Green Painting
Faux Artist Brooks Tucker’s Commitment to Green Painting: His Twins’ Personal Story
“All of us face a variety of risks to our health as we go about our day-to-day lives” according to the EPA… “Some risks are simply unavoidable. And some are risks we might decide to avoid if we had the opportunity to make informed choices. Indoor air pollution is one risk that you can do something about.”
*from the E.P.A. website The Inside Story: A Guide to Indoor Air Quality
Indoor air pollution is caused by Volatile Organic Compounds or VOCs. VOCs are chemicals that evaporate easily at room temperature. VOC exposures are often associated with an odor; however, there are times when there is no detectable odor. Both can be harmful. There are thousands of different VOCs produced and used in our daily lives. VOCs are emitted by paint, carpet, household cleaners, aerosol sprays, furniture, building materials and pesticides. Recent research has implicated VOCs as a cause of many chronic health conditions like liver and kidney damage, cancer and nervous system disorders.
There are many reasons people are seeking a greener environment for their home and work place. Reducing the carbon footprint for future generations is one motivator. Some forward-thinking entrepreneurs are seeking a hearty return on their real estate investment by building green. And, chronic allergies, health concerns or medical conditions are understandable driving factors.
My wife and I fall into the last category. We were breezing through life with few worries. In 2000, God blessed us with twins. When they were around a year old, we realized that they were not reaching their developmental milestones. Soon after their second birthday, they were both diagnosed as having autism. We were devastated but dove head first into researching ways in which we could help them.
One of the things we discovered in our research is that people with autism have extremely low levels of glutathione. This is the body’s most powerful antioxidant. It helps the body filter any heavy metal, chemical or toxic exposures. Individuals with autism are found to have evidence of toxicity, oxidative stress and neuroinflamation caused by these exposures. We are addressing these issues with our children medically and have seen great improvements. We decided to also make some lifestyle changes to reduce the toxic exposures in our household to help ensure a healthier outcome for our children.
We believe that following the guidelines set forth by the U.S. Green Building Council for green painting, along with making additional adjustments in your home will produce a cleaner indoor air quality that will offer healthy benefits for everyone in your family for years to come. We hope that our knowledge and expertise will help guide you along the path to achieving a healthier home or work place environment.
At Faux Daddy Designs, we are committed to doing our part to help you reach your goals of creating a healthy indoor environment. The following are steps we take to ensure a quality green paint project:
- We use non toxic cleaners in preparing the wall surface before painting.
- We maximize ventilation in the work area as much as possible.
- We use high quality tools, brushes and equipment. Longer lasting equipment provides for less waste and less products ending up in the land fill.
- We use only the highest quality paint products. Durability and air quality are the principal considerations on every project. We use low or no V.O.C. (volatile organic compounds) paint products. These are certified by www.greenguard.org and www.greenseal.org
- We follow strict guidelines for paint clean up and disposal. Brushes and rollers are cleaned in a bucket of water. Waste water is flushed so that it can be treated by the sewer system. Any extra paint is taken to the dump for proper disposal.
Whatever your reasons for “going green”, Faux Daddy Designs can help you with your painting project.
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