Eco Friendly Paint Alternative Ideas
Painting is a simple and cost-effective way to create a fresh new look for a building. If you are concerned with filling your home or office with petroleum-based paint chemicals, which can be potentially hazardous to your health and the environment, you can select eco-friendly paints as an alternative. There are many eco-friendly options on the market to choose from. As there are no legal guidelines regarding eco-friendliness labels, it's important to be informed on the issue and to choose your paint products carefully. Does this Spark an idea?
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Linseed Oil-Based Paints
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Paints can be produced with a linseed oil base, which comes from the flax plant. This type of paint can be used for interiors as well as exteriors. According to the website Eco Friendly Ideas, linseed oil-based paint can outlast regular paints by up to one third of their lifetime. However, over time, the pigments in linseed oil-based paint will fade, requiring a fresh coat.
Clay-Based Paint
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According to the website Green Living Ideas, clay-based paints, which are used only indoors, are one of the most commonly used natural paint alternatives. This paint is mostly water-based and naturally anti-fungal and anti-static. It is ideal for creating earthy looks and comes in matte and textured finishes. You'll need to apply two coats, just as with regular petroleum-based paint. Color choices are limited to earth tones and blue, white, and orange pigments. Clay-based paint is more expensive than conventional paint, and cannot be washed, requiring touch-up paint to dirtied or damaged areas.
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Milk-Based Paint
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According to Eco Friendly Ideas, paints made from milk protein, or casein, and lime are an "old-fashioned" eco-friendly alternative. These paint products are purchased in powder form, requiring you to mix them. Lime may irritate the skin and eyes, and milk-based paints will flake in environments with a high moisture level. Milk-based paint is water-based and can be used for exterior and interior painting. The final effect is a matte, soft and chalky, and many coats are required in order to create an opaque look.
Low-VOC Paints
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VOCs, or volatile organic compounds, are commonly found in house paints. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, these chemicals "may have short- and long-term adverse health effects." Low-VOC paints are supposed to give off little or no VOCs by substituting the conventional petroleum-based oil ingredients with a water base. In order to be labeled as "Low-VOC," a liter of paint must contain 200 g of VOCs or less, a standard set by the EPA. Paints with a Green Seal contain less than 50 g of VOC per liter. There are also "zero-VOC" paints, which contain less than 5 g of VOC.
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