Creating a Healthier Indoor Environment

When trying to create a healthier acute-care environment, the quality of the indoor air seems especially important. Patients may have compromised immune systems, heightened sensitivity, or simply exhibit a greater vulnerability to respiratory irritants during their sickness and recovery. As previously discussed, healthcare facilities are working hard to prevent infections spread by touching contaminated surfaces. They are also focused on improving the quality of the air that surrounds their staff and patients to minimize potential complications caused by exposure to the immediate environment.

One important character to introduce in the discussion of indoor air quality is the volatile organic compound (VOC). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines VOCs as gases that are emitted from certain solids or liquids. These gases can have adverse effects on the health and well-being of the people exposed. Thousands of products commonly found in interior environments emit VOCs, including the traditional wall coating, and regulatory bodies have set VOC content limits in an attempt to control the cumulative exposure that a person may experience in any one space.

The lower the level of VOCs emitted by a material, the better it is for the interior air quality of the building. Technological advancements in wall coatings have resulted in low- and zero-VOC formulas that are now widely available. On healthcare projects, where indoor air quality is increasingly scrutinized, it is becoming critical to specify a low- or zero-VOC paint.

These low- and zero-VOC coatings can also contribute toward earning points in green building programs, such as the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) rating system, as well as meeting guidelines from the Green Guide for Healthcare (GGHC) and a variety of other environmental regulations.

Now new technology wall coatings can help improve the indoor environments of healthcare facilities in two additional ways: Wall coatings can help reduce VOCs in the air and inhibit the growth of mold and mildew on the paint film.

Wall Coatings Now Clean the Air

The latest evolution of architectural wall coatings is now equipped to contribute more to the interior environment than low- or zero-VOC emissions. New wall coatings can actually help reduce VOCs emitted by other materials out of the air, improving air quality. This advancement in the wall coating formula is called formaldehyde-reducing technology and the VOC that it removes from the air is formaldehyde and other aldehydes.

More durable paint reduces the repaints caused by paint failure and enables patient rooms to be occupied more days every year. Photo courtesy of The Sherwin-Williams Company