Why You Should Paint With Eco-friendly Paints

Generally speaking, the summer months are the best time of year to repaint the house; not just because you have more free time, but because usually the conditions are ideal as well. If you are planning on doing some painting yourself in the next couple of months, it pays to adequately plan the project. One such consideration is the kind of paint you use. There are a number of different types of paint on the market and while they are usually all safe and not overly harmful to the environment, there are some that are preferable to others. Generally, we recommend using eco-friendly paints that ensure your own safety, helps to achieve a 6 star energy efficiency rating for home and the wellbeing of the environment.

Non-toxic

It’s no secret that traditional paint fumes can be dangerous to our health. When painting indoors for instance, it’s always important to consider ventilation as excessive exposure to paint fumes during and after painting can be quite damaging to the respiratory system. While the effects of this are not as harmful as they once were, mainly due to growing awareness of this on the part of paint manufacturers, there are still paint varieties on the market that contain benzene, naphthalene and other harmful chemicals. Eco-friendly, low VOC paints are often free of these chemicals and make for a low-toxic alternative.

Comparable in Quality

Until just recently, water-based eco friendly paints were seen to be of a lower quality than oil-based alternatives. Indeed, even 10 years ago low VOC paints were invariably rated lower almost across the board in terms of adhesiveness and overall longevity. Today that is not the case; there are a large number of paints on the market with considerably lower levels of VOC than the government-imposed maximum amount that perform very well in consumer reports and tests. In fact, there are claims that given the fact that they provide more coverage and less coats, eco-friendly paints are more efficient and cost effective too.

Water-based

One of the main advantages of using eco-friendly paints is the fact that they are water-based, rather than oil or late based. This means that the contents are biodegradable, meaning they are able to be broken down much more quickly. This is obviously preferable from an environmental perspective in the long run; if the ingredients break down more quickly, they can’t pollute the air, sea and/or earth, as many of the contents in other paint varieties can. This is ultimately one of the main reasons water-based paints are preferred by many consumers.

If you are planing on doing some home improvements this summer, consider using eco-friendly paints, as it falls within the range of sustainable building materials that can inspire an eco-friendly living. If you’re willing to pay a little extra for a quality brand, there really is no downside to going with a low VOC product. If you’re after more information, speak to painting contractors that Melbourne trusts - Joyce Painting is waiting to hear from you!