Sunday, July 10, 2011

What You Should Know About Earth Friendly Paints

By David Bell


It is a distressing thought that solvents originating from paints in daily use are being released into the atmosphere and is not something we would really want to happen. What the paints give off are chemical substances called Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and these wind up in the the Earth's atmosphere. Ozone depletion, elevated risk of smog, and possible global warming, are just a few of the results this may cause. Global warming concerns mean that people are searching for more options in their choice of paints. Eco friendly paints were really introduced to the market back in the 90s, but they were not popular at all and they didn't impress the public.

So people today realize that using normal paints add to global warming and other concerns, so for certain they'll start using Earrth friendly paints? Well, there's a further problem: the painting pros. The painting professionals keep on saying paints that don't contain the volatile organic compounds aren't as good as paints that do contain them, even if the manufacturers state the opposite. The points the paint pros make are that paint that is Earth friendly is not as efficient to use. However, taking into account that VOCs are attributed to health problems, like asthma and headaches, more and more people are switching from paints containing VOCs to environmentally safe paints, giving the industry no alternative but to react.

Water based latex paints having binding qualities might be a way to overcome this problem. Because they're water based, it means that they're environmentally friendly (VOCs are absent). Nevertheless, as with just about everything, there is a downside: latex paints can't be used to paint on iron because they are water based, which ends up making the iron become rusty much quicker. No matter the downside, latex paints are becoming increasingly popular with consumers.

When we say 'eco friendly paints', we don't merely mean the paint itself is friendly to the environment, but also the procedure in which the paint was manufactured or how the ingredients were gathered. There are paints that contain Titanium Dioxide which can cover other paints as it is really white. Titanium Dioxide is prepared with a couple of processes that result in weak sulfuric acid being made. Sulfuric acid, together with the chemicals that were dissolved in it, was released into the sea, which obviously is not healthy for the environment.

Titanium Dioxide can cause smog when exposed to sunlight, which is an additional problem. What's moer, Titanium Dioxide has been tied in to a carcinogen that can cause cancer in human beings. Despite the fact that these issues are acknowledged Titanium Dioxide nevertheless continues to be widely used in paints.

People are beginning to choose Earth friendly paints now that they are learning more about the health and environmental effects of typical paints.




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