.

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Non Toxic Paints

VOCs aren’t the only potentially harmful compounds and chemicals in many paint types. (Although VOCs do encompass many of the dangerous compounds in paint including ethylene glycol, tetrachloroethylene and formaldehyde). Let’s break down all this information.

Other toxic chemicals to avoid in your paints are:

APEs & NPEs. Alkylphenol Ethoxylates (better known as APEs) and NPEs (nonylphenol ethoxylates) are used in a number of different paint types. These chemicals work to increase the surface tension of the liquid paint to the solid paint as it dries. What does that really mean? Essentially, they work to help the paint stick to the wall as it dries. 

However helpful these are for drying paint, they have been linked to health effects including hormone disruption, birth defects, reproductive system issues and skin, eye, nose and throat irritation. Honestly, this is scary stuff!

Look for APE or NPE free paints to avoid these chemicals. 

Antimicrobials. Many paint types add in antimicrobial chemicals in order to lengthen the shelf life of the paint. 

Excessive exposure or use of antimicrobial agents can have a significant effect on human health, changing our gut microbiome and our hormone signalling. Sounds scary, right?

They can even put you at a higher risk of infection and can promote the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

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You know that you want non toxic paints. Now for the fun part: color!

Learn more about the importance of color on interior design here.

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Low Odor Paints

We all know the intense smell of fresh paint. Oftentimes, this odor is caused by VOCs, APEs and NPEs that are found within the paint. So, it follows that low odor paints are often ones that are low in or have no VOCs, APEs and NPEs.

Choosing healthy paints is important for all of us. It matters to the person applying the paint as well as anyone living in the space that will be painted. Knowing this information is important for everyone. It’s a win-win!

Need More Paint Advice?

Working with healthier paint options works to make a cleaner and safer home environment for you and your family. As a paint color expert, I’ve worked with many different paint brands, low voc paints, non toxic paints and more. 

So, if you want more paint advice or information about non toxic and non VOC paints, don’t hesitate to reach out! My online paint color consultant service means we can collaborate completely digitally.

Contact me here to get started!