All No VOC Paint Is Not The Same

It has been a crazy month here.  We had 4 sinkholes on each corner of our house and finally have had the repairs to the house done.

During this whole process I have been driving the contractors crazy with what they can and cannot use in our home.  I did not want toxic products used that would have lingering effects on my family.

I clearly was the ONLY person they had ever encountered like me.  Which made me wonder why more people don't ask the questions and tell them what to use.  It my house after all, and I am paying them to do the work so why not have a safety input to what can be used.

One of the the things they had to use that I would not bend on was a no VOC paint.  I do not want the chemicals from paint sitting in my walls affecting my families breathing, especially my 2 year old.

We had used the Benjamin Moore Natura line, which is there no VOC paint,  and had great results when we had painted my daughters room a few years ago.  I thought it would be the same with the contractors.   Boy was I wrong.

They decided to use the Sherwin Williams no VOC paint.

The paint seemed fine until the areas in our house that they used a nail hole filler and painted over it had shiny spots.  Our painter painted a second coat, same.  He painted a 3rd coat, same.

He contacted the Sherwin Williams Rep and was told "yea we have been getting complaints about that from people".  To which he told them, in some fashion, that it would have been nice to know before painting a clients whole house in it.

When we used the Benjamin Moore Natura line for my daughter's room we did the same thing as this paint, color match.  So no that is not an excuse.

It actually took our painter sanding down the shiny spots and painting yet another coat to make the spots less shiny, to which my husband and I said ok that's enough.

We have never had a problem with our Benjamin Moore natura paint.  I actually told my painter if they couldn't get it right to go buy that and use it.

I demand no VOC, but it also has to perform as well as anything else out there.

Apparently not all non VOC paint are alike, so beware!!.

Till next blog.......