A bad bout of haze in 2015 sparked the desire for two entrepreneurs to find a solution to indoor air pollution. Founders Mr Lester Leong and Mr Benny Jiao both suffered from childhood asthma, and recall their conditions being exacerbated by the annual haze season growing up. Their experiences inspired them to look for ways to improve the air quality indoors.

Together, they founded gush, a local company specialising in sustainable paints and advanced building materials.

“Research shows that traditional building materials and changing climate conditions drastically increase exposure to harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as aldehydes and benzenes, as well as mould,” the Co-founders explain.

“The long-term accumulation of air pollutants in confined spaces can pose a serious threat to physical and mental health. Research shows that the air indoors can be up to five times more polluted than air outside because of chemicals from cleaning products, aerosols and perfume,” adds Mr Leong, who is the Group Chief Executive Officer of gush.

Their objective was clear: “Since walls form the biggest surface in our densely constructed cities, we thought about innovating the most malleable solution possible: paints.”

Gush consulted professors from local polytechnics, universities and material scientists from the coating industry to develop prototypes. In 2017, after multiple rounds of fine-tuning its formula, gush officially launched its flagship product, ‘Cair’. Thanks to a proprietary catalyst, the paint breaks down VOCs into carbon dioxide and water vapour at the rate of 99 per cent in 21 hours.

In essence, the paint transforms walls into passive air purifiers to keep indoor spaces healthy for occupants. The odourless paint is also anti-mould, anti-bacterial, and has humidity-regulating properties.

Bringing healthy air to homes, offices and hospitals

Their air-purifying paint was a hit with consumers, both in the residential and corporate spaces. Since its launch, Cair paint has been used in more than 1,300 residential and 60 commercial projects in the medical, wellness and hospitality sectors, as well as in office and retail spaces in Singapore and Southeast Asia.
Gush’s clients include Thomson Medical Centre, Farrer Park Hospital, Modern Montessori International, Tanglin Trust School, Grab, and W Hotel.

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Originally Appeared Here