I have used Benjamin Moore non VOC paint but the off-gassing was horrible. The ordor lasted for quite a long time. That was about 4 years ago so maybe the line has come clean! I use ICI Paints and have never had a problem or an odor. ICI now makes a non-voc line of paints for Home Depot (Freshaire).

Good luck!

I also have MCS. I tried the Natura paint recently and reacted to it. I've used another Benjamin Moore paint, Aura, and I'm very happy with it. I even used it in my bedroom. I waited a couple of days before sleeping in the room, but I've had no problem.

I used Natura paint on my living room and hallway. LOVE IT. It had basically no smell and was available in lots of colors. It's a bit more expensive than regular paint but worth it in my opinion. My painter was impressed with its covering capacity.

I had previously used Bioshield paint which I also was very pleased with but they had many fewer colors and I had to pay shipping since it's not easily available in NJ.

Kathy Hall

I haven't tried it yet, but plan to buy a quart of it, test it on a board, then bring it inside. I also need to paint. It's easy to get. I had a very good experience with Mythic, was shocked, really. Did some painting of furniture outside, and brought it in the next day and smelled nothing at all. Boyfriend painted walls in his house, and smelled nothing. Still, BM paint is easier to get than Mythic. It exceeds California public school standards for healhty, which are high.

Stay away from Natura paint! We have painted a ceiling in it (thank heavens not the entire room) and I have never smelled anything so terrible. Weeks later it still smells just as strongly as it did the first day (call it about 50 times as intense as the normal odour you would get with regular paint). We\'ve left the window open day and night, and had a heavy duty fan running for hours at a time to try to rectify the problem - all to no avail. I have a complaint in at the moment with Benjamin Moore, but want to warn others in the meantime! Amazing that a product would do exactly the opposite of its claims!

Barb

We used a few different colors of Aura paints a year and half ago -- don't think that Natura was out then -- and have been very happy. Really didn't notice any smell and the performance is amazing. Covered in one coat and clean off very well. Also liked that the colors are actually coordinated to work with each other as I picked the colors (trim different from wall) without applying them on the walls. A lighter color covered slightly darker in one coat easily. Note that I do not have MCS but did have a small child at the time. We were out of the house during painting but moved in a day after painting.

I can't imagine how either of the two kinds of paint from Benjamin Moore could smell. I once had a non toxic paint that was opened and tinted in a store that had a lemon smelling deodorizer and the paint smelled awful for weeks. So the only thing I can think of is the store had some kind of chemical odor where the paint was being tinted, Because B. Moore is very pure and their tint is also non-toxic, but that means the paint can has to be opened in a store that could have smells that the paint absorbs. Thanks. Barb P.

I'm the one who posted earlier about the smell from Natura on our ceiling - just an update - we're into our 6th weeks and it STILL smells awful! I don't think the theory of it picking up a smell from the paint store seems likely - the colour is Oxford White so just a tiny bit on tint in it and it doesn't seem conceivable that after such a long period of time it could be anything that it picked up in store. More likely, it reacted with the base coat of paint that was already on the ceiling.
Barb

Comments about my recent (ongoing) experience with Benjamin Moore Natura paint: I had my bathroom painted with this paint 2 weeks ago. I have not been able to live in my house since then due to the extreme fish-like odor of this paint and its neurological effects on me. For 2 solid weeks I have alternated using fans to draw out the odor, ozone, and a portable radiator heater to super heat the room to accelerate the outgassing. I also had the walls and floor washed with a baking soda solution. Nothing has touched it. I have been in touch with the company, which says it takes these complaints seriously. At least they will refund my money for the paint. Stick with AFM products!
- G. Chance, Director, MCS Advocacy.org

I wish I had read this site before I painted my office. I also have suffered from terrible headaches, etc. from this paint. Does anyone know if it is painted over with a latex paint will the smell subside. I have a call into Benjamin Moore as well and await their reply. I will post it once I receive it.

Re the last posting - I'm the one who did my ceiling in Natura and have been suffering ever since. I have to say, Benjamin Moore here in Canada has been very good about following up with this problem. They suggest painting it over with an oil based primer (very good at sealing in smells, but it must be oil based) then covering that with a water based wall paint. We are holding off, as the smell FINALLY seems to be dissipating (so hang in there - give it about 2 months before you can expect some relief). We still may go with repainting, but we're hoping the smell continues to ease up as we're not anxious to suffer through the smell of oil based primer...
Hope this helps!
Barb

Thank you Barb. I too have had a good response from Benjamin Moore. We we are going to try just painting over it with two coats of regular paint. They said it will encapsulate the smell. This is going to happen this coming Saturday. I will keep you posted.

I used Benjamin Moore Natura paint in August. It is October and the paint still smells.
I am going to paint it over with AFM Safecoat and hope that the smell goes away.
I hate to paint when the forced air heat is on, but as it is now I cannot use that bathroom. I don't know which is worse, smelly old paint or fresh new paint.

Wish me luck - Carol

To the person panning to use AFM Safecoat to seal in odors, test it very carefully. Remember that the odor will be magnified many times over that of a small test piece when it is applied to a wall. Often I thought I was okay with a small sample piece, but found that when the substance was applied to a large surface I had a major problem.
I react badly to AFM paints and sealants and so do two of my sensitive friends.
(Another sensitive friend has no problems with it.)

Also, a water based or latex paint will not seal in odors.

We painted our kitchen,two bathrooms,and a breakfast room with Natura paint on August 19 and 20th. All the rooms were painted with the highest luster (semi-gloss). A day later we repainted the breakfast room with one of Natura's eggshell paints. This room has the least fumes. Since that time we have been unable to live in our house. The outgasing has been terrible. For six weeks there was a urine odor. Now it is a strong, chemical paint fume. It is causing burning eyes, nausea, and headaches. We have tried heating one bathroom to a high temperature for two weeks. That has helped to a degree but the smell is still there. We have placed dozens of sliced onions in the kitchen numerous times. This helps temporarily but once the onions are removed, the smell is obvious again. Any suggestions from other Natura paint users would be deeply appreciated.

We've just purchased a new house after years of searching and are in the process of painting it. I have severe MCS and had previously only used AFM SafeCoat paint, as regular latex paints make me ill. However, this time, I decided to give the VOC free alternative Olympic Premium, which I can get locally at Lowe's, a try. I've been doing a lot of the painting myself and the whites, pale yellow, yellow, and pink have been no problem. However, I used some blue and got symptoms of copper poisoning, so -- no blue in the new house. Happily, you can buy small samples of the paints and figure out what works and doesn't before purchasing gallons.

I would suggest Zinsser BIN, it is a shellac-based primer that uses alcohol as the solvent (2 coats would be good). Alcohol evaporates quickly while an oil-based primer will take a VERY long time. BIN dries quickly and can be painted over within an hour or so. I would use Mythic after that. I react to AFM paints, but Mythic seems fine.

We used Natura paint in our mudroom & it also took weeks or months to completely outgas, and only then after we used a small ionizer in the room.

One factor that can affect outgassing dramatically is the humidity level when the painting is done. We painted on a humid day which could have affected the outgassing time, though so many people having this problem makes me wonder if that was the only problem.

In any case, it's always best to paint on dry, sunny days to support the fastest outgassing, & of course with lots of ventilation.

I'm so sorry for those who had problems, particularly the ones who could not live in their homes afterwards. I know how discouraging that can be. All the best, Dorothy

Nope, definitely not the humidity level. We have had nearly two months of fairly dry weather and about 3 weeks with the furnace on, and still the smell keeps going (though again, it has improved somewhat over time)