Healthy Interiors

This article focuses on food contact safe paints that can be used on residential household items like tabletops, serving trays (or boards), highchairs, countertops, and decorative bowls.

For these applications, we won’t find paints that are officially FDA tested. That is because most paints will meet food-safe requirements.

Most paints will not leach chemicals once they are fully cured. Water-based and solvent-based paints do not leach bisphenols (only epoxy paints leach bisphenols), phthalates (found in caulking but not in paints), or lead (the main ingredient that made some paints not safe for food contact in the past).

Does that mean any paint can be used on food contact surfaces? It depends on how you use the item, but I would say no.

We are going to go further at metal leaching to start. Lead is not the only metal of concern, many paints contain toxic metals today. We will check paints against a Toy Safe certification which checks for leaching of metals (as if you had ingested the paint accidentally).

I will also use the FDA’s list of approved ingredients to vet paints.

The list of paints in this article gives priority to brands that are very low or zero-VOC. However, if you have used a solvent-based paint that has fully cured, that can be safe too, it just takes longer to cure, and is not non-toxic for some time.

Whether a paint is food-safe really depends on how you are using it. We are focusing here on objects like tables and trays, where you might place some foods or have some incidental contact. The items will not be going into a dishwasher, the items are not bowls that you eat liquid food out of, and they are not items that go directly into your mouth. I personally would not use any paint on a cutting board, as no paint is suited to actual ingestion on a regular basis.

The article includes my nine top brands of paints that I would use on food contact areas, from 100% natural options, to the healthiest of the acrylic paint brands, to some hardier more conventional options.

This post contains affiliate links. Upon purchase, I make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

There are three main regulations that we are going to use to determine if a paint or coating is food-grade or food-safe.

First, to clarify the terms, food-grade refers to the material, and food-safe refers to the product being safe in the actual conditions that the material is being used in.

The FDA states in 117.40 in Subpart B  “Food-contact surfaces must be made of non-toxic materials and designed to withstand the environment of their intended use and the action of food, and, if applicable, cleaning compounds, sanitizing agents, and cleaning procedures.”

Regulations we will consider:

1. FDA Title 21, Section 175.300

Section 175:300 lists cleared ingredient materials for resinous and polymeric coatings. Paints can be tested by this regulation (extraction testing), certified by a third party, or the company can provide a signed letter of guarantee that it meets the requirements. Most paints unfortunately do not have these official documents. For those that don’t, we can use the list of approved ingredients in 175:300 to see if a product would likely fit within this regulation.

Paints used in the home, for tabletops, high chairs, and other consumer goods are not officially tested.

(We should note that this is not the only regulation for paint ingredient safety in the US, there can also be national, and state laws like California Prop 65 that apply to ingredients in coatings).

2. FDA Title 21, Section 174

Section 174 lists ingredients considered GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) for their intended use. For example, Carnauba wax, an ingredient in many wax coatings, is GRAS and therefore is considered safe in coatings.

3. Toy Safe Standard EN 71:2019

This is a European standard, but there are a number of certified brands that sell their products in North America as well, so this turned out to be a useful regulation for the paints in this article.

This tests for the leaching of toxic elements such as aluminum, antimony, arsenic, barium, boron, cadmium, Chromium (III), Chromium (VI), cobalt, copper, lead, manganese, mercury, nickel, selenium, strontium, tin, organic tin, and zinc.

This standard simulates the leaching of metals in the stomach as if the paint were ingested by a child.

There is no equivalent testing in North America, so it’s good we have some brands tested in Europe that are available in North America.

Paint Cure Times

The final thing we want to keep in mind before looking at the best brands to use is how long it takes to cure. The paint should be fully cured before we put it to use on food contact areas.

Water-based zero-VOC paints generally need two weeks to cure to the point of not offgassing chemicals. Be sure to check the time frame based on when you can begin wiping down the paint or when the company says it’s food contact safe. Solvent-based paints take longer for the solvents to flash off. At least a month is needed for those paints before you should put food on them. I can often pick up offgassing for more than a month off of solvent-based paints.

Food Grade/Food Contact Safe Paints

1. Milk Paint

Milk Paint, when it comes in powder form, is an all-natural, non-toxic wood finish labeled as food-safe.

You could use this on a table or on kids’ toys. To make it durable you need to add a (food-safe), sealant, oil, or wax.

The Real Milk Company does not use clay in the formula so there’s no risk of possible metal contamination there. The pigments are titanium dioxide (the white pigment in every paint), and iron oxides. The green does contain Chromium (III) which would probably not leave it Toy Safe by European standards (depending on real-life leachability and durability of the topcoat). The topcoat might provide enough protection, but their paints are not tested with or without topcoats.

Old Fashioned Milk Paint has tested its product against Toy Safe Standard EN-71 in Europe. Not all colors passed the metal leaching tests (whites and blues did not make the cut). The following colors are certified safe: Scarlett (red), Marigold yellow, Mustard, Pumpkin, Salem Red, Barn Red, Bayberry Green, Tavern Green, Lexington (dark green), and Pitch Black.

Food Safe Top Coats for Milk Paint

For toys, tables, trays, and wood countertops, you definitely want to use a (food-safe) sealer as a topcoat which will make it durable.

Tung oil is the most durable of the food-safe penetrating oils (just be sure to use the food-safe citrus solvent and give it the full 30 days to cure). On high wear surfaces, you may need to lightly re-coat every year (exterior) or two years (interior).

Hemp oil and walnut oil (also called Wood Wax) are not quite as waterproof but they are also food-safe, and they don’t require a solvent.

Toy Safe Certified topcoats include: AFM Safecoat Acriglaze (matte finish), AFM Naturals Oil-Wax, or for outdoor items, AFM Naturals Clear Penetrating Oil.

Use on: Ideal on bare wood, terra-cotta, concrete. Interior and exterior with the right topcoat.

Applications: Trays, tables, desks, highchairs, wooden countertops, concrete countertops, concrete and terra-cotta pots (more info on that here) and display bowls, planters (more info on that here), charcuterie boards, toys.

Buy The Real Milk Paint here, and Old Fashioned Milk Paint here. The topcoats are sold through the same websites.

2. Natural Linseed Oil Paint

Allbäck paints are made from food-safe linseed oil with a manganese drier. Manganese is allowed in food contact coatings by the FDA but not by Toy Safe regulations in Europe. (i.e. this would probably pass FDA testing but not Toy Safe Testing if I had to guess).

The Allbäck Linseed Oil Paint is very durable and so it would work well on tabletops and other high-wear areas. The paint remains somewhat flexible, so it doesn’t dry hard like an enamel. It leaves a flat look.

The Viking and Ottosson paint brands use a natural drier, but the company didn’t say that it is definitely manganese. You would ideally want to know which metal/mineral is used as the drier.

Pigments like Chromium in some brands would also not leave this Toy Safe.

Use on: Virtually any surface that is clean and dry other than silicone. You can use it on wood, concrete, sheet metal, iron, and plastic. Interior and exterior surfaces.

Applications: Wood, metal, or melamine trays; wood, metal, or melamine furniture, including tabletops and highchairs; wood, concrete or laminate countertops; toys and playsets other than toys that will go in a child’s mouth; the exterior of mason jars and lids; the exterior of metal food storage containers; terra-cotta pots (more info on that here) and exterior planter boxes (more info on that here).

Buy through their website.

3. AFM Safecoat Paints and Primers – Low-VOC Acrylic

AFM MetalCoat is a primer for metal. It can be followed by any of the AFM paints.

They aren’t officially FDA-approved via testing as food-safe, but once it’s fully cured and if it doesn’t go into a dishwasher, it is considered to be safe based on their ingredients.

This paint is low-VOC and can be used on interior and exterior bare metal. It can be used on galvanized steel, aluminum, and any non-ferrous metal.

For abrasion resistance on outdoor tables, a paint and sealer combo would work well: AFM Safecoat All Purpose Exterior Satin and then AFM Safecoat EXT Exterior Polyureseal. 

AFM Transitional Primer is used if you are painting over an oil-based paint.

Use on: MetalCoat for bare metal. All Purpose for wood or previously painted surfaces. EXT as a clear sealer over water-based paint. Interior and exterior surfaces.

Applications: MetalCoat for: metal food storage containers, bowls, mason jar lids, bare metal playsets. All Purpose Paint + EXT for tabletops.

Buy AFM primers and paints through Green Design Center/Building for Health.

4. ECOS Paint – 0-VOC Acrylic

A water-based zero-VOC paint that is non-toxic once it dries and can be used on tables and toys.

ECOS Paints is a zero-VOC acrylic (latex) paint, it is considered defacto food-safe, though they are not FDA approved since they haven’t undergone the testing.

But they are EN-71 Certified (Europe) for use on children’s toys, which could be placed in a child’s mouth.

Acrylic Latex paint in a semigloss or gloss sheen is a good choice for tabletops and other furniture. Both are easy to wipe clean with soap and water and, once cured, are safe to eat on.

