Whether you have painted your kitchen cupboards, bedroom or hallway, the smell that lingers after its been painted isn’t to everyone’s tastes. The smell itself is caused by the VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds) that are used to make the paint. Although there are paints that feature low VOC’s, the fumes are often still present after painting.
If you can’t stand the smell of new paint in your home, below are some tips on how to get rid of the paint smell.
1. Improve Ventilation With Fans
Although most people will open their windows whilst painting, you can help blow the paint fumes out with the use of some fans. We would recommend placing a fan in the centre of the room and angling them so that the air pushes the paint smell towards the windows and out of the room. If you are painting a small bathroom, switching on the bathroom extractor fan to constant whilst the paint dries would be another great way to improve the ventilation.
2. Use Charcoal
Charcoal is a known odour-absorber and simply placing a few bowls of charcoal around the room is a highly effective method of getting rid of paint smells. It also benefits from being pet friendly, non-toxic and eco-friendly too.
3. Bowls of Vinegar
A couple of bowls of white vinegar strategically placed around the room is another great method of removing the paint smell. The acid found in vinegar neutralizes the molecules in the paint fumes in order to remove the smell.
4. Sprinkle Baking Soda – (Ideal For Carpeted Rooms)
If you notice that the paint smell is mostly present upon soft surfaces such as the carpets or a fabric sofa, sprinkling baking soda is the best method. It neutralises and absorbs odours and it can be simply vacuumed up after a few hours.
5. Cut Onions
The saying, “fight fire with fire” is very much how using onions to get rid of the paint smell works. Leaving cut onions throughout the freshly painted room can be highly effective at combating the paint smell. However, if you don’t like the smell of onions, this wouldn’t be the best method as the smell of onions may also linger.
6. Ground Coffee
The use of ground coffee is another great way to neutralise odours and if you are a lover of coffee, it’s a smell that you may actually enjoy. It’s important to note that you shouldn’t reuse the coffee grounds but instead throw them out once the paint smell has been removed from the room.
7. Scented Candles
Although candles may only hide the smell of paint, they will also absorb the fumes to make the room smell far better. We would recommend placing two candles at opposite ends of the room and allow them to burn for several hours.
How To Avoid The Dreaded Paint Smells
Preventing paint smells lingering in the room in the first place is highly recommend if you can’t stand the smell. Ideally, you want to always keep the doors and windows open in the room to help the fumes dissipate into the air. You’ll also want to keep other doors in the home shut to avoid the paint smell spreading too.
Other tactics to avoid the paint smell lingering include using low VOC paints, allowing each coat to completely dry before the next coat and avoiding high humidity days as this can slow down the drying process of the paint.
