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Using Eco-Friendly Practices When House Painting in Danville


Using Eco-Friendly Practices When House Painting in Danville

House painting in Danville does more than only make our homes beautiful. It can also be friendly to our health and that of the environment. This is especially true if you practice environmentally safe methods and use eco-friendly products.

1. Dispose of the unused and excess paints properly
If you have excess paint and you know you’re not going to use it, be sure to follow proper and safe disposal methods. Do not pour paints, solvents, or thinners directly down the drain. Store them in a jar and close them tightly. Or if you can’t recycle the paint, pour it in a pet litter box or paper scraps, and then let it dry before throwing it away. Do this only with latex paints.

Oil-based paints may contain substances (heavy metals like lead, cadmium and mercury) that are harmful to health and the environment. Therefore, they are considered as toxic or hazardous waste. Take the unused oil-based paints and solvents to the hazardous waste facility.

2. Donate unused paint products
For instance, paint thinner or stripper can be used for several years. If you do not see any future use for it, donate it to someone else who needs it, to furniture refinishing shops, or even a painting contractor.

3. Do your best to minimize waste
If you still have paint left after you have finished a painting project, use them in another way. Try mixing paint colors to achieve a new hue. Then try using the paint furniture that needs some sort of refurbishing, a nook in your bedroom, a cabinet, or a shelf.

4. Check your house for lead
If your house was built before 1978, you’ll want to be sure to check it for possible lead-based paint. If your house does have lead paint, don’t try to scrape it off and dispose of the scraped paint by yourself as it can be a potential hazard to your health as well as to the environment. The best way remove lead paint is to call a professional to handle this job — they know where and how to discard of lead paint properly.

5. Use eco-friendly paint and paint products
Thanks to technological advancements and growing environmental concerns, manufacturers are coming up with more “green” paints, stains, and other related products. “Green” paint doesn’t mean green-colored paint, but paint that is friendly to the environment and also safe for everyone. Here are some typical “green paints” that you could use:

  • Paints with no VOC content – many traditional paints have VOC or volatile organic compounds, a substance that readily evaporates even at room temperature. When these VOC-laden paints emit chemical gases, they cause a variety of health problems such as dizziness, nausea, irritation in the eyes, and long-term illnesses like respiratory, heart and kidney diseases, even cancer. VOC may also trigger some allergic reactions like asthma. Not to mention that they also contribute to air pollution.

    Generally, oil-based paints, primers, stains, thinners, strippers, and solvents carry higher levels of VOC than water-based paints and other related products (up to 60%).

    There are paints that are said to have low VOC content. However, they still give off that dizzying, unpleasant odor, and are even potentially a health and environmental risk. Therefore, it is best to use paints that are 100% VOC-free.

  • Paints that use organic products – use paints, primers, stains, etc. that use organic ingredients such as milk, plant resins, citrus, collagen, and some minerals. They are branded as safe to use even around children and pets. Although citrus-based paints may give off a fragrant scent, they can otherwise bring only a minor irritation to the nose.

When you follow these eco-friendly practices as you do house painting in Danville, it demonstrates that you are a responsible individual. Even in just small ways while making your house beautiful, you know you’re contributing something good to the environment in the process.

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