British Households Are Storing 139 Million Litres of Paint

New research[2] from home improvement retailer Wickes reveals that Britain is a nation of paint hoarders; with 139 million litres of paint currently being stored in households across the country, enough to cover over 250,000 football pitches. Ahead of the festive season, Wickes is urging the nation to put their stored unopened paint to good use and complete their home improvement projects. 

Unsurprisingly most Brits have unopened tins of paint stored in their homes, most commonly in garden sheds (32%), garages (23%) and underneath the stairs (15%). It was even revealed that some people sacrifice their garage, their only car parking space to accommodate their hoarding.

The research showed that almost half (44%) of those surveyed admit defeat and live with unfinished home improvement projects. Therefore, Wickes is encouraging the 66% of Brits with unopened tins of paint in their home to use this has an opportunity to complete their DIY projects now, and get their homes ready for friends and family over Christmas and New Year.

Debbie Jackson, 55, a Business Development Director from London revealed: “My cellar is filled with tins of paint, I hardly have any storage space left. We’ve probably got as many variations of ‘white’ as you would find in a store! With Christmas and New Year fast approaching my husband has promised me that we will use them to get the house looking its best for the festive season. If we could declutter our cellar and spruce up the house at the same time, I would be very happy.”

As modern lifestyles have changed over the last few decades, the shift in home improvements is also reflected in the results. It turns out that we’re a nation that favours painting our sheds over our bedrooms which indicates that Brits strive to keep their outside areas in tiptop shape to impress the neighbours. The research also revealed that bathrooms are the most up to date room in the house, with repainting taking place almost every two years.

Further research revealed that 3 in 5 Brits (60%) don’t know how to dispose of their paint in the right way or know that it can actually be dangerous to the environment if it’s not disposed of properly. If you have paint that you no longer need and want to dispose of, companies such as PaintCare and Community Repaint collect leftover decorative paint and either reuse or remanufacture it, or redistribute it to benefit individuals, families, communities and charities in need at an affordable price.

A fact not widely known is that opened paint has a shelf life. Water-based acrylic and latex paint should ideally be thrown out after two years if opened, while tins that haven’t been opened can last up to 10 years. So the good news is, there is still time to get those unfinished DIY projects completed before the new year[3].

Yvonne Kelly, Paint Category Manager at Wickes, comments: “It’s very common to find paint collections in sheds or garages over the years, although we were surprised to learn the true extent and volume of paint stored in homes across the country. We hope that revealing a little insight into the numbers will encourage people to put their stored paint to good use and there’s no better time than now to give your home an update ahead of the festive season.”

Source : Wickes

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^[1] This survey was conducted among 1,002 UK consumers.

^[2] This survey was conducted among 1,002 UK consumers.

^[3] Stored paint, especially paint kept in colder conditions, like a shed, could be impacted in terms of the quality. All paint that has been sitting for a period of time should be re-mixed by hand using a paint stirrer.