Painting Today

I've been taking on quite a few new little projects at home since I've had some extra time on my hands. It's crazy what you can do with some paint, time and elbow grease.  Paint fumes are a nasty thing. Latex took over oil decades ago (stay away from it and alkyd paints aka more chemicals) and now paint fumes are on their way out as well...


Ok so the nasty thing in most paints (the stinky fumes) are called VOCs (Volatile Organic Compound). They not only have an effect on the environment, they also have an effect on human health and are emitted from painted surfaces years after the paint has been applied! We've been breathing them in most of our lives, but now more than ever we're spending more time in our homes and less time outdoors (statistically as a country). I actually found this quote on Environment Canada's website:


"Respiratory, allergic, or immune effects in infants or children are associated with man-made VOCs and other indoor or outdoor air pollutants"


K so here is what I found out in the past week when I was going to do some painting around the house...


I find that the people at my local Home Depot, Rona and Benjamin Moore have indispensable amounts of information. In the past researching online what type of paint to use on what and where has just left me frustrated and confused. I don't use the internet for painting much anymore since I've realized how much these people know about paint. They also know about VOC's and there is 1 important fact you need to know:


Paint and Colourant (the tint) are TWO SEPARATE THINGS


If you put VOC colourant in zero VOC paint then you pretty much nullify your effort. Frustrating. Another rule of thumb is the darker the colour the more VOC's... Rona carries a line of zero VOC paints but their colourant still contains VOCs. I was only getting an off white and painting a small space so I made the executive decision to go with it. Here are a few companies to use:


Farrow & Ball: A UK based company, they only have one store in Canada and it's in Toronto so if you live in the GTA then go to these guys. They carry a high-quality clay-based line, free of VOCs, biocides, fungicides and ammonia.
Eco-House: A New Brunswick company that tapped into the German concept of using liquid quartz minerals as a base for its paint.
Benjamin Moore: Carries a line of low and zero VOC paint AND colourant.
Colour your Home & General Paint: Both carry lines of zero VOC paint.


Some of these brands are more expensive paint (and better quality) than your local hardware store but we're talking a $15-$20 difference per gallon and a gallon goes a long way. If you are painting a new house or doing major reno's is an extra $50-$100 going to be the determining factor in the air you breathe for years to come?




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