They also make primers, including a primer for previously painted metal, and exterior applications.

Use on: Wood, surfaces previously painted with water-based paint. Interior and exterior surfaces.

Applications: Tables, desks, high chairs, cribs, serving trays, toys, play equipment/playsets.

Buy ECOS Paints through their website.

5. Chalk Paint + Clear Lacquer

Chalk Paint is a super low-odor non-toxic paint that adheres to almost every surface. The paint itself is certified Toy Safe (EN-71-3) but it needs a topcoat to be durable.

If you are painting a dining table, highchair, or other furniture piece, (and for most toys as well) you can add a clear Chalk Paint Lacquer to make it super durable. This is a water-based polyacrylic clear coat that is certified Toy Safe (EN 71-3:2013) and is safe to use on toys and furniture like dining tables. Both the Matte and Gloss finishes are durable. It goes on perfectly clear and dries quickly without yellowing over time.

Use on: Chalk Paint sticks to wood, metal, glass, ceramics, most plastics, cardboard, terra-cotta, concrete, shellac, and previously painted materials (with water or oil-based paint). Interior projects.

Applications: Glass jars and vases (like mason jars), metal storage containers, display bowls, tables, desks, melamine furniture, high chairs, cribs, toys, serving trays (metal, plastic, wood, or melamine), playsets.

In North America, you want to look for individual stockists of Chalk Paint.

6. Farrow and Ball

Farrow & Ball‘s super-low odor 100% water-based paint meets Toy Safety Standards. Their Estate Emulsion, Estate Eggshell, Modern Emulsion, Modern Eggshell, Exterior Eggshell, and Full Gloss have been independently tested and approved to meet the Toy Paint Regulations.

Not all of their paint sheens would be durable enough for furniture. They recommend Modern Eggshell (40% sheen) for most furniture pieces, like dressers and cribs, tabletops, serving trays, and high chairs. It is tough, washable & wipeable.

Use on: With the proper primer, you can use Farrow and Ball products on new wood, previously painted wood, ferrous and non-ferrous metal (except cast iron). They have interior and exterior paints.

Applications: Cribs, dressers, tables, serving trays, high chairs, wooden or previously painted toys.

Buy through their website.

7. Rustoleum 8400 Food & Beverage Alkyd Paint

This interior enamel paint is suitable for use in food and beverage applications. Enamel paints are far more durable than latex paints (or any paint listed above).

The 8400 Food and Beverage System complies with USDA FSIS regulatory sanitation performance standards for food establishment facilities.

This is a little different than the FDA Title 21 which looks at ingredients in the paint that come in direct contact with food. The USDA looks at indirect contaminants that may come in incidental contact with food – ensuring “the floors, walls and ceilings… (are) smooth and easily cleanable” so they won’t collect bacteria, and that ceiling coatings are intact. USDA compliant systems must hold up to the intended use in a specific process area. (source)

Because this is a durable enamel coating it can meet those regulations.

There is a Prop 65 Warning on it, however.

This is rather high in VOCs at <450g/L. It’s a solvent-based paint, so that will be very smelly at first and certainly takes some time to fully offgas. The main solvent is petroleum. I normally would not recommend solvent-based paints on my blog but I’m mentioning this one because it meets USDA regulations.

Use on: Metal, wood.

Applications: Equipment, structural steel, pipes, metal cabinets and lockers, railings, trim, doors and gates, vents, and more.

Buy through Amazon, Grainger, and Menards.

8. Rustoleum Painter’s Choice (Brush on)

A water-based paint for both interior and exterior projects, Painter’s Choice brush-on paint is Certified Toy Safe (EN71-3: 2019, Europe).

The following colors are not certified toy safe: Gold, Antique Gold, Bronze, and Old Penny Bronze.

It’s called Painter’s Touch Multipurpose Paint in the UK and Painter’s Touch Ultra Cover in the US.

This paint is not low in VOCs at <250 g/l. The solvents are water and glycol ethers. The data sheets describe the odor as solvent-like. The company recommends a full cure time of one week for toys. Based on my testing of the spray paint version, I would say give it at least two weeks to cure. Even at one month, I could pick up slight offgassing. This is not a paint I would normally use or recommend since I would not consider this low-toxin or non-toxic, but once it has sufficient time to cure I would consider it safe, and I would not be worried about this paint in daily use.

Use on: Wood, metal, plaster, masonry, and unglazed ceramic. 

Applications: Toys and children’s furniture, tabletops, crafts, vases, trays, baskets.

Buy through Amazon, Walmart, and Home Depot.

9. Fakolith Paint

Fakolith is a European company that makes food-grade paints and varnishes that are tested and certified for direct, indirect, and occasional contact with food, beverages, and drinking water, according to European regulation EU 10/2011, and/or American regulation FDA 21 CFR 175.300.

They make various products including clear sealants, acrylic enamel paints, and a food-grade epoxy paint.

Applications: Protecting surfaces such as food and beverage silos, tanks, pipes, fish farms, transport elements, printed food packaging, shells and barks, as well as walls, ceilings, flooring, sandwich panel, cold stores, clean rooms, and installations and objects in general in all sectors of the food industry.

Food Contact Safe Sealants for Over Paint 

You might consider sealing your painted surface with a food contact safe coating to add a layer of protection.

1. Epoxy Coating

Epoxy coatings are thick and form a very good barrier between the paint and you. Epoxy generally contains bisphenols (like BPA), however. This can still be considered food contact safe by the FDA, though not always by state regulations.

I generally don’t talk about epoxies on this website since they are very strong in odor when wet. The two parts need to come together and form a chemical reaction. While it is still curing can be very difficult to tolerate for those sensitive to chemicals. Though once it cures it should be just fine. The cure time is not always what they say, real-life conditions can mean it takes longer.

Epoxies are often used on trays, tabletops, bartops, countertops, bowls, and cups.

The following brands are FDA approved as food-safe:

• ZDSpoxy
• Max CLR

2. Clear Synthetic Sealer

A clear polyurethane, acrylic, or polyacrylic sealer can be used over a painted wood or other painted surface to form an extra layer of durability and protection. Most brands of low and zero-VOC polyurethane, acrylic, and polyacrylic are likely food-safe, though most are not tested by the FDA’s standards. They are considered food-safe based on the raw ingredients.

Good brands include:

• Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Lacquer
• AFM Acriglaze
• AFM EXT

3. Shellac

While many websites and companies state that shellac is considered GRAS (generally regarded as safe) by the FDA, that does not appear to be accurate. This document by the FDA states that shellac is not GRAS, it’s also not listed in the GRAS database here.

It is however listed as an approved raw ingredient in resinous and polymeric coatings that come into contact with food (FDA CFR title 21 Volume 3 Sec. 175.300 Resinous and Polymeric Coatings) and it is used to coat foods, even organic foods can be coated with approved shellacs. I consider shellac to be very safe for food contact surfaces. If you were going to eat it you would want to look more closely at how it was processed.

Zinsser Shellac, the biggest brand of premixed shellac products are not FDA approved for food contact surfaces.

It would be ideal to buy the shellac from a reputable seller like Wellermart and mix it with a food-grade alcohol like Everclear.

Food Safe Spray Paint

I don’t know of any spray paints that are officially food contact safe. But like other paints above, once cured, they could be considered safe based on raw ingredients.

Spray paints are also higher in VOCs than brush-on paints, even the best water-based spray paints use a solvent propellant. For solvent-based spray paints, most of them were still offgassing at one month’s time. My post on non-toxic spray paints goes over brands that are much safer that could be used on furniture.

Krylon said: “We don’t manufacture a product that is FDA approved [to be food-safe]. An FDA approval is important in terms of whether a product film is safe for incidental ingestion. We do not perform animal testing and cannot test for ingestion. Therefore, we offer nothing that is guaranteed to be food safe if it is ingested or encounters someone’s mouth. Having said that, many of our customers apply our products on countertops. Just make sure to set or prepare food on a cutting board/trivet/food-safe surface.”

None of Rustoleum’s spray paints are food safe, they said in an email.

Related Posts:

Toy Safe Paints

Toy Safe Wood Sealers

Countertop Sealers

Paints and Sealers for Planter Boxes

Paints and Sealers for Terra-Cotta Pots

Corinne Segura is a Building Biologist Practitioner with 7 years of experience helping others create healthy homes.

Sources:

Food Engineering Mag

Popular Woodworking

Home Depot

Shellac Advisory Panel

FDA Title 21, Section 175.300

Back in the day, all ready-mixed house paints were oil-based alkyd. These paints are made with a solvent that makes them notoriously high in odor and certainly high in VOCs. Even as we shifted away from oil paint for the walls, we kept it on trim and doors due to its durability.

The movement towards green building has certainly helped push the industry to create non-toxic alternatives that still meet the level of durability that is expected for trim and door paint but are low in VOCs.

There are three very different non-toxic options that you can consider for trim, molding/casing, and doors. Not all options will suit everyone, so be sure to think through the pros and cons of each option.

