Decorating, Home Improvement

Eco-Friendly Painting Tips

IMG_0142Did you know that you can go green by doing something as simple as not washing your brushes and choosing a certain type of paint? Follow these professional tips to become more eco-friendly when you paint your home!

Use Low VOC Paint: VOCs, volatile organic compounds, can cause many environmental problems and health problems, including headaches and breathing problems. With the growing concern and interest in going green, many paint manufacturers now make low- or no- VOC paint. Compared to paints with VOCs, these paints improve indoor air quality and reduce the formation of urban smog.

Reuse: Paint thinner can often be used over and over again. If you don’t think you will use your paint thinner again, consider giving it to a furniture restorer or paint contractor. Also, if you have multiple cans with only a little paint left in each, you can mix similarly colored paints together and save this color for a new project. The “new” paint should be stored in a tightly sealed, upside down can (being upside down helps maintain the seal). Additionally, before properly disposing leftover paint, consider giving leftovers to a neighbor, charity, parks department or school.

Dispose: Whatever you do, do not pour paint down the drain! Before disposing paint, check with your township to see if you need to follow any special rules or regulations. Some townships collect used paint, so check with yours to see if there’s a paint collection. If you decide to dispose of paint yourself, it should always be converted to a solid before being disposed.

Work Smart Not only should you properly store and take care of your paint, but you should also do the same for your tools. If your project will take more than 1 day, do your best to not wash your brushes. Instead, you should tightly wrap them in a plastic bag (anything that has an airtight seal). By wrapping your brushes, not only will you not be washing paint down the drain, but you will also be saving water. As long as you keep your tools out of the sun, they should be good as new the next morning and could be used as-is for a few days (if you keep wrapping them and keep them out of the sun).

If you’re interested in more eco-friendly painting techniques, contact the professionals at CertaPro Painters of Mount Laurel.