Paint Choices for Environmentally Friendly Homes

• High-performance, low-impact paints can spruce up your environmentally friendly home.Yagi Studio/Digital Vision/Getty Images
  
  Conventional paints contain toxin-releasing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that affect indoor air quality, health and the environment. Environmental regulations and the popularity of "green" living, however, led to the development of eco-friendly paints. Eco-paints are less harmful than their non-green counterparts, and they are an important element of any green home.
  
  

Natural Paints

• Natural paint is the safest and most environmentally friendly paint.happy family image by Marzanna Syncerz from Fotolia.com
  
  Natural paints are the safest paints on the market, and they are also among the most expensive and most difficult to find. Instead of containing petroleum-derived products, natural paint contains pigments, binders and fillers made from only natural ingredients such as water, soy, plant dyes, milk, clay and chalk. This type of paint is an ideal choice for an environmentally friendly home because it does not alter indoor air quality or pollute the ozone.
  
  

Zero-VOC Paint

• Pigment can be added to Zero-VOC paint to meet design needs.paint image by Chad McDermott from Fotolia.com
  
  Zero-VOC paint is less expensive and more widely available than natural paint. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's website, a paint containing 0.5g/L or less of VOC can be considered Zero-VOC. This type of paint can be modified to meet specific design needs because pigment can be added to Zero-VOC while still keeping the VOC content at what is considered an excellent level, below 10g/L. The odorless paint minimally affects a home's indoor air quality, making it an option for homeowners wanting to revamp their home while minimally impacting the environment and their health.
  
  

Low-VOC Paints

• Low-VOC paint is a less harmful alternative to conventional paint.paint roller image by Ana de Sousa from Fotolia.com
  
  Low-VOC paint contains lower VOC content than the Environmental Protection Agency's standard of 250g/L for latex paint and 380g/L for oil-based paint, but it has more VOC content than Zero-VOC and natural paints. Because the amount of VOC content in this type of paint can vary, reading paint labels to find the lowest possible VOC content is important. Low-VOC paint is a viable alternative to conventional paint because it contains fewer hazardous chemicals than conventional paint, and that can lower your risk of developing an air pollution-related illness from paint.