If you need a primer that blocks the offgassing of formaldehyde from MDF trim and doors that contain engineered wood, I go over the various ways you can block that with primer-paint combos.

This post contains affiliate links. Upon purchase, I make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

1. Water-Based Alkyd Paint

This is the most conventional alternative, it performs at high levels, but is not zero-VOC.

There are oil-based alkyd paints and water-based alkyd paints. Water-based alkyd paints are a rather new invention and are often referred to as enamel paint.

Over the years the formulas have improved. They are low-VOC formulas with the application and smooth hard enamel look of an alkyd paint. These paints minimize surface imperfections and hold up well in high-traffic areas. They are tougher than your usual latex wall paint.

Brands

Sherwin-Williams ProClassic Alkyd Enamel is probably the most popular paint for interior trim, molding, and doors. It’s also a good choice for cabinets and windows. It’s a low VOC formula that some sensitive folks have reported doing well with.

Benjamin Moore Advance is another well-known brand. I have tried this one myself and I did find it relatively fast to offgas and very low in odor once dry. I did have trouble applying it with a brush, which is something I have heard from others as well. Perhaps our techniques are off, but it might just be better spray applied.

Talk to your painter, they will likely want to go with the brand that they have experience with.

Those who have extreme chemical sensitivities may not be able to go with alkyd paints, and should definitely test out samples of these brands before proceeding.

If you want a conventional brand, and a conventional look, and are OK with it being low-VOC and not zero-VOC, then this is a good option.

2. Natural Linseed Oil Paint (Solvent-Free)

This is the all-natural option, for purists who don’t mind the linseed oil smell.

Natural oil-based paint is a good durable option for trim and doors.

Allbäck linseed oil paint is one brand that is available in North America that is made without solvents.

The ingredients are boiled linseed and pigments made from titanium oxide, iron oxides, chromium oxide green, and ultramarine blue. The drying agent is manganese.

No primer is needed with this paint, except on very dry wood a prime coat of pure linseed oil helps. You can paint it directly onto wood, on pre-primed wood, and on wood previously painted with oil-based or water-based paint.

It’s not impossible to paint over this in the future, like with other oil-based paints, you can go over it with a transitional primer or another oil-based paint.

I have tested this paint and I would not say the odor is super strong. Unless you have challenges with linseed oil or other natural odors this is a great option.

3. Zero-VOC Acrylic Paint

This is your zero-VOC option, for those who don’t want or don’t tolerate VOCs or the natural odor of linseed.

If the first two options are too high in odor and don’t work for you, you certainly can use a regular zero-VOC acrylic paint. Go for a semi-gloss sheen so that you have a little more durability and wipe-ability than an eggshell or flat sheen.

ECOS Paints is a fantastic brand of low odor, fast offgassing paint that is currently the favorite amongst the chemically sensitive.

This is not as durable as enamel paint or oil-based paint, but it’s your lowest odor option for sure.

If you are painting over oil-based paint you will need a transitional primer first, AFM Transitional Primer is a good one.

I’ve tested out almost all of ECOS products and they are good quality paints as well as the lowest odor acrylic option.

Sealing in the Offgassing of Formaldehyde from Trim and Doors

If your baseboards, trim, or molding are made with medium density fiberboard (MDF) then they offgas formaldehyde when new. Hollow core doors are made with a skin of high density fiberboard (HDF) which usually offgasses formaldehyde, or they are solid core which usually has an interior core of particleboard or MDF (and also offgases some formaldehyde).

To block this offgassing you may want to use a primer that will seal this in before continuing on to the paint.

Primer Options:

1. AFM Transitional Primer – does a good job at sealing in offgassing. (It is low-VOC itself and needs some time to offgas). You can follow this with any of the paints above.

2. BIN Shellac – is a shellac-based primer which does a good job of sealing in offgassing. (It is also low-VOC and some people will find it takes some time to offgas). You can follow this with any paint type.

3. Pure shellac – pure shellac is a great sealer of VOCs but it’s harder to paint over. Dewaxed shellac is the way to go. It is just made of pure wax and alcohol. Once the alcohol flashes off (which is fast) it’s offgassed. You can follow dewaxed shellac with AFM Transitional Primer + paint; or Annie Sloan Chalk Paint + Farrow and Ball Primer + paint; or paint directly over shellac with natural linseed oil paint.

Looking for non-toxic door and trim materials?

My post on doors goes through all the options of door materials.

For trim and molding, the most ideal material is solid wood. The other options are MDF which offgasses formaldehyde and PVC vinyl.

Corinne Segura is a Building Biologist Practitioner with 7 years of experience helping others create healthy homes.

Milk Paint is a truly natural paint. One of only two paints that are 100% natural. It is a true zero-VOC and toxin-free paint that is biodegradable.

It’s almost always safe for those with extreme chemical sensitivities, even when wet. It’s safe for kids and babies, and can even be safely used on toys. I have a separate post for paints for toys though. This article looks at my testing of Milk Paint on walls.

This post contains affiliate links. Upon purchase, I make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Where Can You Use Milk Paint?

If your walls are raw plaster or gypsum drywall, Milk Paint will stick to these surfaces, no special prep is needed.

But don’t use it over a joint compound that has latex in it, it doesn’t apply as well to that.

It works well over raw wood and masonry. It bonds with masonry walls so well that it would be tough to remove.

The original formula should be used on raw wood and masonry. It’s a beautiful finish on wood and would be great for unsealed shiplap walls.

Previously painted surfaces might need to be washed with TSP to strip the paint a bit and you also might need a bond coat (which is a concentrated acrylic). Especially if you’re painting with the original formula.

The SafePaint wall formula can go over regular primers and some regular paints. This is the Milk Paint I tested out above on a 2 x 2 piece of drywall. It does not need a bond coat over unprimed drywall or most primers and paints.

It’s only if you want to apply it to other difficult to paint surfaces, like metal, that you would need the bond coat.

It could be used on kitchen cabinets if you are willing to make some sacrifices, but you need a durable topcoat over it. Tung oil is very durable for a natural finish. I like two coats, with possibly a shellac on top.

It does not go over Chalked Paint (Rustoleum Brand), I tried and failed.

Milk Paint Formulas

True milk paint should always come in powder form if you want it to be pure, totally natural, and free of synthetic or toxic additives.

The ingredients are: milk protein (casein), limestone, clay, chalk, and natural pigments.

The original formula: Milk Paint comes in a number of colors that are really pretty but you can also mix the colors, dilute them with white, or mix them from scratch with Real Milk Paint’s base + pigments.

Go for a good quality brand like Real Milk Company or Old Fashioned Milk Paint (Amazon).

SafePaint formula: SafePaint comes in 33 colors. They also come in powder form so you can mix colors together to get custom color variations.

Results on Drywall

If you want to apply Milk Paint to drywall, definitely go with the SafePaint formula. That is the only one that has any chance of going on evenly in my experiments with the paints. That is what I used in the above mustard color paint picture.

I put it on unprimed drywall and you can see the overlap mark when the edge didn’t stay wet. I couldn’t get it perfectly even on raw drywall. The company claims you can put it on primed drywall, or already painted drywall in most cases, so you might want to test out both options (with and without a primer). Practice your technique to see if you can get it even or if you can paint it in a pattern that you like.

Below is what happened when I tried the regular original formula on raw drywall board! Unless you like the watercolor look, I would say this was a fail.

Applying Milk Paint

You mix the powder 1:1 with water.

For smaller projects use the original formula with the specialty brushes (they are rounded).

For a wall, it’s easier to use a roller with either formula in my opinion, but especially if you are using SafePaint and want a uniform finish. You should use a 1/4 inch foam roller from Amazon.

SafePaint was somewhat durable without a topcoat, you could put a wet hand on the wall for example without damaging it. But if you want either formula to hold up to stains and grease you need to use a topcoat.

Topcoats for Milk Paint

Depending on where you are applying Milk Paint and how durable you need it to be, you can choose from a number of topcoats including:

Natural oils: hemp oil, walnut oil (with wax), and, the most durable of the oils, tung oil. The oils tint the color – they darken it making it look richer, less pastel, not matte, and add a slight yellow (which you would only see on whites). Make sure the oil is compatible with the paint color.

Tung oil has the strongest odor of the three oils, while hemp and walnut are both quite mild.

Water-based synthetic coatings: water-based acrylics like Milk Paint Finishing Cream, or AFM Acriglaze.

I did not have good luck with polyurethane or other acrylic coatings over Milk Paint in my small trials that you can see below.

Natural waxes: You can find a good selection at The Real Milk Company and MilkPaint.com.

Painting Over Milk Paint

If you are worried about painting over Milk Paint in a rental or if you just want to change it, that is no problem with pure Milk Paint. Any paint can go over Milk Paint if you didn’t add a topcoat, or if you used a water-based topcoat you also likely won’t have trouble painting over it.

If you used an oil like hemp oil then you either can go over it with an oil-based paint (try a natural solvent-free one like the ones here), or a transitional primer made to transition from oil to water.

