The Healthy “Painted” Home – Can Painting Really Help?

Bet you never expected to see a painter talking about creating a healthy home.  Well …. ProTect Painters is certainly not your typical painter.  We focus on quality and results.  The connection between paint and your health is far greater than we imagined.  We hope this article will encourage you to learn more and take precautions to help safeguard your family.

Indoor Air Pollution – Reduction or Elimination

The idea of the sick building syndrome is not new.  Most of the press is centered on public work spaces but the issue is no less problematic in a home.  In fact, our Florida climate may be one of the worst environments for creating a ripe breeding ground for sick elements.

Indoor air pollution is created by a long list of items including building materials, furniture, household chemicals, pets and virtually everything you bring into the home.  Under normal circumstances, these products give off the most contaminants when newly introduced.  That new carpet smell (like the new car smell) is one you may have experienced. Not all contaminants smell.  Many have no smell or are masked by other chemicals which produce more contaminants.  (i.e. A product labeled as unscented likely contains more chemicals than its scented partner.)  

Total elimination of indoor contaminants is not a viable option. In most cases, simply opening the doors or windows, letting in some fresh air, will help reduce the amount of contaminants in an indoor space.  Limiting or reducing the introduction of new contaminants is also a good way to reduce your exposure.

 VOCs – Why Worry?

 “Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects”  “All of these products can release organic compounds while you are using them, and, to some degree, when they are stored.”  

“Eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches, loss of coordination, nausea; damage to liver, kidney, and central nervous system. Some organics can cause cancer in animals; some are suspected or known to cause cancer in humans. Key signs or symptoms associated with exposure to VOCs include conjunctival irritation, nose and throat discomfort, headache, allergic skin reaction, dyspnea, declines in serum cholinesterase levels, nausea, emesis, epistaxis, fatigue, dizziness.”

(Source: EPA web site; http://www.epa.gov/iaq/voc.html )

Low/No VOC Paints and Lead Containment

Low Voc Paints

Most materials continue to give off small amounts of VOCs for extended periods.  Reducing the VOC content of paint introduced into or applied to your home can help reduce the cumulative build up and off gassing of VOCs. Use low or no VOC paints on all interior projects and low or reduced VOC products on the exterior.

Caution: The term Low VOC is akin to the word natural.  The definition is not well regulated.  Check the US Green Building Council LEED standards (http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=222&gclid=CLCEuJ-dmagCFQwZ2godWgizBg) or those developed by the Florida Green Building Coalition ( http://floridagreenbuilding.org/) for the levels of VOC s which are acceptable.

Lead Dust

For homes built prior to 1978, you may also have another issue – lead paint!  Lead is a deadly substance.  Lead dust created by chipping or deteriorating paint is ingested and absorbed into our bodies.  Lead causes a wide range of health effects, from behavioral problems and learning disabilities, to seizures and death. Children six years old are particularly at risk.

It is extremely difficult to remove lead from a home.  However, when properly coated with appropriate paint, lead can be contained.  You will need the resources of an EPA Lead-Safe Painting Contractor to evaluate your home and complete the project.   For a list of certified firms in your area, visit http://cfpub.epa.gov/flpp/searchrrp_firm.htm.

The Exterior of Your Home May Be Killing You!

The sub-title here is a bit extreme but the message is true.  Water intrusion, heat, and lack of proper interior dehumidification are combination for disaster.  Thousands or Central Florida homeowners are at risk.  We see tons of homes with failing exterior paint, cracking stucco, worn out or missing caulk around windows, leaky roofs and obsolete A/C systems. How many homes are at risk?  We don’t know.  However, our guess is 70-80% of the homes have more than one of these issues.

Maintaining the exterior skin on your home is critical.  Water intrusion through the exterior causes interior components to give off higher levels of VOCs and provides a breeding ground for other organisms which feed and grow on these organic materials (our most common nemesis is mold).  Keeping a good airflow and maintaining interior humidity levels below 55% can help.  But, you have to fix the source of the water intrusion.

Your house is designed to breath.  Fresh air comes in, goes through conditioning and then evaporating moisture goes out through the walls.  The exterior walls must provide a block for rain (particularly our wind driven storms).  If not, the pores in your home effectively get clogged and you have a recipe for toxic stew.  

Water gets trapped inside the walls, gets absorbed into building materials like block, drywall, framing and even interior paint.  Add exterior heat applied by our hot sun and Voila!  Those dormant VOCs wake up, start off gassing in higher levels and the critters that feed on this stuff (like mold) expand at alarming rates and cause even more damage to you and your home.  Since the moisture is now trapped inside your home, the VOC’s off gas in your space.  (Keep in mind they don’t all smell.  You can have this issue without smelling anything.)  Note: If you do have the smelly stuff, adding air fresheners will make it worse.  You are likely just adding more VOCs to your home. (see the unscented comment earlier) More food for the VOC feeders! 

Lead paints tend to repel moisture (that’s one reason why we used the stuff back in the day).  This also means extended moisture behind lead paint will result in adhesion issues and peeling.  Peeling lead paint creates dangerous levels of dust.  Picture the amount of power in a Sweet & Low packet.  Now spread this out over your entire house.  Can’t really see it now?  This much lead dust is enough to cause severe health concerns. 

Steps You Need to Take

We can’t solve all your problems, but you can take steps to reduce ongoing exposure to VOCs and improve your health.  Here are a few suggestions:

1. If your home is at a critical level, consider hiring an indoor air pollution consultant.  Not a mold test company.  I can almost guarantee there is mold in your home.  Hire a firm that has the right certifications and test equipment.  They need to able to test for many contaminants, have green building certification credentials and be able to provide thermal imaging of your home.  Expect to pay at least $600 and up for these reviews.  These are house doctors not actors.
2. If you have an A/C or a leaky roof issue, get an estimate and get it fixed. We can paint your home and help some.  However, professional painting is only part of the solution.  These other relatively expensive items have to be addressed.  
3. Painting your home is a lot more complex than the color you see.  Hire a professional painting contractor to do the work.  DIY is ok, but the majority of homeowners don’t do the preparation and sealing work correctly.  Don’t create bigger issues trying to save a few dollars. 
4. Make sure the painting contractor you select has knowledge and expertise in these topics.  The vast majority do not have a clue.  Worse yet, they don’t care. This is not acceptable.  Anyone with a paint brush can call themselves a painter.   That does not make them a qualified professional.
5. If your home was built before 1978, hire only EPA Lead Safety Certified contractors regardless of the renovation project (i.e even the replacement of carpet in a home with lead paint is an issue.)
6. Use only certifiable low or no VOC paint products on your home.  These are high quality paints from manufacturers (like Sherwin & PPG) that provide detailed chemical analysis on their products. 
7. Never seal the outside of your home with high build elastomeric coatings.  The newer ones are a bit better than prior versions.  However, these products don’t breath well and trap more moisture inside your home.  Use only high quality latex coatings.

 Summary & Closing Comments

We are not doctors or health consultants.  We don’t have a magic pill to make this issue go away.  We do have a prescription for improvement.  You owe it to yourself and your family to maintain and improve the quality of life in your home. 

Maintaining the skin on your home, working to reduce the introduction of VOCs into the environment and avoiding the conditions that cause additional deterioration are controllable events.  It’s your choice. 

ProTect Painters of Oviedo ~ Winter Springs is not just your typical painter.  We can help you make informed decisions about the health of your home.  Give me a call at 407-542-6031. Ask my client service center to set aside a time to discuss your home’s condition.  We’re still on our quest to learn more about these issues, but promise to share what we know.