Finding Safer Paints and Carpets For the Home

A proper modern home will have all sorts of furnishings inside it, and this includes the carpet and wall paint, along with paint found on furniture such as chairs or tables, and more. It may be noted that painting wooden decks is a separate topic entirely, as those wooden surfaces may need different sorts of paint to endure weather an exposure. Meanwhile, back inside the house, clear varnish and color matching paints may be used, and air purifying paints may also be put to use on the walls. Wood primer and wood conditioner liquids may also be used on wooden furniture inside the home, and homeowners may visit their local hardware store to find the most air-friendly paints and wood primers out there.

Why all this caution? It may be noted that some paints and varnishes, or wood-staining products, tend to release a lot of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, into the air. This is a problem, since VOCs in the air will be inhaled by people and pets in the house and may cause health issues. Allergies may be set off or even formed by constant VOC exposure, and this is especially true of children and infants. Even dirty carpets that have soaked up a lot of dust or other materials may give off VOCs that irritate anyone who breathes them. Primer for painting, then, may be a low-VOC model, and local hardware staff may point customers to primer for painting that is VOC friendly. What is there to know about air quality and primer for painting or paints?

Airborne Issues

Many indoor spaces, from houses to offices to hotels, contain more VOCs and similar airborne particles than a person should be exposed to. Studies have been done around the world to measure the impact of VOCs on people from primer for painting or carpets or dirty air conditioners, and the results are clear. In a recent study, participants in a study worked for six work days in an environmentally-controlled office space, at the TIEQ lab at the Syracuse Center of Excellence. There, VOC levels were lowered considerably, down to about 50 micrograms per cubic meter, and 40 cubic feet per minute of outdoor air per person during this time. The results showed that on average, cognitive scores among those participants were 101% higher than those of people working in conventional work spaces. This is something for office managers to note, since the very air may be hampering their employees’ performance. Maid services can be hired to help thoroughly cleanup the carpets and perform deep cleaning to cut back on VOCs, and air conditioner repair experts may clean out dust, pollen, animal droppings, and more in the air ducts and on the blower fans.

There is more. Many Americans are aware that air quality is something take seriously, especially since many Americans have allergy or asthma issues that may be set off by bad air. A study done by the Survey Research Institute at Cornell University found that 83% of travelers reported that they would choose an allergy-friendly room if they could. The study further found that 59% of travelers would choose one hotel room over another on merit of allergy-friendly surfaces and treatment. Other studies have also found that levels of some organic materials are two to five times higher indoors than outdoors, and they cause health problems when inhaled. And finally, a Dampness in Buildings and Health study conducted in Sweden found that among children with multiple allergic symptoms, PGE exposure could nearly double the chances of a child developing allergic sensitives to other allergens.

House Care

In the home, responsible adults may take good care of their carpet, such as vacuuming it regularly and making use of deep cleaning to remove deeply embedded dirt that emits VOCs. Rugs should also be cleaned. What is more, these homeowners may consult hardware store staff for VOC-friendly paints and wood primer for any home painting or wood working project, and this can boost air quality considerably. This may be especially important if an air-sensitive person such as a pregnant woman or a young child or infant is present, or if someone has asthma or similar allergies. Good air quality may prevent such issues.