If you used a wax as the topcoat then it’s a little more tricky. You need to remove the wax with TSP.

What I Like About Milk Paint (Pros)

• The purest and safest paint out there. 100% natural and safe.
• Actually zero-VOC.
• Safe even when wet for the chemically sensitive. Almost everyone could apply this themselves.
• You don’t need a primer on most porous surfaces. (The original formula does best on porous surfaces, with SafePaint it can actually be better over a primer).
• You can choose from a variety of topcoats.
• You could probably get away with SafePaint on the walls without a topcoat as long as it’s not in a kitchen or bathroom. It held up just fine to a wet hand placed on the wall.
• Easy to source the original formula from Amazon or from Real Milk Paint, and SafePaint for the walls from MilkPaint.com.

What I Don’t Like About Milk Paint (Cons)

• If you are applying this to already painted walls you can check to see if SafePaint adheres, if not I personally don’t see the benefit in using Milk Paint. If you have to add chemical binders like the ones used in regular zero-VOC paints then just go with a regular paint.
• In many situations, you do need a top coat which is an extra step.
• If you need this to be super durable you need to go with a tung oil or durable water-based topcoat. Those products have some odor and take time to cure and offgas.

Milk Paint in Liquid Form

I generally would not go with a Milk Paint in liquid form since it then needs a variety of preservatives and biocides. So it wouldn’t remain in this 100% natural “pure” category.

You might still prefer liquid Milk Paint options for the look of it or it just may suit your sensitivities better than the options that are below (mineral paint, clay paint, chalk paint). If so, that is perfectly reasonable.

In order for something to qualify as a liquid Milk Paint, it needs to be made with a casein binder.

Brands

Ana Sova is a milk paint in liquid form. They say it’s made with casein (milk protein) as the binder (which does make it a milk paint officially), titanium dioxide, cellulose, emulsifiers, fungicide, bactericide, mildew retardant, and preservatives. They claim that is it 96% “food ingredients”, though they do not declare the full list of ingredients.

I ordered a sample of Ana Sova in 2022 but it did not show up. When I emailed them about it, they said they are reformulating the paint. Generally, that is because a product was not performing as desired or expected. They said they would then send out a free sample but I have not received one.

General Finishes Water-Based Milk Paint is an acrylic paint that is not 0-VOC. They claim a “milk paint look”, but there is no indication that this is made with casein as one of the binders. It’s clearly listed as an acrylic binder paint. VOCs are listed as <40 grams per liter (not what I would consider low). For a list of 0-VOC water-based acrylic paints, see my post on this topic.

Rustoleum Milk Paint is also a water-based acrylic paint with a “milk paint look”. It does not list casein as a binder (just acrylic). VOCs are listed at <110g/l.

Would you like to compare Milk Paint to other less toxic (more natural) paints?

• My post on mineral paint reviews silicate paint and compares it to milk paint (and other types).
• My post on clay paint reviews paints that are high in clay content (but are not 100% natural) and compares them to milk paint.
• My post on chalk paint reviews paints that are high in chalk content and low in synthetic binders, and compares them to milk paint.
• My post on non-toxic paint looks at 0-VOC acrylic brands, 0-VOC non-acrylic latex brands, and natural oil-based paint brands.

Corinne Segura is a Building Biologist Practitioner with 7 years of experience helping others create healthy homes.

Out of the most non-toxic mineral-based paints I found in North America, BioShield Clay Paint is near the top of the list.

This clay paint has a high percentage of natural ingredients and the least amount of concerning additives out of any liquid paint available. It is also extremely low in odor.

The only paint that is more natural is Milk Paint, but Milk Paint is tricky to use on drywall. Clay Paint is the most natural paint you can use on interior drywall.

It is called a Clay Paint because clay is the main mineral filler. When comparing this with Chalk Paint, Clay Paint is higher in clay than calcium carbonate and Chalk Paint is higher in calcium carbonate. Both of these paint types can be free of acrylic plastic as the polymer, and use more benign PVA or EVA binders.

I found the odor of this clay paint, even straight out of the bottle, to be mild and non-offensive. Depending on your level of sensitivity, this may smell just slightly like polymers or it might smell totally benign to you – more like food than paint.

I gave two types of BioShield Clay Paint a test to see how it applied (not that easy!) and how it held up to stains (this varied by stain and topcoat as you will see).

I also compare clay paint to a slightly more conventional high mineral paint – Farrow & Ball, which is easier to procure, easier to apply, and more durable to water and stains.

Let’s dig into the testing to see if using Clay Paint is worth the hassle.

This post is not sponsored by BioShield, and BioShield does not have an affiliate program. This post contains other affiliate links. Upon purchase, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

BioShield Clay Paint Review

BioShield Clay Paint can go over new drywall that has a skim coat with no primer. It can also go over previously painted walls (if they are not glossy) without a primer.

Whether you can put it over new drywall that is taped and mudded at the seams depends on the color of the paint and your skill level – you might see this transition between the two different materials if you don’t use a primer.

Like every other paint that can go on new drywall, it does have a binder/polymer in it. The polymer is PVA. It does polymerize so it’s not technically classified as a “mineral paint”.

It can go over wood and some wallpapers without a primer.

Durability

Clay paint is not suited for frequent cleaning. Grease and other contaminants can leave permanent marks. 

You can add their Wall Glaze or AFM Penetrating Waterstop to add more water resistance and cleanability – I tested both of these, more below. They recommend the wall glaze for areas like the kitchen and hallway.

For bathrooms, clay paint is not ideal, as it should not receive regular water exposure. I would not use this in a bathroom personally as the area around the sink will generally get splashed.

Types of BioShield Paint

I like their basic Clay Paint. They also have a slightly more modified one that is called their Solvent-Free Wall Paint (NB all water-based paint is solvent-free as a general rule). 

I couldn’t pick up much of a difference between them (odor-wise), but the solvent-free paint was smoother in its final finish and more washable.

In Australia, this is called Volvex paint.

Ingredients and Additives in BioShield Clay Paint

Ingredients in BioShield Clay Paint:

Water, clay, porcelain clay, chalk, alcohol ester (as a binder, this is the PVA), cellulose, pigments, preservatives.

Ingredients in BioShield Solvent-Free Wall Paint:

Water, chalk, asbestos-free talcum, titanium dioxide, polyphosphate (a water softener), cellulose, alcohol ester, sodium hydroxide, and preservatives.

What I like About BioShield (Pros):

• A fairly pure option.
• One of the lowest odor paints I have ever used (alongside Farrow & Ball).
• No-VOC; usually tolerable for the chemically sensitive.
• Chemically sensitive folks may even be able to apply it themselves.
• No time (or less time, compared to some others) needed for offgassing before reentering the room.
• 100% transparency in ingredients.
• No primer needed in some applications.

What I don’t like about BioShield (Cons):

• Not washable, it stains easily, means you either need to apply a labor-intensive Wall Glaze, or AFM Penetrating Waterstop in high impact areas. (The Solvent-Free Wall Paint is more washable.)
• You may need another paint option for bathrooms.
• You may need a primer over new drywall that doesn’t have a skim coat (and you will have to choose a primer that you tolerate).
• Not that easy to apply, and the company was not willing to help me choose a brush and roller.
• They only ship to the 48 states (not Canada).

Application Tips for BioShield Clay Paint

I applied BioShield Clay Paint and Solvent-Free Wall Paint without a primer over paper-based drywall (2 x 2 pieces with no drywall mud).

I found it relatively easy to apply and I really liked the finish. I thought it would be more difficult to apply than it was.

The application is not the same as regular paint, or RomaBio mineral paint, which went on more conventionally and was more forgiving of my medium nap roller and beginner’s technique.

I did have trouble finding the right brush and roller that did not leave such a textured finish. A more skilled painter should not have as much trouble with this. But the company was not helpful with me in finding the right brush and roller.

My medium nap roller left it quite textured. If you are new to painting or to clay paints, you might want to test out your brush and roller to see what the texture will look like. I was not happy with my texture and the company would not recommend a specific brush or roller.

It is a plus that this can be applied with a roller. After some digging, a low nap roller is recommended for a conventional-looking finish on drywall, like Wooster 3/8th nap rollers.

A beginner should do a test sample on a test piece of drywall.

Two coats are required, with a longer dry time in between than many other paints. Cures in about 10 days. Splatter tests below.

I also tried their Wall Glaze on top of the paint as a protective coating. The ingredients of the Wall Glaze are cellulose, alcohol ester, silica, carnauba wax, clay, water, and preservative.

How did it Hold up?

I put it to the test after applying the Wall Glaze and AFM Penetrating Waterstop.

Without the Glaze, the Clay Paint and Solvent Free Wall paint held up so-so to mustard. I had to use the Magic Eraser, and like with RomaBio Mineral Paint, that did remove a tiny bit of paint.

They did not do as well with the mayo, which left an oil stain.

Solvent-Free Paint paired best with AFM PWS. No stain from either mustard or mayo and it retains the same color and sheen.

