Greening your Painting Project - EcoMom LV Tip of the Week.

I have been painting a LOT this past week and of course always thinking green. So here are few TOP TIPS for Greening your Painting Project.

1. Purchase low or Zero VOC paints. I like AMF Safecoat.
   
2. If due to the size of the project low or zero VOC paint is not "cost effective" add 5 drops Young Living Purification essential oil per 1 gallon of paint this will neutralize the paints VOC's
3. Between days of painting instead of rinsing everything out just wrap the brushes, roller and pan with plastic wrap. Be sure to save the plastic wrap so you can use it again for the same project. I used the same plastic wrap all week and then threw it out when the project was done. This method saves TONS of water.
4. Before you start check out Green Building Supply. This is one of my favorite websites for all home improvements. If you have any questions give them a call they will answer all your questions.
   
5. Use old cotton rags or t-shirts as clean up rags or use them to apply paint as faux finishes
6. When cleaning brushes and supplies use hot water. It will take less water if it is hot.
7. Put some Basic H2 in water to clean your brushes. Leaves the brushes soft and clean.
8. When painting even with zero or low VOC paint, ALWAYS open windows and turn on fans.
9. Recycle or save any unused paint. www.freecycle.org

Go ahead and welcome spring with some new paint and green your painting project.

Neutralizing VOC's in Paint

This past week I have been married to my basement where we have painted the walls using a faux finish and then stained the concrete floors. Like everything else in my life I wanted to find a "greener" way of doing things without breaking my bank account. At the rate of $40-$60 per gallon of the better VOC paint with how much I was going to need it wasn't cost effective. But with my kids being asthmatic I cant afford to have the smell in the house as this will trigger their asthma. So what to do.....

Well my father told me about his friend Val that sells Young Living Essential Oils and they have one called Purification. When you put 5 drops per 1 gallon paint it neutralizes the VOC's in the paint and there is no smell. My father used this before and said it really does work. So I got a bottle.....ready for the results!

IT WORKS! There was minimal smell putting the paint on, and when I say minimal this was the least smell out of any 0% or low VOC paint I have ever tried! Within 1 hours of me finishing I had people in the house that couldn't believe me that I painted because there was no smell. Really the only smell you have when putting on the paint is the smell of the oil which is a nice smell.

How to use:
5 drops per gallon of paint (I used the regular Valspar paint from Lowes at $20 per gallon).
Stir up
paint as normal.

Were to buy:
You can use any independent Young Living Distributor or you can visit here:
http://valpam.younglivingworld.com

Cost:
$23 per bottle and you only use 5 drops per gallon so you get a lot of use out of this!

Outcome:
I am in LOVE with the purification oil. Now if I had a smaller room to paint I would probably go with the better safer paint such as AFM Safecoat since it is greener company than most other paint companies and they are also helping our environment. But with how much I was going to need at a rate of 3 times a regular gallon of paint I just couldn't afford it.

As I like to say being green is about keeping the environment and your wallet green.