It might be that you are looking to repaint your home’s hallways for the first time in years. It might be that you are looking to repaint your ceiling, or repaint a whole room. It might be that you are looking to do a bit of touch-up work, or it might be that you’re ready to do repaint your entire home from top to bottom. There are any number of different reasons why you might be getting ready to begin a new painting project, but whatever your project may be, you can bet that you’re going to have some leftover paint afterward. For many of us, throwing away leftover paint is a natural impulse.
However, it’s one that you’ll want to keep in check. There are actually some very good reasons to keep that leftover paint on hand. Here just a few reasons why it’s a bad idea to toss leftover paint.
Making a Mess
To begin with, simply tossing away excess paint is a good way to make a huge mess, which you naturally want to avoid. If you chuck a massive amount of paint into your trash bin, the sheer amount of paint involved will make it highly likely that some will seep through any plastic bags which you might have in place, thus staining the actual trash can itself. Once more, the paint can seep through and leak everywhere once you remove the trash bag. If you aren’t using a trash bag, it can permanently stain the can in question. None of these are likely to be alternatives you want.
Causing Fumes
What’s more, if you simply toss away paint without any regard for proper disposal methods, you’re going to be stuck with that paint for a long time. If you keep that can in an enclosed space, that can mean a buildup of spoiled paint fumes which, at best, can smell rather noxious and, at worst, can lead you to feel ill and pose serious flammability risks.
Weighing Down Your Can
In addition to all of these points, it is also worth noting that by simply tossing away excess paint, you are likely to make the cans in question extremely heavy, which is never fun.
Environmental Woes
Let’s say that you do finally get rid of your excess paint, but having it collected as part of your trash collection can lead to it polluting the environment, which is never a good outcome.
You’ll thus want to make sure to dispose of your paint in safer ways. For example, you can let it sit and dry out over time, or follow guidelines for disposing of paint in environmentally safe ways. You might also find uses for excess paint.
What’s more, it’s worth noting that paint has a relatively long shelf life compared to other home improvement items. As such, simply chucking out unused paint is wasteful when you might well need to use more of that paint in the future. Safely storing paint can thus help you save on paint costs later.
All of this can help you avoid problems and make better use of leftover paint.
Ray is an inspiring leader with a strong work ethic stemming from his exemplary upbringing in a caring and loving family environment. His parents modeled the importance of integrity and hard work to him and his siblings, values which Ray now instills in his teenage daughter. As the owner of Aspen Painting & Wallcovering, Inc., he leads by example by expecting nothing but the best from himself and his employees. His primary goal is to provide superior service and quality craftsmanship to each of his clients so that they become enthusiastic ambassadors for the company. Ray is a passionate team player who always strives to exceed expectations.