Wall Glaze also worked well on Solvent-Free Wall Paint but there is an ever so slight mustard stain.

Their basic Clay Paint paired best with their Wall Glaze. With also an ever so slight stain that cannot really be seen from a few feet away. AFM PWS did not help the Clay Paint hold up well.

Clay Paint v. Farrow and Ball

Farrow and Ball Paint is another paint that is high in minerals and is made with a PVA and or EVA binder. It does not contain any acrylic binder.

They often market it by presenting it as high in natural mineral content. It certainly contains clay, but we don’t have the exact breakdown of ingredients to compare them accurately. In my opinion, these two paints seem very similar.

It’s extremely low in odor even when wet, just like BioShield Clay Paint.

Comparison: Farrow and Ball v. BioShield Clay Paint

• Both are high in minerals
• Both are acrylic free and use a more benign binder (PVA and or EVA)
• BioShield may well be lower in synthetic ingredients, we don’t know everything that is in Farrow and Ball
• Both are extremely low odor
• Both contain the same preservative
• Farrow and Ball applies like a conventional paint, whereas BioShield is tricker and has its own technique
• Farrow and Ball is more washable and more durable to stains
• BioShield needs a topcoat to be durable to stains
• BioShield is sold online, Farrow and Ball is sold online and in stores
• Both come in sample sizes
• Cost: BioShield $60 per gallon plus shipping, Farrow and Ball $100 per 2.7 L (0.6 gallon)

For those who are sensitive to chemicals, I would suggest getting a sample of each one.

I have tested both of these options and I prefer Farrow and Ball, since the application and durability outweigh the downsides of cost and more unknown ingredients for me.

Clay Paint v. Chalk Paint

The main difference between Clay Paint and Chalk Paint is that Chalk Paint uses calcium carbonate as the main mineral which leaves it with a chalkier look.

Some brands of Chalk Paint like Annie Sloan also appear to be free of acrylic binders, leaving Annie Sloan and BioShield as two pretty similar paints with a slightly different makeup of minerals and possibly the same binder (it seems to me).

Both are extremely low in odor.

The main draw of Chalk Paint is that it can self-prime over almost any surface even difficult to paint ones. Clay Paint does not have this benefit.

Comparison: Chalk Paint v. Clay Paint

• Both are high in minerals and have a matte look
• Both can be extremely low in odor depending on the brand (Annie Sloan and BioShield are low odor)
• Both can be free of acrylic binders, using non-plastic binders (depends on the brand)
• Both can be used on the wall, but both require a topcoat to be durable to water and stains
• Chalk Paint does not require a primer on drywall, while Clay Paint does in some cases
• Chalk Paint can go over almost anything, like shellac or oil-based paint, Clay Paint can not
• You can sometimes get away with just one coat of Chalk Paint

Clay Paint v. Milk Paint

The main difference between Clay Paint and Milk Paint is that Milk Paint uses an all-natural binder (casein) and contains no preservative as long as it’s a totally pure brand that comes in powder form.

I tested regular Milk Paint and SafePaint Milk Paint which is formulated for gypsum board drywall and it certainly applied much more evenly. However, it wasn’t perfectly even and the main drawback of Milk Paint is it’s hard to get that even look that you get from a paint in a can. And although Bioheild was a little finicky, it still applies more evenly (once you figure out the brush and roller technique).

Comparison: Clay Paint v. Milk Paint

• Milk Paint is 100% natural with no synthetic binder or preservative, while Clay Paint has a synthetic binder and chemical preservative
• Both are extremely low odor but Milk Paint could be preferred for those who only do well with natural odors
• Milk Paint can be used on drywall but it’s difficult to get it to look even, BioShield Clay Paint is finicky too but a little easier to get even. Farrow and Ball, if you consider that a Clay Paint, goes on perfectly even.

Which Paint Should You Pick?

I would consider BioShield Clay Paint if you want a mostly natural wall paint, and if the tradeoff is worth it for you. You will have to use a topcoat to have durability and test out your application technique to really get a nice looking finish.

Personally, I would choose Farrow and Ball over Clay Paint if I wanted the benefits of a high mineral paint, with no acrylic binder and extremely low odor.

I would consider Chalk Paint for priming over difficult to paint surfaces, like over a shellac or over an oil-based paint. It’s as low in odor as Clay Paint, and it also requires a topcoat to be durable, but has this amazing self-priming ability that no other (mostly) natural paint has.

Milk Paint is better suited to wood and terra-cotta, but you could use it on a wall. Those with severe chemical sensitivities may want to go with this option, the only one that is truly 100% natural and non-toxic, even though it’s hard to get it even on the walls.

Related Posts:

Mineral Paint (silicate paint) review

Chalk Paint full review

Zero-VOC synthetic wall paints

Corinne Segura is a Building Biologist Practitioner with 7 years of experience helping others create healthy homes.

Chalk-style paints are often non-toxic and eco-friendly compared to other synthetic paints. These are paints high in calcium carbonate and other minerals and low in synthetic binders.

The water-based formulas can be extremely low in odor, however, there are also solvent-based options that are not low-VOC nor non-toxic.

I tested and compared two brands for myself. Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is the lowest odor formula and is much lower in odor than a regular zero-VOC acrylic (latex) wall paint. It could easily be preferred to regular acrylic paint by those who are sensitive to chemicals. This is about as non-toxic as you can get in a synthetic paint.

Chalked Paint is slightly higher in odor but is still a rather low odor formula.

A couple of other brands list themselves as zero-VOC though one brand that is water-based manages to neither be low-VOC nor low-odor.

This post is not sponsored. It contains affiliate links to products on Amazon. Upon purchase, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

1. Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (on the Wall) Review

Annie Sloan is well known for its Chalk Paint® which is popular as a furniture paint and can also be used on walls.

Chalk Paint for Walls

They do have a separate paint that is labeled as wall paint. Right now it is not available in North America (only Europe), I tested their regular Chalk Paint on paperbacked gypsum wallboard. In short, it works on walls but is not super durable to stains unless you add a wax topcoat.

Unique Benefits of Chalk Paint

The most interesting aspect of this paint is its self-priming ability over a wide range of surfaces. You don’t need to prime or sand most surfaces.

The finish is an ultra-matte, chalk-like look. It also works as a non-toxic chalkboard paint (to write on).

The known and suspected ingredients in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint are listed here.

Where to Use it

Like clay paint, it has a matte finish that is not scrubbable.

The company does not recommend using Chalk Paint on walls in kitchens, bathrooms, and anywhere else that requires a tougher, scrubbable finish.

Like with clay paint, you can use wax over it to provide more protection and durability to use it in high-impact areas.

This is one of few non-toxic paints that can be used on radiators (more info on that here).

If you are in Europe they do recommend the wall paint for kitchens, bathrooms, and walls that require a tougher, scrubbable finish. (The wall paint does not require a wax and is not considered breathable).

What I like About Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (Pros):

• Very Low VOC.
• Extremely low odor, will be suitable for many chemically sensitive folks (but not all).
• Very versatile – it can be used on walls, floors, wood, cabinets, concrete, metal, matte plastic, earthenware, brick, stone, over waxed shellac, and more.
• Rarely is sanding or priming the surface first necessary.
• Breathable.
• Unique matte, chalk-like look.
• One coat (in many cases) and no primer needed makes this the fastest to apply.

What I don’t like about Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (Cons):

• Not enough hints to any of the ingredients other than it’s high in calcium carbonate (25-50%), and high in titanium dioxide. I expect some acrylic in it as the binders. I would expect talc as well. The SDS lists two alcohols and ammonia.
• Some extremely sensitive folks may not tolerate it, or may need to leave the room until it’s cured.
• The dark red that I used did need a second coat to be totally even.
• I didn’t tolerate the wax by Annie Sloan as it was high in odor.

Tips for Applying Annie Sloan Chalk Paint to Walls

For most purposes, one coat of paint is enough (it wasn’t for me and the dark red, though the coverage was very impressive compared to every other paint I have ever used).

You don’t need to prime walls.

You can apply it with a brush, make sure you use a natural or natural/ synthetic mix brush, You may want to try Purdy White Bristle (natural bristle) or the softer Purdy Ox Hair Brush.

Annie Sloan prefers brush application with random brush strokes to a roller application. But you can use a roller to apply it to the drywall.

It seems that most people use a roller, as it is easier for most people. You will want a high-density foam roller.

I used a natural bristle chalk paint paintbrush for a 2 x 2 drywall sample and I was happy with the look of the brush marks. For a bigger area, you will want a larger brush than the chalk paint brushes used on furniture.

I recommend painting a sample on a piece of 2 x 2 drywall to test out your brush type, technique, and texture. As well as testing to see if you only need one coat.

It’s 30 days for a full cure. For bedrooms and low-impact wall rooms, you don’t need to wax it.

If you are waxing it, this large wax brush can be used to apply it to the walls. Remove excess with a cloth. Their wax was not tolerable for me, and I would not recommend it for most chemically sensitive folks.

How Did it Hold Up?

