Hi Melissa,

Painting rooms has again become a thing I can do myself.  I have a lung problem that makes paint with VOCs off limits.  The new Freshaire from Home Depot has NO VOCs and I have now applied 4 gallons of it with no ill effects.  Rather than a motel and mask I just use this one and stay home.  It is pricy at over $35 to $38 per gallon and the color choices are limited to about 60 but they are lovely colors. It beats paying a painter thousands to do it and living in a motel for a week.  Beware of the paint that is low VOC because it has VOCs in the colorant.  Freshaire has colorant packets that are added at purchase.  No VOCs there!

I want to add also that the coverage is the equal of Behr but not sure about wear as I only applied it this past month.

 

OK, I have a follow up on the Freshaire paint from Home Depot.  I nearly finished the job, needing only one gallon more.  At $36/gallon I didn't over-buy this paint.  This paint comes with the colorant pre-packaged in small plastic pouches in each color (VOCs are in the regular colorant). 

 Home Depot has been out of my color for 3 weeks now.  No attempt has been made to acquire it; but they did send me a $25 gift certificate as an apology.  I would rather have had the paint colorant overnighted for a lot less money.  No could do. 

Suggestion:  Purchase all the paint you need; but do not let them mix it all until you are ready.  This way you can return what you don't use and will be assured of having enough of your color.  It is good paint and had absolutely no adverse affect on me.

Guests arriving soon with job 3/4 done!  Screammmmmmmmmmm!

 

I'm also concerned about the labels on paint that say they are known to cause cancer.  This seems to have less to do with the VOCs than the titanium, etc.  Can this stuff harm children after it's applied and lived in?

Homes with lead paint on every surface allowed generations of Americans to raise healthy family's anyway.  Most kids don't lick the walls, and most parents make sure they have something better to eat.  Lead was a problem when some small children learned to appreciate the sweet taste of the paint on window sills, which is why we outlaw'd these lead based paints. VOC's has NOTHING to do with children.  VOC's harm the Earth's atmosphere and damage the ozone layer,  not your kids. Once the paint has dried, the VOC (Volatile Organic Compunds) are gone.  VOC regulation is why the gas pump doesn't just put gas in the tank of your car, it also vacuums up the gasoline fumes that used to escape into the air.  Gasoline fumes are VOC's.

Until fairly recently lead paints were even applied to toys.  Technology advances, we get smarter, but the paint on the walls is not a major cause of damage to humans.  Install an air exchanger to supply fresh air all through your house, and even the adults will be healthier because pollution comes from many things you haven't begun to worry about yet.

There are a lot of misconceptions about VOC (volatile organic compounds). VOC has nothing to do with healthy paint, it has to do with how evaperated material reacts with the environment. Low or No VOC paint can still cause respiratory distress and contain cancer causing materials. One thing has nothing to do with the other. As for contact with the dry paint, the child would have to eat an aweful lot of it to be affected. You would notice the trim missing before the child suffered any long term effects.