Did you ever wonder what exactly is inside your paint gallon? That is an interesting question, but not that easy to answer.
Generally, we think that latex paint (commonly called water paint by mistake) is mostly made from latex, and that oil paint is made out of oil. All right. But the question that is less easy to answer is: from where does this nasty smell come from? Is it coming from toxic gases? Yes!
In fact, the paint smell comes from solvents such as ethylene glycol for example, and those solvents are added to the product so that it performs better. Generally, the more the paint smells, the more harmful it is for your health. For example, oil paint smells worse than latex paint and it is more toxic.
Most people think that it’s not that bad for our health, as we only have our houses repainted each 4 or 5 years in average. However, for professional painters who use those products each day, the question is more important. Those toxic gases are known under the designation VOC for “volatile organic compound” and they are very harmful for a painter’s health on the long term. Research in California proved that some solvents are coming out from paint even after 2 years!
For some persons (like for example children having respiratory problems) VOCs can be dangerous even on the short term. VOCs are also very dangerous for the environment as it creates smog thus increasing global warming.
Some specialists say that the more the product smells, the better its painting characteristics. It’s not always true! There has been so much research and development in the painting industry in the last 10 years, and new eco-friendly paints are on the market, showing high-tech characteristics!
Paint products are improved each year by the manufacturers and most of the big paint companies now have their environment-friendly line of products (with low VOC or even with no VOC.) However, ask questions to make sure you get a kind of paint that represent no danger for your health: some paints have the mention “low VOC” but can contain other noxious solvents. The best example I can give you is acetone: it’s a very noxious component but does not enter in the VOC evaluation.
For more information about VOC, see our article What are eco-friendly or low VOC paints?
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