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Glenn's Blog

It seems that companies are offering green products for just about every aspect of your life these days. The same is true with home improvement products, as many homeowners are becoming more environmentally conscious when they tackle home improvement projects.

The second most popular do-it-yourself project is painting, while the first is gardening. Painting is also one of the easiest ways to contaminate your indoor air, according to the EPA, which ranks indoor air quality as one of the top five hazards to human health.

If you have ever painted a room in your home, you have been exposed to toxins that often make it difficult to breathe until the room is aired out.

The toxins in paint that contribute to the strong odor are known as volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. If you have asthma or allergies, these toxins are especially dangerous to your health. Opening the windows to air out a room while painting is easy in the summer, but it often makes tackling these types of projects in the winter impossible. While the toxic odors contaminate your indoor air while painting, VOCs in the paint are also off-gassed into the air as the paint dries, and paints continue to release low level toxic emissions into the air for years after application.

Fortunately, one of the big moves toward more environmentally friendly products has been in the paint and finishes industry, where you can find a variety of green paints, varnishes and paint strippers that are excellent, cost-effective and less harmful to human and environmental health. Part of the reason for this focus is consumer demand. The other part is the current and forthcoming state laws regulating the toxins in paint and other finishes. California was the first state to enact laws limiting the VOC content in paints and coatings. New York, New Jersey, Texas and Arizona have already joined California with laws of their own, and it is expected that more states will soon follow.

With the state and federal government getting manufacturers to lower VOCs in their paint formulations, we now have a variety of environmentally friendly options when it comes to painting. In addition to the obvious benefit of low odor and reduced toxins, these new paints reduce landfill, groundwater and ozone depleting contaminants, and enable painted areas to be occupied sooner then previous paints.

Most of the major paint manufacturers are now marketing either low-VOC or zero-VOC paints. Benjamin Moore, (888) 854-9889, www.benjaminmoore.com; Olympic, (800) 441-9695, www.olympic.com; Sherwin Williams, (800) 474-3734, www.sherwinwilliams.com; Glidden, (800) 454-3336, www.glidden.com; and Pittsburgh Paints, (800) 441-9695, www.pittsburghpaints.com, are just some of the name manufacturers who are now offering low-VOC or zero-VOC paints. These paints have similar performance and durability to regular water-based paints, and usually come in numerous colors. They are often priced slightly higher then standard water-based paints, but they are worth the cost if you want to help your breathing and the environment.

Fortunately, many retailers in our area carry these or other low or zero-VOC paints. For example, Rick Stable at Rochester Hills Ace Hardware, (248) 652-6100, and Dan Klepp at Tri-City Ace Hardware in Clawson, (248) 655-5000, carries Mythic, (888) 714-9422, www.mythicpaint.com, a brand of zero-VOC paints. Brian Eisenbrenner and the folks at Shelby Paint and Decorating in Grosse Pointe Woods, Clinton Township, Rochester and Shelby Township, (586) 739-0240, are finding low-VOC Eco Spec and Aura paints from Benjamin Moore becoming more popular with people who have asthma and allergies.

The Sherwin-Williams line of Harmony paints is available at all Sherwin-Williams paint stores throughout the area, and Lowe's is carrying the Olympic Premium. In addition, local Pittsburgh Paint locations are stocking the Pure Performance line of low-VOC paint, and Home Depot is stocking Glidden Evermore and the FreshAire Choice brands of low- and zero-VOC paints.

Another home improvement project that contributes toxins to your indoor air is paint stripping. Most paint strippers are caustic and work by actually melting the paint. The active ingredient, methylene chloride, is a potentially harmful carcinogen. Thankfully, there are numerous paint strippers on the market that are biodegradable, water soluble, noncaustic and nontoxic. Some can even be washed down the drain.

CitriStrip, (800) 238-2672, www.citristrip.com, from W.M. Barr & Co., is one of the more popular environmentally friendly paint strippers that is made without methylene chloride. It also features a pleasant orange smell.

With all of these environmentally friendly products on the market today, there's no reason to procrastinate about painting a few rooms in your home because you can't stand the smell. Now you can use one of these green paints to paint your dining room today, and have a dinner party tomorrow.

Low-VOC paints help you and yours breathe easier (11/8/08)

About Glenn
America’s Master Handyman®, Glenn Haege, has been involved in the home improvement industry for over thirty years as a retail store manager, trainer, corporate manager and broadcaster.

He is a native of southeast Michigan and attended Northern Michigan University. In 1966, he began a career in the painting industry with the Sherwin Williams Paint Company. After eight years, Haege joined ACO Hardware, the country’s largest independent hardware store chain, and was promoted to General Merchandise Manager and Director for Consumer Information.

Haege began making appearances on local television and radio stations as ACO’s Answer Man. In 1983, he was asked to host his own weekly program, the “Ask the Handyman Show, on CBS-Owned WXYT-AM – Detroit. Four years later he joined the station on a full-time basis. The “Ask the Handyman Show” quickly became the station’s most popular and profitable show.

In 1995 the success of his local radio show led to newspaper and magazine writing assignments, including a now twice-weekly column in the Detroit News that is also syndicated by Gannett Newspapers. In 1996, the show became nationally syndicated via the Westwood One Entertainment Network. Haege’s show rapidly became the Network’s most successful launch and was syndicated on over 120 stations nation-wide within the first six months. In 2002, the local program moved to the nation’s largest radio broadcaster, Clear Channel airing in Detroit on two radio stations, and heard seven days a week with a total of eighteen hours of programming. Handyman Productions LLC then syndicated the national show, now known as the “Handyman Show with Glenn Haege®” and currently reaches a total national audience of about 1.3 million each week. For the past eight years in a row, Glenn has been honored as one of the “One Hundred Most Important Radio Talk Show Hosts” by the nationally renown Talkers magazine.

In addition to his radio schedule, Haege has recently completed “America’s Handyman – Glenn Haege” for PBS Television that has aired on more than 170 stations across the country. Scripps Howard Television’s WXYZ-TV in Detroit has produced four thirty minute programs entitled “Around the House with Glenn Haege”.

He has also made appearances on over 200 radio stations, CNBC Cable Network, and the QVC Cable Shopping Channel. He frequently makes personal appearances, speaks to various community and professional groups, and hosts semi-annual, free, Home Improvement Expos in conjunction with his radio show. The National Association of Real Estate Editors awarded Glenn Haege their 2005 First Place / Best Broadcast Report – Radio, Television, or Online.

Haege has written eleven books, including his most recent “Glenn Haege’s 100 Most Important Home Improvement Tips”. His books are available nationwide at major bookstores and on his website at MasterHandyman.com. Haege is also the President and CEO of H & S Associates, Inc. a marketing and show management company, and Master Handyman Press, Inc. a publisher of “how to” books.

E-mail Glenn