What sheen of paint should I use on the exterior of my South Florida home?
This is a question we are asked quite often. The sheen of paint chosen for the exterior of your South Florida home is more than just one of aesthetic value. Primarily here in the South Florida area we have the ongoing contention of high mold spore count in our general atmosphere. Typically the sheen of choice for the rest of the country when painting and exterior home is flat. Due to our extremely high mold spore count in Palm Beach, Martin, Broward and Dade counties we always recommend a paint with a bit of sheen.
Sheen is a result of the resinous, adhesive binder (enamel) percentage content within a paint product. Enamel creates a solid barrier through which mold is unable to penetrate. This is one of the main reasons bathroom ceilings and walls are often painted in a higher sheen product. We generally recommend a Satin Finish for the exterior of any home we are painting in the South Florida area. This creates a protective barrier for both wood and stucco which are extremely porous materials and prevents mold spores from adhering to exterior surfaces, it also may do much in further prevention of these same mold spores entering in through the walls and into the home. This is a little less likely as air is continually circulated within the home from the external atmosphere, but we sure hope it makes some difference.
While sheen will protect the outer façade of your home from mold spores, as mentioned above the constant influx of exterior air into your home through windows, doors, HVAC systems, etc., will still allot for a high mold content within the home. If you are concerned with this, as many of us are, one key area in which you can make a tremendous difference is in the introduction of air purifying plants into the home. Here are a few such like plants:
· Peace Lily
· Philondendrous
· ZZ Plant
· Dracaena Marginata
· Fiddle Leaf Fig
· Snake Plant
These plants are scientifically proven to filter mold spores from the air within your home and some such as the Peace Lily even filter other harmful airborne substances such as Benzene, Formaldehyde, Toluene, Xylene and Carbon Monoxide.
We hope this has helped in the choice of the sheen content for the painting of the exterior of your home. In addition to the above we will mention that stagnant water is one of the main proponents of the cause of mold spores within the atmosphere and stagnant water is abundant throughout the South Florida region. This is due in fact to our means of development and not realizing that indigenous vegetation such as the Mangrove Tree and Cat Tails are natures remedy to eliminating many of these water borne ailments from ever entering our atmosphere. If you happen to live by a stagnant body of water consider speaking with your HOA or POA about reintroducing some of these plants on the banks of the water. One reason we can think of as to why this may not always be a pertinent solution is that such plants would provide coverage for animals such as alligators, if this is the case the aeration of the water is still possible by installing within the bed of the lake a few impellers such as the ‘Lily Impeller’ which is able to mix up to 10,000 gallons of water with the necessary power input of a light bulb.
Let’s make our community a better place to live, for ourselves and future generations.
- The Emerald Leaf Painting Company