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7 Low Or Zero V.O.C. Interior Paints You Might Actually Buy

By Tyler ⋅ May 6, 2008 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

With the arrival of little Madeleine only weeks (okay 3 months) away, it’s time for me to spruce up both the nursery and Olivia’s room. With all the buzz about going green, I’ve decided to use a low or zero V.O.C. paint in each room. I don’t want all the odor associated with traditional paint lingering in the house while my toddler and pregnant wife are in the house.

If you’re new to the term V.O.C. (or volatile organic compounds), check out what the EPA has to say about them: “ VOCs are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects. Concentrations of many VOCs are consistently higher indoors (up to ten times higher) than outdoors.“

Since I’m in the market for an affordable, easy-to-find earth-friendly paint, I wanted to share what I have found to Building Camelot Readers.

Freshaire Choice Paint

1.) Freshaire Choice Paint

Freshaire Choice paint can only be found at your local Home Depot. At the time of this article, the paint is only available in 65 different colors. Hardly the selection of pinks and purples you might be looking for if you have a toddler who thinks she’s a princess.

The other colors offer a good selection of “earth-influenced” pallets that would look great in a wide range of rooms. Home Depot sells the Freshaire paint for around $35 - $40 depending on the type of finish. It’s a little pricey for the limited selection of colors but the paint is easy to find and is probably pretty good quality at that price.

Here is a quick excerpt from the Freshaire website: “On average, up to 150 grams of VOCs are added back into paint once the color is mixed. But not with The Freshaire Choice. It’s a no-VOC paint with a no-VOC tinting system that delivers rich, true shades that apply flawlessly, dry fast and wash up beautifully.”

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Olympic Premium Interior

2.) Olympic Premium Interior Paint

Found at your local Lowes, Olympic Premium paint offers a huge selection of colors in an earth friendly paint. The selection of colors is much greater then the Freshaire selection which bodes well for creating the perfect little princess room.

The Olympic Premium paint goes for around $21 - $25 at Lowes…a much better price than the first selection. I’ve never used Olympic paint so I can’t talk about the quality of the paint. Olympic Premium paint has been Green Seal certified.

Here is a quote from the Green Seal website :”Green Seal’s evaluations are based on state-of-the-art science and information using internationally recognized methods and procedures. To earn the coveted Green Seal a product must meet the Green Seal environmental standard for the category as demonstrated by rigorous evaluation, testing and a plant visit.”

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Duration Home Interior

3.) Duration Home Interior Paint

Available at your local Sherwin-Williams store, Duration Home paint is the the flagship earth-friendly paint from Sherwin-Williams. I went into Sherwin-Williams for the first time yesterday to check out prices and selection. I was a little surprised with the limited selection of colors. They have more to choose from than the Freshaire paint but not a much as the Olympic paint. And the price is comparable to the Freshaire paint.

The wife and I moved into a new house about a year ago and the entire house was painted with Sherwin-Williams paint. I’d like to think that the contractors choose a quality paint.

Here’s a little more about the Duration paint from the GreenSure initiatives page: “Most stains wipe clean with mild soap and water so no harsh cleaning chemicals are needed for clean-up. The durable formula reduces frequent repaints - providing the ultimate in beauty and washability.”

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Harmony Interior

4.) Harmony Interior Paint

Another choice from Sherwin-Williams is the Harmony line of paint. When I was in the Sherwin-Williams store last night I saw the price for this paint but forgot to write it down. I want to say it was priced similar to the Olympic Premium paint from Lowes.

This paint has the same color selection as the Duration paint, but it sounds like it is not as durable. This might become an issue if you use this in a kid’s room.

Straight from the Sherwin-Williams GreenSure site:“Harmony is a natural choice for environmentally preferred interior paint. It is low-odor allowing you to immediately move into your newly painted spaces. It contains less solvents and zero-VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) so what is emitted into the air is more environmentally friendly.”

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AURA Paints

5.) AURA Paints

The AURA line of paints from Benjamin Moore offer over 3,300 choices of colors. With that many colors I’m sure to find that perfect shade of pink. Benjamin Moore paints are not sold at your big-box retailers so you might have to do a little more hunting to find a store near you.

I spoke with a guy at my local store and he provided a ton of good information. His store didn’t carry the AURA line of paints but told me that they cost $55 - $60 per gallon. He soon directed me to their Regal line of paints. He said that these range between $32 - $36 per gallon…more affordable and these paints have a very low odor. Benjamin Moore also provides all the paint for Pottery Barn.

Here’s a little background on Benjamin Moore: “The better the resins and colorants, the better the paint. Benjamin Moore creates and manufactures its own resins - the binders that make the film and finish of a paint - and colorants - the pigments that give the paint its unique color and hiding characteristics.”

If you’re interested in learning more about their earth-friendly products: “Other Benjamin Moore products that use waterborne technology include: Waterborne Satin Impervo® 314, Waterborne Urethane M73, Waterborne Polyamide Epoxy M42, and Moorcraft Super Spec® Acrylic Epoxy 256. All of these products are low odor and have low VOC content.”

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Clarity Paint

6.) Clarity Paint

Typically found at your local Wal-Mart or Sears store, Dutch Boy offers 2 earth-friendly paints. The first is the Clarity line of paint. I haven’t seen the selection or pricing on the Dutch Boy paint. When I stop by Wal-Mart this week I’ll provide an update.

The Dutch Boy website doesn’t provide a ton of information but it looks like this paint has been given the Green Seal approval (like the Olympic paint). The website also states: “Clarity is an environmentally safe paint, perfect for people who want the quality of Dutch Boy in a low odor and low VOC formula.”

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7.) Kid’s Room Paint

Kid’s Room Paint

The second selection from Dutch Boy is called Kid’s Room. It is a low odor, low VOC paint. It doesn’t have the Green Seal approval like the Clarity paint.

From the Dutch Boy website: “The safe, low-odor formulation of Kid’s Room Paint provides the best protection where it counts the most, in your children’s rooms.”

I’ll have to do some more research on the pricing and color selection of this paint. I wanted to include Dutch Boy paint because it’s available to a wide range of people in many different markets. Quality aside, I think it’s great that Wal-Mart is making an earth-friendly paint available through its stores at, what I’m guessing, is a reasonable price.

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Tags: AURA, clarity, duration, freshaire, harmony, home depot, low voc, lowes, olympic premier, paint, pottery barn, voc, wal-mart