Interior Paints for Your Surrey Home, Part 1:VOCs, Types

If you are considering hiring painters in Surrey, BC to paint your home’s interior, there are many things to consider when choosing paint: VOC (volatile organic compound) levels, colour, paint type, and sheen. The following is a paint primer to inform you about some of the more important aspects of choosing interior paint.

VOCs (Volatile Organic Compound)

VOCs are chemical compounds in paints, stains and other household products that vaporize easily, enter the atmosphere and add to the “bad ozone”. According to Wikipedia “VOCs are numerous, varied, and ubiquitous. They include both human-made and naturally occurring chemical compounds. Most scents or odors are of VOCs.”

The top sources of man-made VOCs are on-road cars and trucks (23%) followed closely by solvents used in paints, stains and thinners (21%). In household paint (and other paints) VOCs are added to control the paint’s viscosity, spreadability, and to reduce drying times.

While man-made (anthropogenic) VOCs are bad for the environment, they may also be bad for humans and pets. Short-term exposure can cause headaches, eye, nose and throat irritation, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and an increase in asthma symptoms. Short term effects can be improved by using low VOC products, and ensuring proper ventilation when painting your Surrey home’s interior.

The long-term effects of household VOCs are largely unknown, but even after VOC-containing products dry (such as household paints and stains) painted surfaces can “off-gas”, continuing to releasing VOCs. Some consider VOCs a suspected contributor of “sick building syndrome” where occupants in air tight buildings are exposed to off-gassing VOCs. Source: Volatile Organic Compounds’ Impact on Indoor Air Quality (EPA).

When hiring Surrey painting services, make sure you ask if they use or can purchase low VOC interior paint. Blue Chip Painting uses low VOC paints and can help you source household paints with the lowest VOC levels available.

To learn more about VOCs, read Part 5 of Go3Project.com Free Air Pollution Curriculum (PDF).

Canada’s VOC regulations and exterior or interior paint

Prior to Canada’s introduction of regulations on VOC content in architectural coatings, which came into effect September 9, 2010, there were no rules to limit the amount of VOCs a household painting product could contain. The VOC regulations effectively reduced VOC content by approximately 50% on existing paint products and new paint products must adhere to the strict new limits. Because of environmental and health concerns and Canada’s new regulations, many exterior and interior paint manufactures lowered VOC levels and now offer “low VOC” or “near zero VOC” exterior and interior house paints and stains.

Acrylic vs. latex interior paint

In Canada, virtually all interior paint is water-based and often labelled “acrylic” or “latex”. The term “latex” is a misnomer. Water-based paints all use the term latex, though they contain no latex rubber. It’s the acrylic resins or vinyl in “latex” paint that give them their thickness and durability. Because they are water-based, they clean up with water, unlike their enamel counterparts which require turpentine, thinners or solvent for clean up. Enamel paints are oil-based, and today are usually used for exterior work where durability is of higher concern, especially on window and door trim.

Read part 2 of this article, where we discuss paint sheen and what level of sheen to choose for different areas of your home.