The era of toxic painting is over!

This news was hard for me to believe at first. For two decades I watched the painting industry move from hazardous oils to less harmful (but still toxic) latex. During this time I was exploring natural alternatives such as clay, milk, lime, flour and linseed oil. But today we are witnessing the birth of high tech, high-performance, ZERO TOXIC paints, stains and finishes. And guess what? They work!

Green products are revolutionizing the industry

No longer are eco products limited to interior, low-traffic applications. There are now nontoxic paints for interior AND exterior surfaces. These products are durable and waterproof, including sealers for: decks, shingles, concrete patios, brick, stone, tile, stucco, driveways, walkways and landscape borders. There are epoxies, urethanes and non-skid coatings for docks and pool areas. You can even coat the concrete lining of the pool itself.

Ecos Paints, an earth-friendly paint manufacturer in the UK, has developed a paint containing particles of nickel, which block and reflect microwave, X-ray and computer emissions. This is great news for people who work in hospitals and busy offices. The most exciting news in the painting industry is the recent development of solar paint. It's not on the market yet, but the next time you paint your house, you may be saving on your electric bill!

It may surprise you to hear that the Environmental Protection Agency has listed indoor air quality as one of the top 5 hazards to human health. In fact, indoor air quality is rated as 3 times worse than the quality of the air outside. Why? One of the main reasons is… paint. Paints and other coatings such as stain, varnish, lacquer and urethane, continue to release low levels of toxic gas for years after application. You would think that once the smell is gone, the toxic gas is gone. Not so. Although the worst emissions occur during the initial application of the products, the gasses continue to discharge from the surfaces over a period of years before finally becoming inert. Of course, by that time, you may need another coat of paint!

Why do toxic chemicals have to be in the paint? They don’t. Hundreds of years ago (and as recently as the early1900’s) people used natural materials such as clay, lime, chalk, milk curds, bees wax, plant oils and even ox blood to coat wood, plaster, brick and cement. (It is interesting to note that the longest lasting paint known to man is ox blood. There is a famous door in Denmark that was painted with ox blood in 1692 and has not been repainted since. It remains in good condition today. That's a 300 year old paint job! )

So what happened in the 1900’s? The industrial revolution. With the invention of the automobile came a sudden boom in petroleum production. In the process of refining oil, we discovered a variety of “by-products” such as vaseline, epoxy, rubber cement, trash bags, linoleum, balloons, nylon rope, combs, shag rugs, insect repellent... and the list goes on. We also discovered that some of these by-products made durable paints; “conventional” paint. But that was then. Now, virtually 100 years after the birth of the industrial revolution, we’re seeing the birth of the green revolution, where high technology meets sustainability. Smart!