My husband and I moved into a brand new house two years ago this month. From what I learned, new houses are very toxic. Drywall, carpet, sealants, cleaners, primer, paint ... you name it, it probably has a chemical (or five) in it.
With my husband being super sensitive to chemicals and toxic smells, the last thing I wanted to do was aggravate his body more by painting the walls. But, being the creative person that I am, white walls were driving me nutty as I looked at them as one giant, blank canvas.
Considering how many natural products are out in the market today, I was hopeful that I'd come across non-toxic paint. A quick google search did not disappoint. One of the first few results was a company called Mythic Paint. I love their tagline: 0% Toxic. 100% Smart. According to their website, their paint does not contain lead, mercury, formaldehyde, formaldehyde precursors, crystalline silica or other known toxic materials or suspected carcinogens.
Now, when it comes to healthy & safe products for my family, I'm willing to spend a little more upfront. The way I look at it is, I will either pay a little more now or much more on healthcare bills later as I try to undo the effects of chemicals and bad food. So, that's the way I approached the paint purchase. A gallon of Mythic Paint will cost you around $50-$60 per gallon, which is about twice as much as a regular gallon of paint made with harsh chemicals.
Obviously, I wasn't sure how I'd like the paint, so I started with a small room (the downstairs bathroom). First, I ordered a swatchbook ($30), so I could view all the colors appropriately—online is never 100% accurate. Once I chose a color, I ordered the paint online because I don't live within a 15-mile radius of a Mythic Paint dealer. The closest dealer around here is at Park + Vine (downtown Cincinnati)—not really far from me, but just a pain to get downtown. Customer service was excellent and the paint arrived on my doorstop on time.
I put two coats of the semi-gloss paint on my bathroom walls and was impressed with the color matching the swatch. Most importantly, there were absolutely no fumes, no faint feeling, no killing brain cells and it cleans up easily with soap and water—totally a 5-star product in my opinion.
Now ... if I could just find the time to move on to the next room!
This was the only non-toxic paint I've found. There may be others, but you have to be diligent in reading labels and contacting the company to ask questions. I did both of those things when deciding between Mythic Paint and a cheaper brand that claimed to be non-toxic. The cheaper brand was not completely non-toxic, but markets it as such because it's less toxic than the typical paint. If the company does not list the paint ingredients online or on the label, contact them and ask for all the ingredients so that you can make an informed, health-conscious decision—you have a right to know what chemicals you'll be breathing in.
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