Breathing Easy: How Low VOC Paint Protects The Health of Main Line Residents

When painting your walls, you’re making a choice about how you want to feel in your house and the style you want you and your family to enjoy. With that in mind, Nolan Painting wants to give you the choices you need to look out for your family’s health when choosing paint for your house. That’s why we take pride in offering our customers low VOC paints to keep your home both safe and beautiful.

What Are VOC’s?

VOC stands for “volatile organic compound.” This is any liquid (other than water) in the paint’s composition that evaporates after it is used. Traditional oil- and alkyd-based paints are made with a thinner that allows for a smooth application. After being painted onto your walls or trim, the thinner evaporates, leaving a silky, even finish.

As medical research and technology have advanced, we’ve become more aware of the health hazards of the VOCs found in traditional interior paints. Paint manufacturers have, in response, developed new technologies to keep the great look of traditional paints without dangerous VOCs.

How Do VOC’s Impact Your Family’s Health?

VOCs are known carcinogens, meaning they cause cancer. Long-term exposure to VOCs can also cause liver damage, kidney damage, and central nervous system damage.[1. “Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in Your Home.” http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/indoorair/voc/] Despite the serious known health risks of VOCs, they are still used in many paints. In fact, if you don’t specifically choose a low VOC or VOC-free paint from your painting contractor, the cream-colored satin finish you pick out for your living room or your children’s bedrooms can, in all likelihood, contain a thin layer of cancer-causing particles that will evaporate over the next several weeks into the air you breathe.

This is especially true during the winter season. Windows are closed, and the only time fresh air comes in is when you quickly open and close the door. Most homes have very little airflow between the indoors and outdoors in the winter, making your indoor air quality even more important then than during the warmer months – and around the Main Line, we know how long winters can last. It’s even more important here to make a safe paint choice.

How Can I Make a Safe Paint Choice?

There are paints available now that let you redesign your home without compromising your health. Manufacturers like Sherwin-Williams have adjusted their paint formula, and professional painting companies now offer choices of paints with lower VOC levels (and even some VOC-free paints) that only emit water vapor after they’re applied.

Although even low VOC options like latex or water-based paints do contain small amounts of VOCs, it’s only a very minimal amount – not enough to affect your health. Although these paints can often be trickier to apply than traditional paints, Nolan takes pride in our ability to work with them to offer families both a safe choice and a clean, professional application.

Nolan’s Low VOC Products

Nolan is proud to partner with Sherwin-Williams to offer their lower VOC paint choices for any project. Some of their residential choices include the Harmony line, one of Sherwin-Williams’ earlier low VOC formulations, as well as the Emerald line, a high performance paint for both residential and commercial applications. ProMar 200 is also a great VOC-free choice for commercial paint jobs.

If you’re looking to redecorate your home this season, do it with confidence and a low VOC paint from Nolan. We’ve protected both surfaces and customer relationships since 1979. To schedule a consultation about our line of products and colors, or to plan your interior redesign, feel free to contact us today.