Table of Contents
Introduction
Paints have a wow transformative effect on your walls and spaces. The fact is that painting a room can make it have a new and elegant look altogether, the space looks all refreshed and new. You can paint a space to suit your preferences. But it occurs many times that you are unable to finish all cans of paint that you bought for painting that particular space(s). So, you end up having cans with leftover paint. Leftover and unused paints can be harmful if not disposed of well. They can emit chemicals that are harmful to human existence and also a spillage might occur causing accidents within your space. How then can you dispose of leftover paint? This is what this informational content would intimate you about. Follow through.
Proper Disposing of Paint
Drying it out completely
The very first step to disposing of paint is to let it dry out. You don’t want to store the paint in its liquid form as it can mistakenly spill over and cause environmental hazards. It can also emit chemicals that are unsafe for your health. There is a particular factor you have to consider when drying out your leftover paint. This factor is the quantity of paint. If the paint is less than a quarter of the cab, you can use this method of drying out in the sun. Why is this so? It is so because the smaller the quantity of paint the easier it is for the sun to dry it up.
What if you want to dispose of paints of quite sizeable quantities? The sun might not dry paints of higher quantities effectively so, you have to employ other means. One thing you can do to dry out sizeable quantities is to use kitty litter. You add it to the paint(get a sizeable quantity based on the quantity of the paint) and it dries it out. We would not be elaborating on how to use kitty litter in this content. So if you want to know how to use it in drying out your paint, watch here. You could also employ unused papers to dry out these paints.
If it now happens that you want to dry up quite a whole lot of paint, just get a paint hardener. You can get this very easily, at remote stores, online outlets, and all. The fact is that paint hardeners are very easy to use, no matter the quantity of paints. For ease of drying out, you can as well use a paint hardener no matter the quantity of paint you want to dry out. Simple and effective as other methods too!
After disposing of your paint by drying it out, you can then keep it in your yard or garage. This, if you do not want to throw it out completely. But if you want to dispose of it completely, you can employ these ways that would be elucidated to you below.
Give the paint out
If you feel that you would not have any use for the paint again, you could simply ask around to see if it would be needed elsewhere. One thing you can do is to call your neighbor (s) to ask if they would need the paint. Another is to inquire from recycling agencies and companies if they would be needing the paint. You could also try this recycling website, FreeCycle.org. They collect leftover and unused paints for recycling purposes. You do not have to keep the paint lying useless. Donate it to these places where they would put it to better uses.
Dispose of to Waste Management Company
If it’s an oil-based paint, you should preferably dispose of it to a waste management company. Why is this so? This is so because oil-based paints have a very high concentration of chemicals. So, if you do not use up your oil paint, you cannot afford to keep it in your home. Oil paints have high hazardous risks. So, it is better to employ a waste management company.
What if it is a situation in which you want to dispose of paint(s) that you feel has gone bad and is no longer suitable for usage. How do you get to know that a paint is spoilt and is no longer useable?
How To Detect a Spoilt Paint
There are quite a handful of factors that can tell you whether a paint is bad or not. But a very prime factor in detecting whether a paint is bad or not is the Smell. Perceive the odor of the paint. If the paint gives you a very repulsive and pungent odor that is quite stronger than the normal paint odor, the probability that the paint has gone bad is very high.
Alternatively, try stirring the paint then wait for a while. If the paint solidifies, it is most probably bad. Also, try painting a surface. If the painting comes out ugly and peels off, it is actually bad. Another thing to look out for in telling whether paint is bad or not is its appearance. If a spoilt paint is used for a surface, it would most likely look and feel like elastic plastic. A touch on it feels like it can be pulled and stretched out.
Overall, paints have quite a long shelf life. On the average, quality water paint can last up to 10 years. That is quite long. On the other side, oil paint can last up to 14 years. Amazing! You should be able to use up your paint within these time frames to avoid unnecessary waste.
Conclusion
This informational content has covered a lot when it comes to disposing of paints. You have been given a quality and reliable guides on how to dispose of different types of paints. After a thorough examination of this content, you should also be able to detect when a paint is bad to dispose of it. Paint disposal should not just be done anyhow, it should be done the proper way, as elucidated in this content. Dispose of your paint properly and avoid health hazards.