Question for Mr David

[bluemingidiot]

I've got a 5 gallon bucket of antique white exterior paint I've been babysitting for almost two years.  Painter says it is still good.  Colorwise it would fit the bathrooms real well.  Builder (the best) has put exterior in bathrooms before with no cancer cases so far.  My hypochondriac wife is really concerned about VOCs (volatile organic compounds) that exterior paint gives off while drying.  It is going to be about two months from application to move in and the house will be well aired out. I know exterior paint can give off VOCs for months but it is a constantly declining amount. How concerned are you about VOCs?

I am a whole lot more concerned about chewing the black tar that oozed out of buildings when I was a kid as well as the asbestos I put inside water cooling tanks at the Cedar Bayou Power Plant 45 years ago.  Most all those guys are dead.  Besides, but for medical science and getting my orders switched from Vietnam to Germany in the Army I should probably be already dead anyway.  Anything left is just a scoop of ice cream on the cake.

[solargeek]

Here you go- listen to your wife.
painttopics.com/can-you-use-exterior-paint-inside/

And:
“The problem with most exterior paint is their VOC content. VOC stands for volatile organic compounds. As the paint dries, and for months or years afterward, the paint goes through a process known as off-gassing. This occurs as the compounds in the paint evaporate and are released into the air.”
www.homestratosphere.com/can-i-use-exterior-paint-inside-my-bathroom/

[Jolly]

Most modern building materials have VOC's. The question is how much?

[solargeek]

Oct 27, 2021 15:02:10 GMT Jolly said:

Most modern building materials have VOC's. The question is how much?

Paint is one of the worst but topped by sealants and the off-gassing of new cabinetry. However in a bathroom you are unlikely to have a ton of cabinets. But you will have the paint off-gassing for a long long time due to the constant heat and humidity versus the size of the room.

We have a chemically sensitive child (now grown) so we had to build a very 'green' home. Each move (8 in all with her) made her sicker and sicker (missing months of school) until we built our log home. NO sealants, solvents, cabinets were solid wood (no stain) with a water based poly coating and they were off-gassed for 3 months in a heated warehouse before installation. No VOC paints (bless California in 2003 when we built -they were the only state to have the No VOC paints). No chinking. No finish on the logs. Tile floors and no carpenting or drapes anywhere. No forced air or heat. Radiant and super tight log stove.

It was a labor of love and all the workmen met her (then a shy 6 year old) so they knew why they had to do it a different harder way.

[countrymom22]

Thanks for the info. I would have thought that it would be okay if the house was aired out really well for a few months before they move in. Learn something new (and important!) everyday.