milk paint

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How to DIY the eco way

Spring is in the air and home improvement is par for the course. We look at the greenest ways to fix up your place, without breaking the bank.

We all think of home - no matter how messy it is inside - as the clean and safe haven from the grimy outside world. We paint it, decorate it, cook, love, grow, sleep, eat and rest in it - and yet most of us don't know that the air in our homes is around three times more polluted than the air outside.

While we've been busily scrubbing away with chemical solvents and cleaners or painting our bathrooms a glorious shade of lavender, the chemicals present in all those products have been leaving their toxic residues in the air and on countertops and sinks.

As a result, the pine 'scent' or new paint 'smells' associated with spring cleaning are actually helping to further contaminate the very place we want to be chemical-free.

Luckily, alternatives are easily accessible and surprisingly cost-effective.

Check out these eco-friendly tips that should help get your home in order without the toxic price tag.

:: Understanding VOCs Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are used in the production of many household items like paints, sealants and varnishes, and can evaporate or 'off-gas' at room temperature for years, with the potential to cause health problems such as cancer, nausea and headaches.

New lower VOC paints, varnishes and stains will come into effect from 2010, with many already carrying VOC-content labels with a five-band classification from 'minimal' to 'very high'.

If you want to diminish the VOC content in your home, plants are good natural air-deodorisers.

Research has show that VOCs can be reduced from 50-70% by placing three or more in an average-sized room. The best performers include peace lilies, rubber plants, kentia palms and spider plants.

:: Decorating Believe it or not, a spring clean without a freshly painted wall could be a lot cleaner. As and Adam Lowry, founders of eco-friendly cleaning brand Method and authors of Squeaky Green: The Method Guide To Detoxing Your Home, put it, "If your walls could talk, they'd say they've got gas".

Conventional paint is made from oil, heavy metals, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), solvents and formaldehyde - ingredients that 'off-gas' or evaporate over long periods of time and leach poisons into the earth when you rinse out your paint brushes.

That 'new paint smell' that lingers on and on after you've painted a room is due to off-gassing, and it's dangerous: VOCs have been linked to all sorts of health problems, from headaches to cancer and central nervous system disorders.

The US Environmental Protection Agency says levels of VOCs in a newly painted house can be up to 1,000 times higher than outdoor levels, so aim for paints that are natural, organic, VOC-free or low-VOC.

Natural paints include lime washes or organic paints made from vegetable and mineral extracts bound with natural oils or resins.

Check out the ranges at Ecos Paints [www.ecospaints.com], EarthBorn [www.earthbornpaints.co.uk], Nutshell [www.nutshellpaints.co.uk], Ieko [www.ieko.co.uk] and Urbane Living [www.urbaneliving.co.uk].

Be aware however that some natural paints are still made with solvents that can be low-level irritants.

These paints don't last as long as conventional paints - they lack the long-lasting preservatives - and they also take longer to dry as they lack chemical drying agents. But the bonus is that any leftover paint can be added to the compost.

Paint box :: Milk paint is a mix of casein, a protein found in milk, mixed with earth pigments, that lends a smooth finish on interior walls.

:: Lime washes are made from lime and natural pigments and lend a softer, weathered look.

:: Low-VOC paints should be checked to see just how many VOCs are present: the lower the number the better.

:: You can also look for the Ecolabel flower, a symbol on products that are eco-friendly from their manufacture to their disposal.

:: Whatever paint you choose, be sure to air out the room for a week before using it.

:: Wallpaper You probably never thought that wallpaper could be toxic, but wallpapers are made with toxic inks, can contain VOCs and toxic fungicides and are attached to walls using toxic glue.

Recycled or FSC-certified papers printed with water-based inks are much more eco-friendly.

Using water-based paste instead of synthetic versions to paper your wall will also cut down on your home's toxicity.

For inspiration, see Graham & Brown's Eco Collection [www.grahambrown.com], which uses designs by students from Central St 's, or Ecocentric's [www.ecocentric.co.uk] range of burlesque dancers, rainforests and birds inspired by Brighton Pavilion.

:: Carpets Conventional carpets are made using dozens of polluting chemicals. Once fitted into a room they emit noxious fumes, including VOCs, for long periods of time.

Even natural-fibre carpets can be treated with toxic stain repellents and fire retardants that can continue to evaporate for years, so it's important to know what you're putting down.

Aim for carpets made of natural fibres, without any chemical protective treatments, such as jute, coir, wool or sisal, with an undercarpet made from recycled rubber or natural latex. Alternative Flooring [www.alternativeflooring.com] sells a wide range of natural carpets at stockists all over the country, including many branches of .

Try to use mechanical fixings like tacks or staples instead of synthetic adhesives when you fit the carpet, or aim for a water-based adhesive instead.

:: Wood sealant Like paints, sealants and varnishes tend to be loaded with VOCs.

Many also contain polyurethane and di-isocyanate, a respiratory irritant.

Shellac is a great, 100% natural sealant (it's actually a resin made by the female lac bug as it forms a cocoon) that's easy to use.

It dries to a finish within two to three hours and can be used on plain wood or painted surfaces.

Shellac can also seal in any wood that may be emitting toxic fumes (such as that painted with conventional paint).

Look for natural stains like lime finishes that give an aged look to wood - Ieko and Ecos Paints stock good ranges.

Wood polishes are often made with ingredients like phenol, nitrobenzene and petroleum distillates, which are highly flammable, harmful when inhaled and noxious to the skin.

Take care of your wood furniture by using a simple, cost-effective and natural polish you can make yourself, as recommended by Reader's Digest Green Home.

DIY furniture polish 125g beeswax, grated 500ml raw linseed oil (for dark wood) or olive oil (for pale wood) 1tsp lavender or rosemary essential oil Melt the wax in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Carefully add the oil and stir over heat for three minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the essential oil. Transfer to a clean jar and allow to set.

Using a soft cloth, rub polish sparingly into the wood, leave for 30 minutes and then polish off.