Taking paint for granted
When you think about it, house painting in America has really changed. There are so many different types of paints that can be used for a multitude of purposes. As a painting company, we spend so much time thinking about the functionality of paint. Thinking about how can we prepare a surface to best accept paint so that it will protect your home and give you that perfect finish you’re looking for. It prevents moisture, mold, mildew, and bugs from eating away at the materials your home is built from. Lighter colors of paint can be used to keep surfaces from heating up, and darker colors can be used to retain heat.
Then there is the whole artistic realm. There are so many different types of paints used to create art. People have been using paints since prehistoric times to express themselves. Back in the cave times paint was made of naturally occurring substances that required little to no processing. That included things like charcoal, clay, plant pigments, animal fats and saliva. Bet you’re glad you don’t have to make your own paint using rose hips and spit eh?
House painting in America
The first instances of painting in America were decorative. Cave dwelling people would decorate walls with paint.
As Indeginous Americans moved out of caves and began erecting their own human made shelters paint was used on the exterior. This was also done purely out of decorative reasons. Most shelters like wigwams, teepees or adobe homes were constructed of relatively weather proof materials, so paint wasn’t ever intended for protection against weather. It also wasn’t a given that these types of homes would be painted on.
Early pilgrims in North America had a very negative take on painting. It was considered to be a flamboyant show of money ~ a display of excessive wealth. With that, house painting took a big hit in the American colonies, even though it was starting to become more common practice in other parts of the world.
Eventually other immigrant groups started to arrive from other mainly European nations. That started to change the way the average person felt about painting. Even still, house painting didn’t really become common practice in America until paint technology had advanced far enough to make it easily accessible, and affordable for the average person.
In the mid to late 1800’s we started to see some of the big brand painting companies pop up like Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore. A large reason that companies started to mass produce paint at this point in time was because technology enabled them to. Industrial scale production of pigments, binders and other additives became a lot easier and cheaper to produce. Not to mention, paints were becoming a lot better with regards to quality!
Recent changes in paint
Paints are still evolving, and constantly getting better. This not only applies to the quality of paint with regards to ease of application and longevity/durability, but also with regards to safety. Two of the biggest changes in paint most recently have been the banning of lead based paint; that happened in 1978. Children are particularly sensitive when it comes to lead exposure, and it wasn’t uncommon as kids often rub their hands on walls and put them in their mouths. It was also really unhealthy for professional painters who were constantly exposed to lead. Lead poisoning can lead to abdominal pain, developmental delays, neurological changes, and even result in death in cases of extreme exposure.
The other big recent change is the reduction in VOCs, which are volatile organic compounds. VOCs are the kinds of compounds you find in really strong smelling paints, glues or finishing products. If you use them in an enclosed room with no respirator, you will get a headache. Constant exposure to this day after day can have more severe long term, debilitating effects.
There are currently options for buying low and no VOC paints. It’s important to keep in mind that low VOCs is a comparative term. So it doesn’t really mean that they are safe, just safer than other products. And when compared to some of the old school products, that doesn’t really mean much! If you are really worried about VOCs, you could buy a no VOC paint to help alleviate your concerns.
Contact the experts
If you are still concerned about picking the safest paint out there and making sure that it will also perform up to your expectations, give your local painting expert a call to see what advice they have for you. Paint Pals has been serving Northern Colorado since 2009. Contact us for a free estimate
