Is your home’s interior looking a little dull and tired? Scuff marks, dents, stains, fingerprint marks, and peeling/fading paint can cause your interior to look neglected and old. Whether you’re seeking cabinet repainting in Austin TX or an entire home interior repainting in Tarrytown TX, a fresh coat of paint can instantly change the aesthetic appeal of any surface.
While home interior painting is not the riskiest home improvement project, there is still plenty of room for things to go wrong. Considering you might be required to paint some areas while 20 feet up in the air, or use harsh chemicals to wash off stains, every necessary precaution needs to be taken.
We always recommend hiring a professional painting contractor for safe, high quality, and durable paint job. However, if you still want to give DIY interior painting a try, here are some safety and health tips to keep in mind while at it;
Ensure Adequate Ventilation During Home Interior Painting
Proper ventilation is perhaps the most important healthy tip when painting your interior –especially when using solvent-based paints. Exposure to paint fumes can cause nausea, headaches, and dizziness. These issues are more likely to be triggered when painting in a poorly ventilated, enclosed space.
To prevent such health issues from occurring, open the windows and doors in the room that you’re painting. That will increase the circulation of fresh air that will prevent you from inhaling too much paint fumes. If the room has an air conditioner or a fan, turn it on while painting. Additionally, wear a painter’s mask to limit inhaling the harmful fumes.
USE Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Strippers, solvent paints, and cleaners can also irritate your eyes and skin when directly exposed to the chemicals. It’s always a good idea to buy some PPE like gloves, goggles and dust coats. The PPEs don’t have to be fancy pieces like those used in industrial labs. Visit your local paint store or hardware and see if they have some recommendations. If you don’t have a dust coat, consider wearing a long-sleeve shirt and maybe an old hat to protect you from splashes.
Use Zero-VOC/Low VOC Paints
Most traditional painting products releases vapors that are harmful when breathed. The toxic chemicals in these vapors are called volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. VOCs can cause all kinds of health issues, including eye irritation, fatigue, headaches, and dizziness. Long-term exposure to VOCs can lead to more severe health issues like respiratory system, liver, nervous system, and kidney damage.
VOCs pose a greater danger to young children, pregnant women, people with respiratory ailments, and individuals with chemical sensitivities. The best way to avoid all these dangers is to use Zero VOC paint products. If you can’t find the Zero VOC paints, select the paints with the lowest VOC available. Ask your local paint store for advice and always read the labels before buying.
Be Careful With the Ladders
Most accidents and physical injuries during residential painting projects involve ladders. If you don’t have experience working with ladders, or if you have areas like high walls and high ceilings to paint, consider hiring a pro. Generally, use the right ladder for the right job, and pay attention to the user instructions as well as the warning stickers on the side.
The Bottom Line
Interior painting is not as complicated as you might think; however, if you don’t have the skills, training, and the right tools for the job, you run a risk of harming yourself. Besides, your results won’t be as high-quality and durable as what a trained professional would produce. So consider hiring a pro to minimize health and safety issues, and get the best paint results.
If you haven’t identified a contractor for your home interior painting yet, Brush and Color Painting would love an opportunity to be your favorite residential painter. We offer interior and cabinet eco-friendly painting services in Austin, TX, Tarrytown, TX, Clarksville TX, and Westlake, TX. To try out our services, book a FREE estimate or call us on (512) 947-0594 if you have any question.