Is latex paint harmful to the body?

Before moving into a new house, we will decorate it, especially wall paint is particularly important. However, most of the houses are decorated now with latex paint. There are many types of latex paint and the quality is also different. When decorating the house, we must pay special attention to the quality and environmental protection of latex paint and try to minimize the harm. Is latex paint harmful to the body? Let’s take a look at it together.

Latex paint is composed of emulsion, pigment, filler, additives and water. Whether latex paint is toxic depends mainly on whether the raw materials added contain toxic ingredients.

First, let’s talk about emulsion, which is the most important raw material that affects the performance of latex paint and looks similar to milk. It is made from some petrochemical raw materials such as vinyl acetate, acrylate, styrene, etc., through polymerization chemical reaction in water. Due to the different raw materials and processes used, the properties of the emulsions produced are also different. Its main function is to achieve adhesion, water resistance, alkali resistance and resistance to sunlight aging. Some inferior building paints, although called latex paints, do not use the above-mentioned emulsion at all. Instead, they use chemical raw materials such as polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl formal, and even things like starch as binders. Polyvinyl formal, in particular, often contains a large amount of free formaldehyde due to unsatisfactory synthesis process, which can cause damage.

The second is pigment. Since most latex paints are white or light colors based on white, titanium dioxide and lead powder (zinc barium white) are mainly used. These two white pigments are harmless to the human body, and most color pigments are also harmless to the human body. However, in order to reduce costs, some manufacturers use lead chrome yellow for yellow. Although the amount used is small, it can also bring adverse consequences.

Filling material, as the name suggests, plays a filling role, but it is not something that can be ignored. Fillers can enrich the paint film and increase the hiding power. Some also make latex paint less likely to settle and have good brushing properties. Commonly used fillers include calcium carbonate (white powder), talcum powder, kaolin (porcelain clay), barium sulfate (baryte powder), wollastonite powder, etc. These are all natural mineral raw materials and are harmless to the human body.

As for additives, since there are many ingredients, we can only introduce the important ones from the perspective of environmental protection:

Additives: In order to prevent the latex paint from settling during storage and to prevent it from dripping when painting vertical surfaces, this type of additive must be added. Cellulose ethers are commonly used.

Film-forming aids: In order to allow the latex paint film to dry and extend the construction season even when the temperature is low, manufacturers generally add some such aids, often polyols and their derivatives.

Bactericide: During the storage process or after drying and film formation, latex paint is contaminated by ubiquitous microorganisms. Coupled with suitable temperature and humidity, the paint in the paint bucket can easily deteriorate, break the emulsion and produce a foul odor, and the paint film can breed mold, turn black and fall off. In order to prevent the growth of microorganisms, manufacturers have to add some fungicides. There are many varieties to choose from. As long as they are selected appropriately and added in the correct amount, they will not cause harm to the human body. However, it does not rule out the possibility that a few manufacturers add mercury salts as fungicides in order to reduce costs.

Of course, the most accurate way to determine whether a product is toxic is to send it to an authoritative agency for various tests. Such as toxicity tests, analysis of the content of various toxic components such as heavy metals such as lead and mercury, formaldehyde, benzene and other compounds, analysis of harmful components in the air after painting, etc.

Through the above introduction, we know the problem of whether latex paint is harmful to the body. After decorating a new house, we cannot move in immediately. Instead, we should take various measures to purify the indoor air and eliminate the toxic and harmful substances before moving in. This is a healthy and responsible method for your own body, so we must pay attention to it.