The Knowledge Behind Eco-Friendly Paints

Although it seems to make sense to me now, I have to admit using Eco-Friendly Paints was something I just never really thought about doing. And for those not in the know, or at least who haven’t been educated of what danger lay in using non-organic paints, they seem to be in the same boat I was many years ago.

My blogging, well this blog and others, is about educating consumers without burying them in details, and giving them the information about the choices out there, and yes, letting them make the decision of what works best for them – without beating them with a paint-roller.

Formaldehyde: what an ugly word, and hard to spell too!

In the simplest terms I can write, formaldehyde is a flammable, poisonous, colorless gas that can be used as a preservative, embalming agent, and disinfectant. Yes, I said ‘embalming,’ you know the agent they use to preserve dead animals and people at funeral homes. It is also, and this gets off the topic slightly, used in tobacco, and when mixed with urea it becomes a carcinogen – an agent that can cause cancer.

The reason I mention this is that in the 1970’s homeowners used urea-formaldehyde foam insulation (UFFI) in their home’s wall cavities to help conserve energy. As soon as the installation occurred, most of these homes immediately indicated high concentrations of formaldehyde. The good news, if it didn’t make you sick, was that many years later the levels of these emissions declined with that time. However, many home owners became ill, the damage done.

As far back as 1985, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provided limited formaldehyde emissions limits in the plywood and particleboard used during the manufacturing of prefabricated mobile homes. So, what happened with the trailers used for the Hurricane Katrina survivors? Not sure, a topic for another blog maybe?

The point here is that formaldehyde causes lung problems, exacerbates asthma, and the more you are exposed to this compound the more likely you to get cancer.

So, now that I blogged that, here’s what you can do.

Ask about formaldehyde content, increase ventilation when bringing this agent into your home, maintain moderate temperatures and humidity, and some studies suggest that if you coat pressed wood products with polyurethane because it might reduce formaldehyde emissions for a period of time. But, most importantly, use eco-friendly paints in your home.

I know that was the short of it, but if you want to know more about formaldehyde you can go here.

It’s important knowledge to have!