What's the most eco-friendly way to prep a wall for painting?

Question

We're getting ready to sell our condo, and need to paint a few walls. We read that trisodium phosphate was the best pre-paint cleaner, but the Home depot man said it wasn't available because it was bad for the enviroment.

So, What's good for the enviroment?

And, what works?

Answer 1

Light sanding, wipe down with water to remove the dust. Or use a rough pad (like Scotch-brite) in water, just to roughen up the surface enough for the paint to adhere. You just want to make sure there's no dust particles and the surface has enough texture so the paint has something to bite into. TSP was never necessary. A touch of bleach in the water won't hurt either. It'll help to prevent any possible mildew, which is all TSP really is for in the first place. When thoroughly dry, use a latex primer and Bob's your uncle. There are eco-friendly paints and primers out there. Talk to your paint supplier.

Answer 2

sanding is the best way to prep it. all of the voc's which are found it paints have already left the paint film your are sanding, thus there is no further contamination created by sanding. voc's=volatile organic compounds. these compounds interfere with the natural ozone degradation at the tropospheric level, thus are attributed to ground level smog

now - to repaint the walls, choose an eco friendly paint. latex can have the same amount of voc's as oil - so don't be fooled by the myth that latexes are good for the environment. but low voc coatings are almost exclusivley latexes. most paint stores have good ones - try sherwin williams health spec. spend a few bucks more than you figure - you'll sleep - i mean breathe better at night :)

look for paints that are marketed as low voc's or no voc's; this is the most eco friendly way to go.
also - "odorless" does mean they are eco-friendly

Answer 3

I dont know that you need to go thru all that if that paint on the walls isint that old you can just paint right over it.. if the colors are dark or very old just use a primer and paint over the walls...

Answer 4

just use a house hold cleaner mix with water to get the dirt and dust off of the wall,then prime the wall with a primer that has a stain hiding agent have your stain tinted to the color you will paint the wall and you shouldn't have any problems

Answer 5

just use primer

Answer 6

sand it down.