When we think of our dream house we have each one of the rooms imagined in every detail. Our houses are more than concrete and wood! It’s a place that will give us the feeling of comfort and safety. They are a reflection of our mind and aesthetic ideas! We give them the attention they need in order to make them our dreamland!
You might think that choosing the right colour for your house is the only concern you are going to have when you decide to make some changes? Well let us tell you, it might not be like that! You should have in mind that the type of paint will determine the finished result, but it will also have to be harmless for your family’s and your health.
The composition of paint types
Basic paint
The basic paint contains the colour and binders, known as resins, that helps them to insert in the solvent (a liquid base), so it can be applied on surfaces.
Acrylic & Latex
Acrylic and latex paints are water based. Acrylic paints components are pigment (colour), binder and water. As for the latex ones there is water and coalescing agent for binding!
Oil-paints
Oil-paints contain more synthetic materials. Pigment is the colour and is usually a powder. The binder in oil paint is linseed oil. The solvent could be a variety of things, but most often it is turpentine or mineral spirits.
So as you can imagine, water-based paints are more eco- friendly, than any paint that is synthetic-based. Although, traditionally it is believed that the paints that last longer are those with harsh chemicals. This idea has changed since the evolvement of technology and new materials.
How to be sure that my paint is eco - friendly?
In March 1992, at Maastricht the EU signed and started using the EEC Regulation 880/1992 agenda, which is the test to review scientifically, if a product is eco-friendly or not. The main target of this agenda was to clarify that eco-friendly products are as effective and in good quality as the ones chemically-based. So since then, every eco-friendly product has the Eco Hallmark on it! If your paint is eco-friendly, search for the label!
Choose right!
Why is it important to choose eco-friendly paints, especially for the interior painting of your house? The average person spends between 48-50 hours per month at home! Sleeping is not included! So imagine having to live in a place that the chemical levels of the paints are 10 times higher, than the VOC’s of outdoors.
Being helpful to the environment is not only helpful to the future generations, but it is effective to our health as well! This is why we should make it a lifestyle, not a duty!