What are “Green Paints”?

Green Painters Brooklyn Manhattan Middletown

Green paints and products are all the buzz today. Green also called low or no- voc paint is becoming more and more popular, as more of our customers are asking for them. Right now there are several choices for the home owner, and commercial property managers to choose from at all different price points and performance levels . All major paint manufactures are making greener paints. In fact by law, all paints made today are lower in voc than the paints made years ago.

However, not all of these products are the same. They will vary according to how much odor is released, their carbon footprint, and the materials used Green, Greener and Greenest, if you will. Some of these paints will be rated at a certain level before the tints or pigments are added, then once they are added to the base, that will change their “green rating”.

So what makes a paint green and how is that measured? One major aspect on the consumer’s end is measured in the amount of off-gassing a paint releases as its drying called Volatile Organic Compounds, V.O.C. and that is measured in grams per liter, the number most sought after is under 50 g/l for a typical gallon of flat paint. This off-gassing can last a long time after the paint is applied and can significantly contribute to indoor air pollution. Indoor air pollution is cited as a problem by the EPA. They found indoor air quality could be 2-5 times as worse as the air outside.

These Low-VOC paints are now offered in a high performance type of paint that will in many cases outperform the old formulations of the high VOC water based paints of yesterday.

Then there are zero-V.O.C. paints. While these products are getting better each year, many of them do not have the durability and toughness of the slightly higher Low-V.O.C paints, but do offer the benefits of a “greener” paint.

This is a quickly changing area of the market, and newer paints are being introduced with better qualities and lower toxicity all the time. As this area of the paint industry quickly evolves we are looking for ways to learn and experience more about it. We are always looking for feedback from you as to your preferences and how you rate the products we use in your home or business and that you live with everyday.

Please join our Facebook page for a discussion of how you would rate any Green paint products. Even if you have not used them or have any questions about them we would love to hear your thoughts!