The unsealed Chalk Paint held up OK to mustard – there is a limit to how much you could wipe it and get it wet but I would say it did hold up to my test. It did not hold up to mayo.

With the Annie Sloan wax on it, it held up extremely well to mustard and mayo.

I also tried the BioShield Glaze on it and that helped it hold up perfectly to mustard and mayo as well. It is a clear wax that only darkened the color slightly.

AFM Penetrating Waterstop did not help it hold up to mustard or mayo even though I had great results using this over clay plaster.

2. Rustoleum Chalked v Annie Sloan

I have tested Rustoleum Chalked as well. It is similar to Annie Sloan with a few key differences:

• Higher odor when wet (more akin to a regular acrylic paint)
• Appears to be overall more similar to a regular acrylic paint (acrylic is listed as the only binder on the SDS)
• More wipeable (not technically washable but more wipeable than Annie Sloan)
• Not quite as much coverage out of each coat compared to Annie Sloan (though not that far off)
• Not as versatile, the company doesn’t claim that it works on almost every surface
• Less expensive, a quart is about 15-20$ compared to about 35$ for Annie Sloan

Note that the Chalked Spray Paint formula is solvent-based as compared to the paint in the can which is water-based. it’s significantly higher in off-gassing and took a good amount of time to fully become odorless. I review the spray formula and alternative non-toxic spray paints in this post.

This is still a chalk-style paint and so it still has the characteristics of all chalk/ed paints:

• The ultra-matte look
• You can distress it
• The need for a top coat to make it durable to water and stains
• Low odor
• Adheres well to many surfaces without priming like wood, metal, ceramic, glass, canvas and more.

Final Verdict on Chalked Paint

I would consider using Chalked Paint mainly for the lower price. If you don’t mind the initial odor being a bit higher than Annie Sloan, it will still reach odorless in good time.

If you have a particularly hard to paint surface I would check with the company to make sure it can go over that surface without a special primer.

You can buy it on Amazon which is a plus.

Non-Toxic Topcoats to Seal Chalk Paint

I tried the Annie Sloan Wax which smelled strongly like petroleum, that wax would not be low VOC.

Non-toxic low odor waxes include options from The Real Milk Paint Company that are made with safer solvents.

• Soft Wax in Clear: Goes on super easily, dries to clear, flat/satin finish. It doesn’t turn white if it gets applied too thick. It gives off no noxious fumes since it’s made with highly refined odorless mineral spirits.
• Clear Carnauba Wax: Very similar to the Soft Wax but it will be more durable and have a higher sheen. It also will turn hazy if it gets too thick like in a crack or hole. Also made with odorless mineral spirits.
• Wood Wax: This wax also works well over Chalk Paint. It is made with walnut oil and carnauba wax. It’s VOC free, food contact safe. The biggest downsides are that it does need some curing time (10-15 days) and since it contains an oil it darkens, richens and slightly yellows the color of the Chalk Paint.

I also tried the BioShield Glaze and that helped it hold up perfectly to mustard and mayo as well. This formula is non-toxic. The ingredients are alcohol ester, cellulose, clay, preservative, silica, water, and carnauba wax.

AFM Penetrating Waterstop did not help it hold up to mustard or mayo even though I had great results using this over clay plaster.

Other Non-Toxic Brands of Chalk Paint:

Renaissance Retique it Chalk Paint

Renaissance Chalk Paint is non-toxic. It has zero-VOCs and is very low in odor. The binder is acrylic. The formula will be similar to Annie Sloan and Chalked.

Dixie Belle Chalk Paint

Dixie Belle Chalk Paint is non-toxic. It is zero-VOC and low odor. They claim it’s a latex paint so it has an acrylic or PVA binder.

Krylon Chalky Finish Paint by Sherwin Williams

Krylon Chalky Finish brush on paint is a water-based paint but the VOCs are not listed. On the Lowes website, it indicates that it is not low-VOC nor low odor.

Spray paint formulas are almost always higher in VOCs and odor. Lowes does not list the spray paint as non-toxic.

Corinne Segura is a Building Biologist Practitioner with 7 years of experience helping others create healthy homes.

Pesticide manufacturer labels or safety data sheets (SDS) identify decontaminants such as chlorine bleach, caustic soda (lye), or lime. But there are limitations to that data, they do not show the degradation rate or if there are potentially toxic byproducts that could form during decontamination. Plus using lye and lime to clean is usually not practical for actual cleaning needs and they can’t be used on many surfaces.

I have reviewed the studies on decontamination and remediation of residential pesticides to find some cleaning methods that would work in real homes.

Please consult with a local Industrial Hygienist and the pesticide company that makes the product you are attempting to clean up and break down. Remember that some of these methods do produce byproducts with some pesticides.

1. Surfactants

While surfactants on their own are not enough to eliminate pesticides they are a good start and they can be used in combination with other chemicals. In the study below on hydrogen peroxide, some of the formulas contained surfactants.

My post on degreasers covers the strongest industrial formulas that are still non-toxic.

This strategy is not producing a chemical reaction and so it should not produce any byproducts. It’s a safe way to start to reduce the pesticide load.

2. Hydrogen Peroxide

In one study hydrogen peroxide effectively degraded organophosphorus and pyrethroid pesticides, but had less activity on breaking down organochlorine.

The study concluded that hydrogen peroxide is useful for the degradation of organophosphorus and pyrethroid.

(source)

In another study, building materials were contaminated with the following pesticides: malathion, carbaryl, fipronil, deltamethrin, and permethrin.

The hydrogen peroxide component in DF200 and Sterilex products was found to be highly effective for degrading malathion, carbaryl, fipronil, deltamethrin, and permethrin on stainless-steel, plywood, and vinyl.

Hydrogen peroxide containing products were most effective at degrading carbaryl (>71-99%) and least effective on permethrin (<54%).

(source)

3. Bleach

In the same study, they also tested out full-strength bleach. Bleach effectively reduced the levels and broke down all of the tested pesticides except for carbaryl. It worked really well on permethrin, degrading it efficiently >94%.

They used a long contact time (18 hr) for both hydrogen peroxide and bleach. (source)

They used full-strength bleach which is technically not recommend by manufacturers. They suggest proceeding with caution with bleach.

Bleach can react with other chemicals to form byproducts, be sure to talk to the manufacturer of the pesticide before proceeding (source). Read more in this study for possible byproducts.

4. Bacteria and Enzymes

In another study, bacteria and enzymes were tested for their ability to break down and biodegrade pesticides. They were tested in soil and water, not in real-life conditions of a home, so keep in mind that that changes things.

Among the strains tested, bacteria that belong to the genera Bacillus, Brevibacillus, Ochrobactrum, Pseudomonas, Serratia, and Sphingobium “were found to be very metabolically active microorganisms that are capable of degrading various pyrethroids”.

A few pyrethroid-degrading enzymes have been documented: carboxylase from B. cereus SM3, pyrethroid hydrolase from A. niger ZD11, EstP from Klebsiella sp. ZD112 and PytH (31 kDa) from Sphingobium sp. JZ-1. In addition, Pye3, PytZ and PytY, anthropi YZ-1 and thermostable esterase Sys410.

(source)

Folks with environmental sensitivity have used bacteria and enzymes for remediation of various chemical and biological contaminants. I have not assessed whether the products on the market that are often used by the chemically sensitive will work for this purpose.

However, the products on the market include:

Bacterial:

• Liquid EM-1
• HomeBiotic

Enzymatic high strength:

• Mold Toxin Klear
• Enzyme Komplete

Enzymatic lower strength:

• See my post on enzyme cleaners

5. Vinegar, Baking Soda, and Lemon

One study had a different goal, which was to remove pesticides from beans. Some of these pesticides are in the same class used for pesticides in homes so I thought I would list this option here.

Their formula was 4% Acetic Acid + 0.1% baking soda + 1 Lemon followed by a 2% salt solution which was partially effective in reducing the residues of the pesticides chlorantraniliprole, bifenthrin profenophos, lambda cyhalothrin, beta cyfluthrin, fipronil, flubendiamide, and imidacloprid.

(source)

Other remediation techniques:

• Sealing with polyurethane (source Johnson, M. Letter to Steve Renninger, On-Scene Coordinator, US EPA: Documentation for Previous Verbal Consultations that ATSDR Provided to the US EPA and the Cincinnati Department of Health Regarding Excessive Spray of Malathion in Several Residences; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry: Chicago, IL, 2011.)
• Use urgent containment like aluminum foil.

Corinne Segura is a Building Biologist Practitioner with 7 years of experience helping others create healthy homes.

This article covers sealers for containing offgassing and odors including VOCs, semi VOCs, smoke, fragrance, and more. The sealers likely are good barriers to non-volatile chemicals as well.

The article is ordered by material that you want to seal.

There are two main classes of sealants:

1. Shellac

Shellac is a natural wax that comes from a beetle and in its purest form is just the natural wax and food-grade alcohol like ethanol. You can mix it yourself by buying the flakes and alcohol or you can buy the more synthetic versions by Zinsser that I will list.

