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Choose a Safer Paint Stripper When House Painting in Danville


Choose a Safer Paint Stripper When House Painting in Danville

When doing house painting in Danville, there are times when it is necessary to remove old paint and mere scraping doesn’t work. Before, the only method to get rid of the old paint was to use a stripper that contained methylene chloride (sometimes referred to as dichloromethane or DCM). These toxic chemicals have high levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and emit harsh fumes. These are also known to cause kidney disease and respiratory problems. So they should be used only when absolutely necessary and when using proper ventilation.

However, things have changed in the past 15 years. There is now a line of paint strippers that contain ingredients which aren’t only safe for humans but are also friendly for the environment. This is partially due to the growing interest towards “green” building. There are more of these safe strippers on the market which you can confidently use when doing house painting in Danville.

There are still guidelines to be followed when using a stripper. Remember that even though many of these “green” paint strippers are indeed less harsh compared to the traditional strippers, you should still wear protective gear. Wear glasses (or clear goggles) as well as gloves to avoid irritation to your hands.

Since the eco-friendly paint strippers cannot remove paint as quickly as the harsher ones, you will have to be more patient when using them. After applying a new paint stripper on your surfaces you may need to leave it a bit longer before you are able to see that the old paint has been completely stripped off.

Most of the eco-friendly paint strippers on the market today are soy-based, and they are manufactured to be safe for anyone’s use. In fact, you can even safely put them on your hands. Like their more caustic counterparts, soy-based paint strippers are also used to remove varnish, shellac, acrylic lacquer, and urethane.

Since they would cause little or no bodily harm like severe irritation, soy-based strippers are OK to use both indoors and outdoors. Among the most popular soy-based strippers are Soy Gel and SoyClean Paint Stripper. For removing unwanted paint such as graffiti, there are also soy-based strippers for this purpose such as SoyClean Graffiti.

There are milk-based paint removers on the market too, and they mostly come in a powder. Many customers rave about its effectiveness and ease of use. Aside from that, powdered milk paint removers give off no noxious fumes or toxic odor. Simply mix the milk powder paint remover according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Using a nylon paintbrush, apply the needed amount of the mixed milk paint powder remover over the painted surface. Milk powder paint removers usually take about over an hour to dissolve the paint. When the stripper is showing signs of drying up, you can spray it off using just water.

There is some debate over the safety level of citrus-based paint strippers. Citrus paint removers are definitely less toxic compared to their caustic chemical-based counterparts. Aside from that, citrus-based paint removers are not carcinogenic (cancer-causing).

Despite that, a word of caution when using citrus-based paint removers. Even though they are marketed as eco-friendly, some of them can still cause eye and skin irritation as well as breathing problems. Those who are sensitive to odors may be happy if you use a citrus-based paint remover (as it gives off that lemony scent); however, since the smell can make it more attractive especially to children, longer exposure to it can make your kids (and the user as well) sick especially when the environment is not properly ventilated.

Paint removing is safer these days, thanks to the introduction of eco-friendly, “green” paint removers. If you are conscious about your own health as well as concerned about the environment, then use these safer paint strippers when doing house painting in Danville.

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