Why Healthy Home Score exists

Paint labels say "low VOC" or "zero VOC" and leave out most of what matters: what the Safety Data Sheet warns about, whether anyone tested what the paint releases into your air, and how much tint adds. The documents that answer those questions exist, but they're scattered across maker websites and written for professionals.

Healthy Home Score collects those documents and turns them into one score per product, so you can compare paints in the store aisle or before you hire a painter. Today it covers 1,693 paints and primers from Behr, Benjamin Moore, KILZ, Sherwin-Williams, Valspar.

Who builds it

Healthy Home Score is built in Orlando, Florida by Michael Baitelli, who owns a WOW 1 Day Painting franchise. Painting homes every week, he kept hearing the same questions from families, especially before a new baby or a move: "Which paint is safest?" and "Does zero VOC mean non-toxic?" There was no simple, independent place to check, so he built one.

How the data is collected

• Every fact comes from a document the maker or a certifier publishes: the US Safety Data Sheet, technical or product data sheets, Health Product Declarations and certifier registries.
• Each sheen and base is scored separately, because each has its own formula and Safety Data Sheet.
• Nothing is estimated. If a maker doesn't publish something, the product gets no points for it and the page says "not disclosed."
• Certifications are checked with the certifier, not taken from marketing.

The full scoring rules are on How we score. Scores are preliminary until the method completes independent expert review.

Independence

No paint brand pays for, sponsors or influences a score, and none can pay to be listed or ranked. Every brand is scored with the same published method.

Because the founder runs a painting business, here is how that connects: if you choose to request painter quotes, your request may go to painting contractors, possibly including his own company. That only happens when you tick the box asking for quotes. It has no effect on any score.

Corrections

Makers revise formulas and documents. If you see something out of date, or you represent a manufacturer with a newer Safety Data Sheet, email sales@ecomarineus.com and we'll update the listing from the new document.

Healthy Home Score gives no medical advice. Talk to your doctor about specific health concerns.