Shellac is technically high in VOCs because the alcohol is very volatile. But it’s extremely fast to offgas and very few people don’t do well with shellac after it cures.

Shellac has downsides but if it works for your project it’s also going to provide the best seal.

2. Water-Based Sealants

AFM makes a number of water-based sealants to seal in offgassing. They are either acrylic or polyurethane-based. Not all of their products stick to all surfaces so I will list in the post where they are most useful.

Water-based sealants are typically not good at sealing in fragrance and smoke.

3. Paint

Water-based paint works on some odorants but not others as you will see in the post. The best option is a paint with zeolite which can help to absorb some VOCs.

Shellac-based paint is a much better block of VOCs and odors but it’s stronger in offgassing, so that is reserved for cases when that trade-off is worth it.

This article focuses on sealing strategies only. Related articles focus on cleaning strategies, air purifiers, chemical breakdown, and physical barriers to sequester offgassing. There are links to these resources at the end of the post.

This post contains affiliate links. Upon purchase, I make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

1. Sealing in the Odors and Offgassing of Vinyl

A. Shellac

Shellac is the best block to seal in the odors and VOCs of vinyl. I suspect that it also works well to seal in the plasticizers.

I have tried shellac on luxury vinyl plank (LVP), vinyl sheet, and vinyl tile. This is an ideal sealer for vinyl because it sticks really well, even if the vinyl is flexible. You can also remove it later with alcohol. On LVP it might be difficult to remove thoroughly though because of all the grooves, I would not expect to get that perfectly out.

It can also be used on vinyl walls (like in trailers), vinyl baseboard trim, or other interior molding, and vinyl window frames.

Painting over the shellac

Chalked Paint and Annie Sloan Chalk Paint went over waxed and dewaxed shellac and it was still flexible (i.e. the paint didn’t crack). Polyurethane over waxed shellac didn’t adhere very well but it usually can go over a dewaxed shellac. (Polyurethane over Chalked Paint and Chalk paint went over fine).

B. AFM HardSeal

Andy from Green Design Center recommends washing vinyl flooring with a degreaser that does not leave a residue. Then in one area, test to see if AFM Safecoat Hardseal adheres to it. If it does, this sealer will work well.

C. Paint

ECOS Paints recommends making sure the floor is clean, dry, and free of any loose dirt, grime, or waxy residue. Then lightly scuff off any factory-applied clear protective layer with fine sandpaper.

Then remove any sanding dust and apply three coats of ECOS Floor Paint in your desired sheen and color, allowing at least 8 hours between coats.

Some paint colors that are “poor hiding colors” will need a primer. You can use ECOS Universal Primer first, in this case.

2. Sealants to Block Offgassing from Wood

A. Sealing in the Natural Odorants of Wood

For a clear look, shellac is the best block of the natural odorants like terpenes and formaldehyde in wood. If you don’t mind the wood being shiny and being more difficult to coat over later, shellac on its own can work. You can also use AFM Poly BP over dewaxed shellac.

Alternatively, you can use synthetics sealers like Safecoat Acriglaze, HardSeal, Acrylacq, or PolyBP. If you are sealing wood floors you would use Poly BP, if it’s furniture use Acrylacq.

For a painted finish you can use one coat of dewaxed shellac (then sand it lightly), then ECOS Universal Primer, then any acrylic/latex paint that you tolerate.

If you are not extremely sensitive to terpenes you can skip the shellac and just use paint. Paint on its own is a very decent block of paint odorants.

Use a primer like ECOS (zero-VOC, generally the most popular brand) followed by ECOS paint or Safecoat Transitional Primer (low VOC, not always tolerated), followed by Safefcoat paint. 

Pearl (or higher gloss) will give the best sealing properties. Many people sensitive to the odor of wood find that painting is sufficient.

If you’re not extremely sensitive to wood odorants any of the options in this list will do.

If you are sealing pine be sure to use the tannin blocking primer so you don’t get bleed through splotches.

B. Sealing in Offgassing from Wood

If your wood has picked up other chemicals you can use either shellac or Poly BP in most cases. AFM PolyBP is a polyurethane, not originally formulated to block offgassing, but if that works on your substrate it is the best AFM Sealer for blocking VOCs.

For sealing in fragrance and smoke see the last section of the article.

C. Sealing in Fungicides in Wood

Wood windows almost always contain fungicides and should be sealed.

You could use a sealer that seals those chemicals like AFM Safe Seal, AFM Transitional Primer, or Zinsser Shellac (the Bullseye Shellac is waxed and harder to paint over, the SealCoat is dewaxed and easier to paint over).

D. Sealing Laminate and Engineered Wood Flooring

Laminate flooring has a plastic top layer and an HDF core. It does not have real wood as the top layer making it harder to seal.

I have sealed the underside successfully (i.e. the visible HDF parts) with Safeseal. If you want to seal the top, Hardseal will work better. Andy Pace recommends 3 very thin coats.

Engineered wood flooring has real wood as the top layer, so you can sand or buff off the surface. Then you can apply AFM Safecoat Poly BP.

You can also use Earthpaint Nanotech.

Poly BP and Nanotech, or any other acrylic or polyurethane sealers, are not as good of a seal as shellac or the factory finishes.

Engineered wood and solid pre-finished flooring usually have an aluminum oxide infused polyurethane factory-applied coating that is very difficult to sand. Also note that the aluminum oxide coating is excellent at sealing in offgassing, so you would not likely need to add anything to that. I would not sand down the aluminum oxide coating, but if you did need added sealing you can consider adding shellac on top. I have had good luck with removing the shellac off this coating later with alcohol.

3. Blocking Formaldehyde from Engineered Woods (Like Particleboard and Fiberboard)

A. Shellac

Plywood, particleboard, and fiberboard (MDF and HDF, Masonite, Hardboard) are generally made with formaldehyde binders. To block the formaldehyde, shellac is an excellent sealant.

If you have particleboard backed in melamine, you can choose just to seal the raw edges since the melamine blocks the formaldehyde. If you need to also seal the melamine you can seal that with shellac, this worked well and also came off later with alcohol. You generally cannot seal melamine with water-based products, so shellac would be the way to go there.

B. SafeSeal

AFM Safe Seal is specially formulated to seal in formaldehyde in plywood, particleboard, and OSB. This is a water-based sealant that is extremely low in odor even when wet. It generally leaves an invisible look behind, or close to it.

Not recommended by the company for sealing walls, it’s almost exclusively for sealing formaldehyde in wood. It’s low-VOC.

For sealing melamine particle board – only seal the edges with SafeSeal.

I tested this on wood products that were offgassing formaldehyde and it works quite well. In comparison to shellac, shellac works a little bit better.

C. AFM EXT

AFM EXT polyurethane might be a better option in high moisture areas, like to seal plywood in an RV for example.

4. Sealing in Paint and/or Drywall

A. Sealing in New Drywall 

AFM Safecoat New Wallboard Prime Coat covered by your choice of 0 VOC paint is a good combo. It’s unlikely that it is the drywall itself that is offgassing (and more likely the paint or drywall mud, the glue behind the drywall, and other materials behind that cannot be sealed easily).

If it’s the materials behind the drywall that are offgassing, see the post on air sealing.

B. Sealing in Paint that is Offgassing

AFM Transitional Primer is even more of a block than regular paint or primer, but it’s a partial vapor barrier and so should be used with caution on exterior walls if you use AC inside. This is usually a good choice to seal in paint that is offgassing.

To seal over oil paint that is offgassing, you could also go with shellac (dewaxed) then AFM Hardseal for the best seal. AFM Hardseal alone could be used over water-based paint.

Both AFM Transitional Primer and shellac will stick to oil-based paint to block the offgassing and transition to water-based paint.

The best way to paint over shellac is either AFM Transitional Primer or Chalk Paint as the primer. Over Chalk Paint, you need a sealer for best results if you want to leave it or prime over it before painting with Farrow and Ball Wall and Ceiling primer. It’s difficult to paint over Chalk Paint with regular paint and get it even as my samples below show.

5. Sealing Fiberglass

For sealing fiberglass in trailers, domes, or other shelters you can use shellac. You can add AFM Hardseal on top of that if tolerated, to add more sealing.

This is not for sealing fiberglass showers.

6. Sealing Concrete

Generally, concrete itself doesn’t offgas, though it’s possible that certain additives were added to it that make it intolerable for some people. It’s also possible that concrete has picked up secondary contaminants. If that is the case, first make every effort to decontaminate it. I have posts on smoke and fragrance, as well as decontaminating pesticides.

Sealing concrete is a little thicker than sealing other materials. Concrete that is in a basement or slab on grade needs to be able to dry to the inside, basement walls need to dry in too. Sealants that block offgassing also block moisture.

If sealing a concrete floor or wall that is meant to dry in, I would only use sealants in small patches.

If your concrete is an upper-level floor, like in an apartment building, with the lower floor the same temperature (more or less), that does not need to be able to dry in.

