Think Green When Painting Your Encinitas Home

If you have a big painting job ahead of you at your Encinitas house and are thinking green about the project, there are many different ways that you can turn your paint job into a green job. Everyone loves saving the environment, and people in Encinitas and the greater San Diego area are very conscious about the environment and protecting our planet. That is why you see a lot of homes in Encinitas with solar panels, a lot of hybrid cars dot the I-5, and why so many people shop at organic and local food stores. Some home projects can be green if you are conscious of the effects of waste and byproducts, and painting your Encinitas house is no exception. With a little thought and some budget commitments you can turn your painting project in your Encinitas house into a green project to help the environment and at the same time improving the quality of your home!

The easiest way to thinking green for your painting project at your house is to use paints with low VOCs – volatile organic compounds. When you are looking at the VOC amount in paint, try sticking to lower than 50 grams/liter in flat paint and less than 150 grams/liter in gloss paint. Now keep in mind that low VOC paint while great for the environment will take a toll on your wallet. Low VOC paint can cost upwards of $10 per gallon MORE than other higher VOC paint. Another tip for paint, be sure to buy only what you need and use a paint calculator at the store to know how much you will really need.

Proper disposing of paint cans is a must with lead based paints. You will need to look up the correct way to dispose of old paint cans and lead paint chippings and residue as it varies from city to city.

Using a low grade paint brush, sprayer and roller is a good way to waste paint, water and time on your painting project. A good way to be thinking green in your paint job is to be conscious of the effects of poor quality materials. You will waste time and potentially waste good paint with brushes that have faulty bristles. Cleaning these is a waste of time and water and the bristles are a nightmare when they mix in your paint (especially if you spent all that money on low VOC paint!) So avoid waste by using good quality brushes within your budget, and do not even consider reusing rollers as they are difficult to remove paint totally from. This will waste water during cleanup, an often unnoticed cost during your paint jobs.

One last thing to remember, if you are comparing the project doing by yourself vs a painting company in Encinitas know that the contractors will use low VOC paint, follow all the proper lead paint disposing rules and regulations and use the best tools available in their job on your Encinitas house. So be sure to keep that in mind, and when you think about it using low VOC paint, disposing lead paint and recycling paint cans the right way do not seem so expensive after all. I hope these hints help you with your painting job at your house and keep reading my Coldwell Banker Encinitas blog for more helpful real estate tips for your next project at your Encinitas house!

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