What Are VOCs in Paint & Are They Dangerous?
Home repairs, like painting, are a fundamental piece of home maintenance strategies that keep houses new and appealing. However, despite your walls being beautifully painted, some of the compounds in the types of paint used in paint products, and house painting can be very harmful to your health. To help solve this problem, Vertec has available a series of alternative BioSolvents in the making of paint and cleaning supplies.
The manufacturing and production process for things like paints and home detergents involves using various solvents, including mineral spirits, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and other chlorinated solvents like trichloroethane, trichloroethylene, benzene, and xylenes. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are chemicals that evaporate quickly into the atmosphere just at room temperature. These compounds are primarily found in many paints, including both latex and oil-based paints. VOCs are also responsible for freshly painted rooms' unpleasant, acrid scents.
It's also important to note that the persistent use of latex and oil-based paints can cause harm to both nature and human lives.
The good news is that alternative products, such as those produced by Vertec BioSolvents, can help produce paints and cleaners that are much safer for both people and the planet.
What are Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in Paint?
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are chemical components found in products like paints and home cleaning agents. VOCs are used in paint and often act as its drying agent. As the paint leaves its storage container and is applied to a surface, it releases VOCs, which is the act of the paint drying. These compounds are emitted in gaseous forms and can be hazardous to the immediate surrounding environment. VOCs and their use in painting and other household products are increasingly becoming a major concern to both companies and consumers.
VOCs can also have a serious impact on the environment. VOCs, especially when combined with compounds like methane or carbon dioxide, can create toxic mixtures. These mixtures can create ground-level smog that can trigger plant diseases, impede seed production, and obstruct fertilization. As the planet warms, due to the climate crisis, things like heatwaves or simply warmer climates can worsen photochemical reactions, resulting in escalated production of low-level ozone.
How Do VOCs Collect Inside Homes?
VOCs can collect inside homes in a few different ways. A major way VOCs collect in homes is through paints and household cleaning agents. When you paint your home or use cleaning supplies, the VOCs are released into the air and can accumulate over time.
Another way that VOCs can enter your home is through outdoor air pollution. Urban dwellers, for example, face constant outdoor air pollution. Cities’ high levels of VOC compounds, found in things like car exhaust gasses and industrial air pollution, can exacerbate their risk rates.
Are VOCs in Other Products?
VOCs are found in many other household products besides paint. Thousands of products contain VOCs, including:
- Aerosol sprays
- Stored fuels and automotive products
- Wood preservatives
- Dry-clean clothing
- Moth repellents and air fresheners
- Hobby supplies
Common domestic products, for example, exhibit low levels of VOCs. They include air fresheners, personal care products like hairspray and perfume, and cleaning products.
Cleaning Products
Cleaning products are a common source of VOCs in the home.
Many common household cleaners contain chemicals like ammonia and bleach that can emit VOCs. Whenever these cleaning products are used at home, the VOCs are released into the air and can contribute to indoor air pollution. Additional cleaning products that contain VOCs include carpet cleaners, oven cleaners, and disinfectants. Air fresheners and fragrances can also contain VOCs.
Other VOC sources in a home environment include materials like fire-retardant insulation and upholstery.
What are the Effects of VOCs in Paint on factory Health?
VOCs are potentially very poisonous compounds, their effects may be temporary and short-term or permanent and detrimental. VOCs on your health may vary from mild to severe, often depending on the number of compounds you are exposed to and the duration of exposure. Exposure for a shorter period to heavy amounts of VOCs may lead to nose, eye, and throat irritation, mild headaches, nausea, and dizziness.
Exposure to VOCs, even in smaller amounts, over a long period of time could result in symptoms like:
- Prolonged eye, nose, and throat irritation
- Chronic headaches as well as loss of coordination and chronic nausea
- Liver, kidney and central nervous system damage
- Some types of cancer. The development of cancer is attributed to a combination of factors, but there is evidence suggesting that excessive exposure to certain VOCs can elevate the risk of developing cancer.
People with already existing health conditions are at higher risk, for example, those who suffer from allergies and asthmatic conditions. People with weak immunity and those diagnosed with conditions that fight the immune system are more susceptible to the long-term effects of exposure.
Vertec BioSolvents provides environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional petroleum-based solvents that are specifically designed for paint manufacturers and home cleaning detergent makers. This product is made with natural ingredients and is completely biodegradable, making it an eco-friendly alternative to traditional solvents.
For paint manufacturers, a product like VertecBio™ LVC offers a number of benefits. It is non-toxic and non-flammable, which makes it safer to use than many other industrial solvents on the market. It also has a pleasant smell, which means that it won't leave any harsh or unpleasant odors behind after use.
How to Reduce Exposure to VOCs
Proper ventilation is also essential in reducing VOC exposure. Open windows and use exhaust fans when using products that contain VOCs, such as paints, cleaners, and solvents. Use air cleaners that contain activated carbon filters to remove VOCs from the air.
One of the most effective ways is to choose products with low VOC content. The implementation of substitutes to traditional petroleum-based solvents, like those that go into the production of products containing VOCs, made by Vertec Biosolvents can help.
All our solvent-alternative products contain no environmentally hazardous ingredients, ozone-depleting chemicals (ODCs), or hazardous air pollutants (HAPs):
VertecBio™ LVC Solv #1 is a low VOC high performance custom blend has excellent solvency for adhesives, paints, coatings and inks. It provides excellent flow characteristics and avoids cost for fuel-fired thermal oxidizer unit thus reduce total emissions.
VertecBio™ LVC Solv #2 is a custom low VOC high performance blend with excellent flow characteristics. It also has excellent solvency for adhesives, paints, coatings and inks as well as formulating low VOC products.
This eco-friendly low VOC high performance custom blend is exceptional for formulating low VOC products while providing excellent solvency for adhesives, paints, coatings and inks.
VertecBio™ LVC-F150 is a low VOC replacement blend ideal for coating formulations. It is a high performance, versatile solvent blend for formulations and has excellent solvency for paint, coating and ink formulations.
Vertec BioSolvents Inc. provides environmentally friendly, high-performing bio-based solvent alternatives for both industrial and agricultural markets. We place a very heavy emphasis on using technology to achieve sustainability, so that we can create bio-based solvents that are capable of outperforming their petrochemical counterparts.
Proudly made in the USA, Vertec BioSolvents places a heavy emphasis on technology and sustainability. We produce superior performance through sustainable technologies. Contact us or call 630-960-0600 for more information, or to request a sample of VertecBio™LVC.
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