Sealants that work on concrete include:

Shellac

AFM EXT Exterior Polyurethane

Earthpaint Nanotech

Epoxy – an epoxy coating is the most waterproof/vapor-proof option which would be a bad idea in my opinion where the concrete is trying to dry in. It’s also not non-toxic while curing, so you would need to test it to calculate how long it takes to cure to your tolerance. Epoxy is not something I would use for this variable cure time, which can depend on how well it was mixed and other conditions on-site. Though some people may want to consider this option.

7. Sealing Rigid Foam

Shellac works perfectly to seal XPS foam. If you pick up any odor off the foam this would help, plus I would expect it to block most of the flame retardants from migrating out.

Shellac also worked well on the inside of ZIP R which has a plastic texture over polyiso foam.

8. Sealing in Fragrance & Smoke

When remediating fragrance and smoke you first want to try to wash the material with a degreaser or mineral spray and you might also want to try other methods outlined in the post on remediating fragrance and smoke.

Water-based products do not work well on fragrance because the fragrance emulsifies into the coating while you are applying it. I tried ECOs Purifying Primer which barely helped at all. Repainting in a water-based paint could be done as a last step.

AFM HardSeal did help a little bit with the Febreze odors in my tests.

Shellac was by far the best seal on both Febreze and smoke odors. After using two coats of shellac, then you can go over with a water-based primer and paint, or even AFM HardSeal if you still need more sealing.

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and Rustoleum Chalked Paint can go over waxed shellac.

You may want to go with a more conventional primer so that you can more easily paint over it. In that case, go with a shellac-based primer like BIN Shellac. But this is not as fast to offgas as the other options on this list. You will need to test that out for yourself to see if it’s worth it.

Related Posts:

• Remediating fragrance and smoke
• Remediating offgassing in a new house
• Encasing materials to block offgassing

Corinne Segura is a Building Biologist Practitioner with 7 years of experience helping others create healthy homes.

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Phosphorescent paint is commonly called “glow-in-the-dark” paint. It is made from phosphors such as Zinc Sulfide (doped with other metals to get different colors) or Strontium Aluminate (doped with Europium or Dysprosium) and typically glows a yellowish-green or blue color.

This article focuses on glow-in-the-dark paints used on walls, crafts, art projects, and decor items. I take a close look at what these pigments powders are and if they are really non-toxic and safe.

What are glow-in-the-dark paints made of?

Zinc Sulfide-based products are the original glow-in-the-dark pigment. This is used primarily for products in the novelty category and the less expensive products for kids. This is the older type of pigment and it’s the least bright type.

The newer type of glow-in-the-dark pigment is Strontium Aluminate doped with Europium which is about ten times brighter than Zinc Sulfide. The glow also lasts ten times longer, usually for several hours, but it can go on for longer. It costs more than Zinc Sulfide.

The color of Strontium pigments can vary between various shades of green and blue. Blue tones have the longest glow time, and green produces a brighter glow.

While both types are based on earth metals, neither is considered toxic with normal use. Like most metals, you want to be careful not to inhale the powder form, and you don’t want to ingest it. Normal use of these pigments in paints used in arts, crafts, and decor is considered safe, but we are going to look at what that means exactly.

I also look at the paint base itself, and we always aim for zero-VOCs in a paint. But paints made for arts and crafts do not have to declare their VOC level the way that wall paints do. While water-based acrylic arts and crafts paints are not high in VOCs, I do provide options on how you can mix the pigments with a zero-VOC paint base.

This post contains affiliate links. Upon purchase, I make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Safety of Phosphorescent Pigments

Before looking at some examples of non-toxic paint brands and pigments brands let’s take a closer look at the toxicity issues with these pigments. I really wanted to understand these phosphorescent metals to make sure they were something I would actually feel safe using.

Is Zinc Sulfide Safe?

Zinc Sulfide is the main form of Zinc found in nature. Different metals are used to activate Zinc Sulfide to produce different-colored pigments and paints. Silver produces blue, Manganese produces orange-red, and Copper produces green.

Zinc Sulfide doped with Copper Chloride is approved by the FDA for cosmetics with some restrictions but is not considered toxic or hazardous. However, facial makeup preparations containing luminescent Zinc Sulfide are intended for use only on limited, infrequent occasions like Halloween, and not for daily use. When applied to the skin there is a higher level of caution due to the possibility of absorption over time. (source) The latest info I could find said that this is the only glow-in-the-dark pigment allowed for cosmetic use.

But when used on external projects, the primary risk of Zinc Sulfide is in inhaling the dust or to the environment during disposal. You will generally see a warning on disposal for anything with a concentrated earth metal in it. With Zinc Sulfide you are meant to contact a professional waste disposal service (source).

I don’t consider it to be toxic to the user when used in paint that is intended for the wall, arts, crafts, and decor items.

Is Strontium Aluminate Safe?

Strontium sounds more exotic than Zinc for certain. Strontium Aluminate acts as a phosphorescent pigment when combined with Europium or Dysprosium, two rare earth metals that are considered non-toxic and are non-radioactive.

Strontium Aluminate is considered chemically and biologically inert and non-toxic. Warnings include avoiding contact with acids, and of course, avoiding inhalation and ingestion. It does not offgas VOCs or give off hazardous decomposition materials.

It’s not surprising to see guidelines on disposal, like with any metal. It “should not be released into the environment. Do not allow material to contaminate groundwater system. Do not flush into surface water or sanitary sewer system.” (source)

Do They Have an Odor?

Strontium Aluminate based minerals and Zinc Sulfide pigments are both odorless.

Are They Radioactive?

Some glow-in-the-dark pigments advertise themselves as non-radioactive. The reason being is that there are glow-in-the-dark substances for paints, namely Radium, Promethium, and Tritium, that are radioactive.

You won’t accidentally find these radioactive elements in glow-in-the-dark paint or in toys you can buy today. It would be very obvious if a product was contaminated or adulterated with radioactive substances, mainly because radioactive paint is self-luminous, it doesn’t require an external energy source to glow, and the glow of radioactive paint lasts for years, while regular non-radioactive paints only glow for hours (at most half a day).

It is possible you could see radioactive phosphorescent coatings in other industries. Some vintage watches had very high levels of Radium Zinc Sulfide.

And radioactive elements are of course harmful to humans, Radium decays to radon gas, which is carcinogenic. Radon from Radium dials can sometimes accumulate to potentially dangerous levels (source).

Promethium, another radioactive element that can be added to non-consumer grade paint, glows for a couple of years. And Tritium, also a radioactive element, glows for about 12 years. Tritium is not as harmful as Radium and so it can still be found in watches, cockpit instruments, and gunsights. (source)

Are they Free of Heavy Metals?

That’s a complicated question. A few brands of glow-in-the-dark paint advertise themselves as free of heavy metals, however, there is no consensus on the definition of heavy metal. “It is either a metal of high density or a toxic, relatively dense metal” (source). Lead and Mercury are the only metals that everyone agrees are heavy metals, because they are both heavy and toxic. These elements are not found in glow-in-the-dark paints.

But elements found in these phosphorescent paints like Zinc and Aluminum can be considered heavy metals, and Aluminum is toxic if it finds its way into your body. Europium and Dysprosium are also heavy metals if classified by weight, though they are not known to be toxic (source).

Non-Toxic Glow in the Dark Paint Brands

1. PEBEO Studio Acrylics– Phosphorescent Gel has good reviews. This seems to be the most universally liked option. They don’t provide information on the VOC levels of the paint but acrylic artists’ paints are generally not toxic.

2. FolkArt says their Glow in the Dark Paints are low and zero VOC, they didn’t say if the glow-in-the-dark paint is low VOC or zero VOC specifically. This is a decent low-cost option for kids’ projects. It is probably based on Zinc Sulfide since it doesn’t glow for very long. I have used this brand’s paints and would consider them safe and non-toxic.

3. Art n glow – is an acrylic clear coat made with Strontium Aluminate. This could be a good option for art, DIY projects, and crafts that you want to glow brightly. It has good reviews.

4. Deco Art is a really common brand that you will find in stores and on Amazon, they have their Ultimate Glow and their standard Glow in the Dark Paint. The standard Glow in the Dark Paint is affordable but does not produce a very strong glow. This is another brand that is in the low cost and best for kids’ projects category. Folk Art does have better reviews.

Non-Toxic Glow in the Dark Pigments

You can also mix glow-in-the-dark powders like Strontium Aluminate with the non-toxic paint of your choice. I would recommend going with a zero-VOC latex paint like ECOS Paints brand, which you can buy online. You can get small sample sizes if you want to use them for crafts or small DIY projects. However, the samples only come in white.

You can also get small sample sizes of AFM Safecoat Paint from Green Design Center, which you can order tinted.

1. LIT is a popular glow-in-the-dark powder that works really well.

2. Luminous Glow Powder Pigment powder, Strontium with some Europium, it looks like.

Sources:

• Bloomberg
• Nanoamor
• Science Direct
• ThoughtCo
• Science Daily