Can you recommend a nontoxic spackle for patching walls?

Fernando Feldman has over 30 years of experience in the construction industry. He is a Certified Green Builder and founder of Go Green Construction, a cutting-edge construction company dedicated to preserving the planet one house at a time. He is also a co-founder of the Green Homes Committee for the Los Angeles Chapter of the USGBC and is currently building a LEED Platinum home.

Question: Can you recommend a nontoxic product for patching walls? I need to fill some nail holes, but the spackle and wall compounds I've seen at the home improvement store contain all sorts of scary chemicals.

– Marisa Marquez, Riverside, CA

Answer: You always have the option of going back to the basics—buying a bag of drywall mud and mixing your own spackle. This is the most cost-effective way and is also a very green approach. You'll use less packaging and fewer preservatives (but more elbow grease).

There are also prepared solutions available at green building specialty stores. The green equivalents of common products like spackle work great, as long as the product is maintained as per the directions on the package. (For example, don't let a product sit open in direct sunlight.)

Crawford's Free Spackling Paste is an eco-friendly spackle that comes in half-pint or quart sizes. The product is available from Ecohaus; you can order it by phone at 800-281-9785.

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