Disposing of Paint after House Painting in San Ramon

When you have finished house painting in San Ramon what follows is the proper cleanup of debris and the disposal and/or storage of leftover paints.

There are situations when paints should not be disposed of for a few good reasons:

1. The solvents in the paint may cause serious harm to the environment,
2. Paints can cause injury or illness (especially to those who work in the sanitation field),
3. Paints could contaminate waterworks or septic tanks.

Obviously, you cannot just dump unused paint over the ground or drain it in the sink. However, there are safe ways to dispose of paints that you feel you cannot use in the future.

Latex paints

Generally, latex paints are not considered a serious hazard to health and environment. Still, there is a proper way to dispose of latex paints. Have a box full of shredded paper (cat litter is also fine) and pour the leftover paint over it. Then let it dry until it hardens and solidifies. After that, throw the solidified paint into the trash can or bring them to the garbage collectors.

Another tip: If there’s less than an inch of paint left in the can, you can do the drying right in the can before safely disposing of it. You may also consider recycling the can. But if the can is almost full of dried paint, take off the lid and properly dispose of the can, together with the paint in it. The paint can be recycled together with the other metal scraps.

If you still have a considerable amount of leftover latex paints that haven’t dried yet, consider storing them in a cool and dry place, away from the reach of children and pets. Save them for future painting projects.
Or consider donating them to anyone else who needs paint — to schools, communities, non-profit organizations, churches, or daycare centers. You can sign up to online classified ads websites like Craigslist where you can also find hundreds of people advertising their own leftover paints, often for free.

Oil-based paints

Disposal of oil-based paints is different to that of latex paints. Since it contains solvents that can be considered volatile and thus hazardous to the environment, an oil-based paint cannot be just thrown away or dumped into a sink. Drying oil-based paints are also not considered safe.

If you still have a considerable amount of leftover oil-based paints and you plan to use them in the future, seal them tightly and keep them in a cool and dry place. Make sure that you store the paints away from the reach of children and pets, and away from sources of ignition.

You can also donate these paints to someone in need — to schools, communities, non-profit organizations, etc. You can sign up to online classified ads websites like Craigslist where you can sell, trade or offer leftover paints for free.

Another best way to dispose of oil-based paints is to bring them to the local Hazardous Waste Facility. You should be able to find a Hazardous Waste Facility in the telephone book or online.

In case you cannot find the proper place to throw away leftover paints, call in the professionals and let them handle the job for you. Professional contractors like Custom Painting, Inc. not only perform house painting in San Ramon duties, they can also handle other tasks like the proper cleanup of debris and disposal of paints.