Question from Judith
Dear Debra and readers!
Does anyone have any experience with Bioshield’s “solvent-free” wall paint? We used it on only one wall in my daughter’s bedroom a week ago and it still has a very strong paint smell.
The company said that there should have been very little smell and it should be diminishing rapidly, but it is just as bad as when we painted it.
We had looked at their ingredient list and it sounded very safe, but now I am really worried!
Last year we had used Olympic Premium “no-VOC” paint on another wall and it was so horrendous that my daughter had to sleep in the living room for seven months. It can’t be a repeat of that experience!
This is Bioshield’s ingred. list: Technical info: Our Zero-VOC, Solvent-Free Wall Paint is an economical, breathable, washable paint with a high-hiding capacity. Ingredients: Water, Chalk, Asbestos-Free Talcum, Titanium Dioxide, Polyphosphate (a water softener), Cellulose, Alcohol Ester, Sodium Hydroxide, and Preservative.
Debra’s Answer
Well this is surely a mystery!
It’s interesting that you had a problem with Olympic no-VOC (which I use to paint trim and have never had a problem with) and now with Bioshield.
There is nothing in that list of ingredients that would have an odor except the alcohol and that would evaporate within a day at most.
Which makes me wonder what is going on with the walls you are painting on. This just doesn’t make sense.
Perhaps there is something in the wall or the paint that is being reactivated by the liquid in the paint. That would be my guess from afar without seeing it.
It would be interesting to paint some other surface, like a plain wood board, outdoors and see if you have the same problem with this paint.
Update ! I previously wrote about Kinder paint @ BioShield. Very sadly though, I called the company to order more and was told they no longer make it at all. I was shocked and very disappointed .
The term voc free is somewhat disingenuous as all these paints contain vocs, its basically a requirement for the latex to melt aor coelese as it dries; rather they do not contain regulated vocs. The alcohol ester is most assuridly terteriary butyl acetate, something that I never heard of until voc regulation. this solvent should have a very high vapor pressure so there wil be a strong odor though it shouldn’t last. Personally I’d stick with the regular stuuf, its probably much safer and the solvents used are at the low end on smog formation. The only to really avoid vocs is with milk paint. also keep in mind different manufactuers use different solvents so if you don’t like one, try another.
I have used Bioshield paints: both Solvent-free (3 colors) and clay paint (4 colors) in several areas of the house. I didn’t notice much of any smell during application and absolutely no smell the day after. I had a painter do the ceilings and he is very sensitive to odor- he said he noticed only a slight odor during application. I have a bird in the house who has not had any ill effects from our painting.
I have been happy with their products but unhapy with their service. They used the wrong base paint once so the second gallon I orderd was the wrong color and they don’t inform folks that the Satin finish is a darker color than the samples which are in matte (so I was surprised and dissapointed in the color didn’t match the samples). Their customer service has been frigid. So I am happy with the product on the walls but not the company itself.
I found a new company that has even less ingredients in their paint and they buy rainforest for every square foot of paint you buy. They seem fanstastic and are very intereactive with their customer base on Facebok. You could try thier paint sample to see if you are happier with it. http://www.unearthedpaints.com/I have samples coming but have not used the product yet.
Heather
I too had previous success with Bioshield’s Kinderpaint (7 years ago) but am so disappointed with their customer service now that I will not use their products again. Very, very disappointed.
I HAD SAME PROBLEM WITH MYTHIC PAINT; HAD A PAINT ODOR FOR QUITE A WHILE
I had a similar experience with painting with AFM paint over unknown paint in a closet. My allergist told me that the new paint had reactivated something in the old paint or the plaster. Some of his patients had good luck with washing the walls with vodka but this did not work for me so I covered the walls & shelves with foil to block the smell. There are paints & sealers for mcs people that might work to block chemicals from coming out of the walls.
Hi Judith
I have used Bio-Shield paint in my home and am very sensitive to chemicals of many kinds. I used pure white Kinder Paint and it was excellent in terms of no side effects as it has no additives like adding a color which gives it chemicals. However, I did react to the white trim paint which was a resin paint. I totally recommend the Kinder Paint in pure white. There is no odor. Talking with a knowledgable person at Bio-Shield might be helpful in resolving your issue and also in choosing less reactive paints in the future. I spoke to one guy who guided me towards the Kinder Paint since it is made for little babies. That sold me.
My best to you. Jeri
fyi, i have MCS and could not tolerate the Sherwin-williams so-called zero-voc paints. so i bought the bio-shield paint. i had no problem with bio-shield. i was even able to use bio-shield deep colors with no problems because (unlike sherwin-williams) bioshield pigments are all completely voc-free.
bio-shield also has other paint options, including a clay-based paint, which you might consider if needed.