Green plants that eliminate VOCs emanations from paint

gerbera-plante-en-pot
Nowadays, air pollution is more disastrous than it has ever been and this causes interior plants to be a trend. Not only are home plants nice, they also provide us oxygen, and better than that, some green plants also decontaminate ambient air!Indeed, certain green plants have the capacity of eliminating chemicals like organic volatile compounds which are included in paint, varnish and solvents. We even say that some anti-VOC plants purify air: thus they are ideal for painters and for those who have their building painted!

What are paint VOCs?

Organic volatile compounds (VOCs) are pollutants that harm the ozone layer and can cause important health problems.

Up to now, approximately 500 organic volatile compounds have been identified in Canada. We know that there exist numerous others, but they can’t all be detected seen their small quantities in the paint sold in Canada.

What about the “VOC-free” mention?

Moreover, a paint gallon may contain traces of detectable VOCs and still have the mention “VOC-free” in Canada. The maximum quantity allowed vary with the type of paint and of gloss. Even though the quantity of VOCs emanations are really small in VOC-free paints, it still can harm greatly the health of persons who are exposed to it on the long term, particularly the children, the elderly and the asthmatics.

Also know that the paint applied on your walls can generate toxic emanations for years, even when the paint is dried. Thus, it’s a good idea to get interior plants to filter ambient air.

Are plants that can filter pollutants useful for VOC-free paints?

Yes, depolluting plants can be useful even when you exclusively use VOC-free paints. VOC-free and low-VOC paints can still contain traces of chemicals like acetone. Moreover, VOCs are almost always presents in paint colorants that you add to your paint.

Which plants can filter chemicals?

  • Spathiphyllum: filters fresh paint, acetone and ammonia.
  • Chrysanthemum: filters varnishes and paint solvents.
  • Gerbera: this one is an excellent anti-VOCs. Ideal to filter paint emanations, the Gerbera also absorbs the perfumes and essential oils.

So next time you buy paint at the hardware store, don’t forget to buy plants!

In conclusion, if you need to have your house or office painted, it’s a good idea to add a few plants to purify your air. At FinDecor, we prefer green paints and other measures that aim to protect the environment. To learn more about our eco-friendly values, we suggest you this article Earth day: a nice gesture for our planet!

Have your painting repainted by building painters who favor green paints!

Dave Beaupre

Master-painter