Low VOC Paint??

Factual Questions
1

I recently moved into a new home and painted my bedroom with a standard semi-gloss paint. I have read that paint will continue to emit low levels of VOC’s over the course of years.

So, would it be wise to repaint my room with a low/zero VOC paint? Even zero VOC paints contain a low amount of VOC’s. Would I restart the process, or would the fresh paint off gas lower levels of VOC’s than the 3 month old paint?

Thanks

2

If you’re that concerned about VOCs, I think your first step needs to be finding out if a new coat of paint will trap the VOCs from the first coat under it. Otherwise, the old paint will continue to off gas plus you’ll have any additional VOCs from the new paint. Instead off helping, you’ll be making it worse.

3

Good point. Any ideas if the paint doesn’t?

4

If I had to take a WAG, I’d assume that the old paint would off gas through the new paint.

5

http://www.green-buildings.com/content/781416-low-voc-paint-can-painting-it-stop-high-voc-paint-offgassing

Hi Zachary,

Thanks for your question concerning painting over old toxic paint with low-VOC paint.

The answer is, it depends on how old the old paint is. Off gassing from regular oil or latex based paint can continue for years after it is applied. According to Green Seal’s April 2006 document entitled “Proposed Environmental Standard and Environmental Evaluation of Recycled Content Latex Paint”:

“Although many of the toxic materials found in paints have been reduced in recent years due to legislation, especially among latex paints, some may still be released as the paint dries and the compounds volatilize, while others continue to be released into the ambient environment after the paint dries when there is no detectable odor…Paint emissions can continue for extended periods of time after application and Sparks et al. (1999) estimated that less than 50% of the VOC’s in latex paint (applied to a surface) are emitted in the first year.”

I have read that paint can continue to off gas for up to 3.5-4 years or more, depending on a variety of factors including humidity and air flow. Off-gassing of VOCs is accelerated with lower humidity and increased air flow. Simply painting over the old paint won’t trap the gases, it will continue to off-gas through the new coat of paint.

So in my opinion, if it has been quite a number of years since the walls were painted, say 5 or more, I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t be able to paint over them with a low or zero-VOC paint. The amount of VOCs off-gassing from the old paint is probably minimal at best by then. If you just painted the wall last year, then go ahead and remove the old paint and start fresh with some quality low or zero-VOC paint.

Good luck!
Dave

Here is my answer. What are the steps to remove paint?

6

Probably waaaaaay too much work. Only reason I am even considering anything drastic is because I have developed contact dermatitis since I moved into this new home. I have two chemical air filters and have even tried baking the house several days at over 100F. Things have gotten much better recently, though, especially since I had stanley steemer do a hot water extraction on the carpet.

7

According to the quote (and common sense, I suppose) you should probably also be running a dehumidifier (an air conditioner will work fine), the dry air will help pull the VOCs out of the paint.
Also, I just want to take a step back and say that I’m taking your word on everything. I, personally, have never done any research on how long paint off gasses for or if VOCs can cause contact dermatitis.

8

I’m not exactly sure why that article states that low humidity speeds up the process, because what I have learned from other sources is that high humidity and temperatures increase the rate.

9

With higher humidity, the air is fairly saturated with water. That’s why it’s heavy. There’s less room for it to absorb any other gasses. With lower humidity, air can hold more VOCs per unit of mass, and thus the paint is able to offgas faster.

10

Control the climate: Formaldehyde is water soluble and reacts to temperature changes. This means that as the temperature and humidity go up so does the amount of formaldehyde released from a product. By keeping the temperature and humidity low, you can decrease the amount of formaldehyde off-gassing into the air.

http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/indoorair/voc/formaldehyde.htm

  • Keep the humidity levels low in your home, below 45%, since formaldehyde and other chemicals off gas quicker and in higher amounts as temperature and humidity increase.

http://special-needs.families.com/blog/the-effects-of-off-gassing-on-our-children
Keep Temperature and Humidity Stable–Many of the offending chemicals such as formaldehyde are affected by increases in humidity and temperature. Keeping both humidity and temperature low will decrease the amount of formaldehyde that will off gas into your air.