Milk Paints: Keeping Your Home Green & Free of Toxins
When it’s time to repaint, most people just head to the nearest home improvement store and pick up a gallon or two of whatever brand is featured, go home, and start painting. But what they may not realize is that the fresh paint smell could cause some negative health effects.
Most paint emits volatile organic compounds or VOCs in the form of gasses. While some VOCs are short-lived and don’t have a big impact on your health, others can cause major health problems. And according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), concentrations of many VOCs are up to 10 times higher indoors than outdoors.
Sure, you could just open the windows, or you could eliminate the risk all together with Milk paints.
What are Milk paints, you ask? Well, my friend, read on and prepare to be impressed.
Milk paint is made from curdled milk and produces a beautiful, matte finish for both indoor and outdoor surfaces. There are many benefits to use milk paint including:
It’s long-lasting, so you won’t have to repaint for a while!
It dries extremely fast so it’s less likely to be damaged and you can start using your room as soon as possible.
It’s nearly odorless (despite the fact that it’s made from curdled milk)! It does give off a slight smell when wet, but it goes away when it dries, and it doesn’t emit any toxic gasses (Winning).
It’s non-flammable. Milk paints are water-based and contain no solvents or oils.
You can use it on virtually any surface! Just make sure it’s clean and dry before you begin!
But the best part is that it’s environmentally friendly! It contains ZERO VOCs, and the manufacturing process requires minimal pollution. Also, if something you painted ends up in a dump, it will break down much faster than if you used regular paint. Plus, once it does break down, there aren’t any chemicals to cause contamination in the soil. So, not only are you keeping your home clear of dangerous gasses, you’re also helping to protect the environment.
So now that you now know milk paint is a far better solution to remodeling than regular paint, it’s time to get some and get started. Our recommendation: The Real Milk Paint Company. This company began in 1995 in a little blue barn in Pennsylvania with 10 colors of paint. Today it is still family-owned and now has 56 colors available. They are made from all-natural materials so it’s truly a “green” paint!
Interiors Green carries 20 colors of The Real Milk Paint, packages in powder form. So all you have to do is add water and get started!
Have you used milk paints before? Drop a picture to show us your projects!