Why Are Most Older Farmhouses Always White?

Go down most backroads in rural America and you'll see a majority of your older farmhouses painted white and there's good reason.

The times they are changing, not only in the towns and cities, but also on the farms across this great country. There used to be a time that the farmhouses that you saw while driving down those country roads were predominantly white. Why was that?

First off it was cheaper to keep a house white. In fact, back in the day, it wasn't even white paint on those farmhouses... it was whitewash. A mixture of lime, water and salt. It was cheaper to buy those three ingredients and mix them together than it was to go out and buy gallons of paint.

Secondly, it was safer for the farm animals with zero toxins. You couldn't say that about paint.

Last but not least you would get a natural disenfectant when you whitewashed your home. The mixture of whitewash is a natural anti-fungal. So, naturally, your wood would last longer.

And now you know.