Safer Paint Options For Painting Your Child’s Room

Safer Paint Options For Painting Your Child’s Room

Planning to paint your child’s room? They might be bursting with excitement about the upcoming paint job in their room— spending hours throwing different colour ideas at you, from neon green to pink with purple stripes.

But when painting children’s rooms, the type of paint you use is even more important than the choice of colour. Some paints can emit toxic fumes that are harmful to one’s health. Young children are still developing, which makes them more susceptible to emissions from toxic paint. 

So, what can you do to find non-toxic paint? How do you avoid adverse reactions, but still transform a room? We’re going to share a few things to look for when choosing paint for a child’s room:

 

Paint Fumes

Most of us are familiar with the harsh chemical smell that indicates a room was freshly painted. That is due to VOCs, or volatile organic compounds. These chemicals release gasses that cause symptoms like airway irritation, nausea, headaches, and organ damage (to the liver, central nervous system, and/or kidneys). Some VOCs are suspected to be carcinogens. 

Obviously, these are not effects that you want your child to experience in their recently painted room. 

Even though VOC-free paints are safer, they may still contain other harmful additives and chemicals. Your best bet is to look for non-toxic products, which will be indicated by their label. 

Other chemicals to watch out for include APEs, or alkylphenol ethoxylates. These surfactants, which are present in acrylic paints, have been found to disrupt hormones in the human body. Look for APE-free paints to avoid this potential side effect.

 

Colourants

Chances are that if your kid wants to paint their room, they’re thinking about a bright colour. We’re willing to bet that their top choices aren’t white or beige. Unfortunately, brighter colours contain harmful chemicals more often than not.

The products used to tint the colour of paint may contain VOCs, even if the base paint is VOC-free! Universal colourants, which are typically used to create darker or brighter colours, are high in solvents and aren’t waterborne. Solvents are a neurotoxin that, like VOCs, may cause headaches, dizziness, irritation, and CNS damage.

We suggest looking for paints that are solvent-free to avoid these issues. That way, you can use a paint colour that your child will love without exposing them to harmful chemicals.

 

If you’re feeling generous (and let’s be honest, adventurous), then you can let your child choose whatever paint colour that they’d like for their room. You might want to veto some colours to make sure that you aren’t painting again in a couple of years!

However, make sure that you’re the one to choose the type of paint. By doing your research ahead of time, you can avoid using a product that may emit harmful fumes. A high-quality paint will keep your child’s room safe, streak-free, and stylish. 

Take the guesswork out of this process by hiring painting contractors in Winnipeg. At Pinnacle Painting, we’ll make sure that your child’s room is painted perfectly, with products that are safe for the whole family. If there’s a particular brand of paint that you want us to use, let us know! Call today to receive a free estimate.