Since so many people experience chemical sensitivities, it’s important to make sure you know what chemicals may or may not be in your wall primer, wall, floor, and furniture paint. It’s also important to pay attention to the other types of substances you may be using to protect and clean these parts of your home. Sweden’s Dampness in Buildings and Health study, for example, found that when children already experienced multiple allergic symptoms, that they had twice the risk of developing other allergic sensitivities when exposed to solvents such as PGEs.
The aforementioned Swedish study also found that when children’s bedrooms had PGE concentrations within the top 25%, these children were 100% more likely to have asthma. Furthermore, these children also experienced a 150% greater risk for having eczema, and a 320% greater risk for having rhinitis.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are present in a variety of primers, paints, solvents, and other substances. For some people, these substances may create a variety of adverse reactions. CBS Marketplace’s report, for instance, indicated that when VOC levels were more than 500 parts per billion, this could potentially cause issues for individuals with chemical sensitivities.
Have you recently put in a new floor? If it’s been more than a year since you’ve done so, many of the VOCs will already had dissipated. However, if you’re currently planning to put in a new floor or are painting your existing floor, consider “going organic” and using VOC-free materials.
Are you planning to repaint one or more rooms in your home? Your entire house? You may be interested to know that according to a 2017 interior design trends study, over 33% of its participants would choose a more neutral color palette if they were planning to redecorate their home. Zillow’s 2017 Paint Colors Analysis recently discovered that blue is a popular color, particularly for bathrooms. According to their findings, homes with blue bathrooms actually sold for $5,400.00 more than their non-blue counterparts.
Whether you’re contemplating neutral colors throughout your home or want to mix it up and paint your bathrooms blue, it’s important to hire a contractor that uses an eco friendly wall primer, low VOC paint, and other organic products. Furthermore, if your contractor is going to be using spray paint, be sure that they only use an environmentally friendly spray paint.
It’s interesting to note that studies show some organics can be two to five times higher inside than outdoors. Since inhaling these can contribute to a variety of health problems, it’s important to minimize exposure with air purifiers and taking other measures, such as only using eco-friendly wall primers, low VOC wall, floor, and furniture paint. In addition to this, you also want to use environmentally-friendly cleaning products.