We think the only thing better than a velvety new paint job is the scent of recently-dried paint, but we understand that most people don’t equate solvent fumes with the scent of rose petals. Those vapors do more than just mar your sensory experience. They cause headaches, dizziness, and nausea, and that has a way of interfering with your employees’ productivity levels. No business can afford to lose valuable workdays, so we’ve scratched thinners, spirits, and turpentine right off our list. All of our paints are low-VOC products that will leave your building’s atmosphere as fresh as your paint job.
What’s Behind the Scent?
Most wall paints contain thinners intended to improve the texture of your coating. Mineral spirits can irritate the eyes, lungs, and skin. When your room has just dried, their fumes can be so overwhelming that they can have central nervous system effects like coordination loss and numbness. Paint thinners are often used as an alternative, but they contain hydrocarbons that leave you feeling as though you’ve swallowed a campfire. Add shortness of breath, blue extremities, and vomiting, and you’ll soon see your sick-day list grow to epic proportions. You deserve to enjoy the aesthetics of your freshly-painted walls without enough symptoms to fill a hospital ward, and that’s easy enough to achieve. Low-VOC paint reduces allergens and contaminants, leaving a barely-there scent, but that’s not the end of its superpowers.
The Benefits of Low-VOC Paint
Mother Earth will thank you for using low-VOC paints. They do less damage to the environment than traditional products, reducing contaminants in groundwater, landfills, and the ozone layer. That has a knock-on effect of improving your office’s air quality. Without volatile compounds, your paint dries quickly, resists yellowing, and is easier to clean. All you need is a damp cloth and a little elbow grease.
No-VOC paints are typically water-based and made from essential oils, natural drying agents, and plant dyes. Some contain man-made solvents, while others are plant or mineral-based. Resins add stability and strength. If your paint has won the Green Seal Standard, it contains less than 50 grams of volatile compounds per liter—a minuscule number that will keep you breathing easy. No-VOC paint is another nontoxic alternative. Both eco-friendly options are available in a huge variety of colors, so you won’t need to compromise your aesthetic standards.The vast majority contain no heavy metals, so they add an extra layer of safety to your building.
Why Paint Contains Solvents
If solvents are the nemeses of the paint universe, why do manufacturers use them at all? They do have their role to play. When pigments and binders mix, they become sticky and tough to spread. They need a third chemical to dissolve the contents into a paintable consistency, and that’s where solvents come in. There is one solvent that gets the job done without harm: water. It dissolves pigments without destroying your air quality.
Paint also needs a drying compound, though, and lead does the job exceptionally well. It’s been banned from U.S. homes, so other siccatives have needed to take its place. Iron, cobalt, and manganese are fair alternatives, but their health impacts are almost as severe as lead’s. Low-VOC paint substitutes these metals with benign substances like chalk.
Our low-VOC paint won’t cause eye irritation, throat discomfort, or nausea. Your building will smell fresh from the moment the paint dries to the day you order another fresh coat. Our products go on smooth and provide all the velvety goodness you could hope for.
