eco paint

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Testing your home air quality

July 8, 2009 in Air Quality, Healthy Green Home by Jennifer | No comments

Poor air quality is rampant in many homes. It’s smart to test your home air quality, plus not even that expensive. Most homes don’t need fancy testing solutions. Two kits you can pick up at your local hardware / home & garden shop include a basic carbon monoxide detector and a radon testing kit.

Talking Combination Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm

A carbon monoxide detector will sound an alarm if gas levels in your home rise to an unsafe level. Carbon monoxide can leak from any poorly maintained fuel burning appliance and an appliance can go wacky without you knowing. Other places carbon monoxide can come from include, kerosene and gas space heaters; leaking chimneys and furnaces; back-drafting from furnaces, gas water heaters, wood stoves, and fireplaces; gas stoves; generators and other gasoline powered equipment; automobile exhaust from attached garages; and tobacco smoke, worn or poorly adjusted and maintained combustion devices (e.g., boilers, furnaces) or nearby auto, truck, or bus exhaust.

If you’re exposed to carbon monoxide at low levels you may feel fatigue or chest pain. At high concentrations, carbon monoxide can cause impaired vision and coordination; headaches; dizziness; confusion; nausea, flu-like symptoms, angina, impaired vision, and reduced brain function. CO exposure can be fatal. A carbon monoxide detector can actually save your life and all homes should have at least one.

The U.S. Surgeon General and EPA recommend that all homes be tested for radon. Radon, a radioactive gas that you can’t see, smell or taste, can pose a danger to your family’s health. Radon is the most common cause of lung cancer (after smoking) and claims about 20,000 lives annually. Studies show that it’s found in all 50 states and that one out of every 15 homes has an elevated radon level.

According to the EPA, radon can creep into your home through…

  1. Cracks in solid floors
  2. Construction joints
  3. Cracks in walls
  4. Gaps in suspended floors
  5. Gaps around service pipes
  6. Cavities inside walls
  7. The water supply

Luckily testing for radon only takes minutes and is easy to do. Learn how to test for radon.

Testing your home air quality is just one part of the puzzle. You need to also keep mold in check, keep icky chemicals out of your home, and take daily steps to improve your indoor air quality.

New Kelly-Moore zero-VOC paints to choose from

April 22, 2009 in Decor, Green Building by Jennifer | No comments

Low and no-VOC paints are rising in popularity. With consumers asking for more, additional paint companies are debuting new lines of eco-friendly paints. One such company is Kelly-Moore Paint Company, Inc. Kelly-Moore not only has two new lines of Zero-VOC paints available but they’re the first to offer a recycled paint choice.

About the paints:

Enviro Coat and Green Coat: Both of these lines are zero-VOC. Enviro Coat is a premium quality, low-odor, 100 percent acrylic interior paint so good for residential use. It can be tinted to a variety of custom colors and cleans up easy with good old water. It’s USDA-acceptable and contains an anti-microbial agent to control odors.

Green Coat is a professional quality paint. It provides a durable finish, is available in a wide range of custom-mixed colors, and is free of air-polluting solvents. Green Coat will be available in six stock colors starting soon (May 1).

eCoat: This is Kelly-Moore’s recycled paint choice. I’m not as familiar with recycled paint so this was interesting to read about. “ECoat is made with a minimum of 50 percent post-consumer waste paint. Easy to clean with water, eCoat comes in flat, eggshell and semi-gloss enamel and is ideal for residential and commercial use.” I really like the eCoat colors too – very earthy. See below…

According to Steve DeVoe, president of Kelly-Moore Paints. “The quality of our paints reduces the need for frequent repainting, which lowers the overall cost-per-foot-per-year for the consumer. This also helps the environment, as less paint waste is disposed of in landfills.” That’s actually a good point. The less product you actually need, the better for the planet.

Lastly, Kelly-Moore’s ‘green’ paints are made in one of the most environmentally friendly paint manufacturing facilities in the country – which is pretty cool.

Visit Kelly-Moore Paint Company, Inc to learn more.

New Ways to Solve Indoor Air Pollution

February 26, 2009 in Air Quality by Jennifer | 1 comment

Indoor air pollution is fairly common. Here at Best Green Home Tips, we’ve looked at many ways to keep the air in your home clean and healthy. To catch up, read…

Today, some extra tips that can help keep your home green and your indoor air clean.

Be an Apple user: I’m actually a PC girl, but Apple computers are free of PBDE which makes them a green step above if you can go that route.

Use a cloth shower liner: Vinyl shower liners suck to keep clean and worse can release icky chemicals into your home air and in some people these chemicals can even cause allergic reactions.

Opt out of dry cleaning: Dry cleaning, in most cases, is super bad for your health and the earth’s well-being. If possible only buy fabrics and home items that you can clean yourself. If that’s impossible, go with a greener dry cleaning option. Also read, “Green” Dry Cleaners to Be Leery Of.

Don’t forget your pets:  Most people don’t consider their pets when it comes to greening their home, but your dog’s bed may be releasing chemicals if you haven’t gone organic. That said, a good dog bed can do double duty for your air quality. Dog and cat beds capture a lot of dander and if you go organic (or buy beds made with natural materials) the bed won’t release chemicals found in conventional cotton.

Some healthy pet bed options: Read the rest of this entry »

The VOC-free Home – 11 Ways to Keep VOCs Out of Your Home

January 23, 2009 in Air Quality, Healthy Green Home by Jennifer | 1 comment

In the last post we looked at what VOCs are. Now let’s look at some tips that can help you keep VOCs out of your home.

  1. Look for products that have low-VOC or no VOC labels. There’s no standard labeling system for VOCs, but many companies do make low or no VOC products. If you’re curious about standards, it pays to check out a company’s website to learn more about their ethics and VOC goals.
  2. Avoid aerosol products.
  3. Use natural air freshers.
  4. Buy natural beauty and health care products (soaps, cosmetics, and so on).
  5. Have a clean home air-make-over. There are tons of things you can do to clean the air in your home. Many of these steps naturally help limit VOC exposure.
  6. Learn how to properly dispose of and / or recycle hazardous household waste.
  7. Buy natural organic bedding and other natural and organic home textiles.
  8. Learn to co-exist with plants.
  9. If you build a home, choose a green architect and green building supplies.
  10. Avoid products that contain PVC. You can look for PVC-free labels or check out the PVC-free family guide.
  11. Buy sustainable furniture which tends to avoid things like pressed wood and particle board – both of which are heavy on the VOCs.

How are you avoiding VOCs at home?

What Are VOCs – Keep VOCs Out of Your Home

January 22, 2009 in Air Quality, Healthy Green Home by Jennifer | No comments

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), are gases that are emitted by various synthetic materials (both liquids and solids).

VOCs can be found in a large amount of products you may use in your home from paints to household cleaners to plastics to cosmetics to building materials and lots more. You can see a technical list of VOCs here (in pdf) or a more user friendly list of VOCs here.

Why be afraid of VOCs:

Plenty of health issues can occur from exposure to VOCs. According to the EPA the following are issues…

“Eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches, loss of coordination, nausea; damage to liver, kidney, and central nervous system. Some are suspected or known to cause cancer in humans.  Key signs or symptoms associated with exposure to VOCs include conjunctival irritation, nose and throat discomfort, headache, allergic skin reaction, dyspnea, declines in serum cholinesterase levels, nausea, emesis, epistaxis, fatigue, dizziness.”

VOCs are worse indoors than out, which is a major reason why you need to be aware or the products being used in your home. Research has found that indoor VOC levels average 2 to 5 times higher indoors than outdoor levels. Shockingly, after immediate exposure to some activities, like paint stripping, levels in your house can be up to 1,000 times greater than outdoor levels.

Not only are VOCs more problematic indoors than out, but you can be exposed even if you’re simply storing a product with high VOC levels. Many VOC laden products release the VOCs when used, but some also release them when they’re just sitting around in your cupboard.

Next up we’ll have some tips about how to limit your family’s household exposure to VOCs.