In a bind here. I won’t be able to paint my living/dining room till Saturday and I have Easter Dinner at my house Sunday (you can thank my sig. other for deciding to host a month after moving into our new place).
Anyone have fool-proof methods of gettting the new paint smell out? I was thinking of getting a couple of air exchangers and letting them rip all night, not sure if that would do it though.
There are a couple of new babies in the clan and I’m sure their parents (my brothers and their wives) won’t be thrilled about having them sniffing paint fumes all day. Its not like the old days when my Dad would be spraying lacuer in the basement workshop.
Thanks in advance for any advice
Replies
Just pre-load the space with "eau de baby" somehow.
I think Sherwin Williams makes an oderless or near oderless paint, but I am not sure. I overheard a conversation related to re-painting a nursery / daycare. Other manufacturers may have a similar product.
I've tried several of the so-called odorless paints on the market over the past few years and am sorry to report that none are truly odorless. In fact, I think it was a low-odor Benjamin Moore paint from several years ago that was actually more offensive due to the sweet smell than normal latex. I am cursed with a pretty sensitive nose as are a couple family members.
Given the 24 hour turnaround you're looking for, and given that your family will actually be spending quality time in the freshly painted rooms, I think your are out of luck. Even with odorless or low-voc paints and active exhaust ventilation (ie fan in window) I have never been able to achieve a "sleepable" room in less than several days.
My advice is to skip painting (rushing is always bad for painting anyway) and treat them to an almost finished, but odor-free holiday.
I second Thaumaturge's advice, but in case of desperation, there is a chemical available in all paint stores which helps to reduce the odour of paint. I forget what it's called, something like "odour-out" or simlar. It works.
Ron
Air exchangers?
You don't have windows?
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Benjamin Moore's EcoSpec paints are low VOC and don't seem to smell as strong (to me). They're switching their regular paints over to 100% acrylic and those paints, while a better product, do have a stronger smell than their old formula.
Latex paint odor, in general, is not bothersome to me and I wouldn't hesitate to sleep in a room that was freshly painted. A very few of my customers would not sleep in a room that was painted that day. You probably can't be sure how sensitive your guests may be.
If it were me, I wouldn't paint a day before Easter dinner if only because the paint will still be somewhat soft and easily damaged by an errant chair. I wouldn't want my guests to have to deal with that guilt and my cooking at the same time ;-)
-Don
SW Duration Home. It is about as non-stinky as it gets and it is darn good paint.
As a parent, I'd rather have my babies in an unpainted room than sniffing fumes. I think that even if you use the low-odor paints you are still sniffing fumes, you just don't realize it anymore. Not sure about the low-VOC paints, though.
If you MUST paint, I've heard of some people that put a tablespoon of vanilla in the paint. Not sure if that affects adhesion, but it smells better.
We used to place a pie pan with white vinegar in front of the air returns, that would knock down alot of the aroma.
But, if you're concerned about the babes, wait till monday, they'll love you for it.
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Piffin -- I got one of those new houses without windows, they're supposed to be very energy efficient - no solar gain, drafts, etc...Kidding obviously -- just thought the exchangers would accelerate the process of moving bad air out the window.I think you're right about just waiting till after the party, I've already put in so much work to these rooms (skim-coating, meticulous sanding, etc...) that I might as well wait and make sure I paint it under the best possible conditions and not rush it to the ultimate discomfort of my guests. As long as I can prime it out tonight to seal it, I think thats the way to go -- I should be able to vent it out enough so its comfortable for everyone come Sunday.Thanks for your voices of reason.
Take them all out to dinner. If you've prepped your walls that meticulously then you'll be upset when their greasy finger prints show though.
Kids, gravy, ham, Easter candy, chocolate bunnies. Take em out for "dinner on the ground"...they Baptist or Catholic?
I see that in a later post you said you've decided to wait, but anyway--I had to paint an office once and they wanted to use it on Monday and I was painting over the weekend. I read somewhere to put a little vanilla in the paint and that did seem to help. I also threw paper towels dampened with vinegar all around when I finished each day and kept fans on.
Does anyone know what the vinegar does? I sure don't, but I'm curious about it.Bill
<Does anyone know what the vinegar does?>
Maybe numbs the appropriate smell receptors?
Forrest
Hey, you know stuff too!;)
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Forrest knows an awful lot for an 11 year old girl!
she gets it from here precocious nine year old daughter
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Dang! We are getting almost as good as Gunner at changing the subject of a thread. Slap me on the paw and send me back to the kennel
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I know that it is a weak acid.
The fumes from sulfuric acid will make your nasal receptors sort of numb for a while...But also, it is good for nuetralizing pet odors from wet accidents on rugs, etc. if you spritz it directly on.On the opposite side of the ph scale, baking powder is an alkalii and it is used to absorb odors or nuetralize them tooSo there must be something involving chemical balancing in those little guys that fly up your probiscus with messages for your brain
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Obviously it covers odors to an extent, but I suspect that it may also react chemically with some odors to neutralize them.
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I would buy oil based paint
I would buy oil based paint
Just in case the OP doesn't know you're kidding, a smiley might have been a good idea.
> Anyone have fool-proof methods of gettting the new paint smell out?
There aren't any. Assuming you're using the standard water-based interior paint, the active ingredient is ether, and that's what smells. All of the ether in the paint has to evaporate and be dispersed. Fans will help with the dispersal, but it'll take a couple days for all the ether to evaporate. If you use excellent ventilation, most of the odor should be gone two days after painting.
You could always cover the smell up with a stronger one. Know anyone who smokes cigars?
George Patterson
Have you considered an ozone generator?
NOT an ionizer, which does put out a little ozone as a byproduct of the ionization process, but specifically an ozone generator.
Not sure if they're available as rentals or not.
Mongo
I'm confused.
Whenever I'm painting inside, the freaking primer stinks. Once I top coat it with a decent Ben Moore, I don't smell nuthin.
Benjamin Moore Ecospec works quite well for low odor. It is used in hospitals and other occupied places where low odor is important. But when you give up the chemicals that cause the odor, you also give up durability.
To me the primer does stink, but the smell goes away very quickly (a day) -- but the top-coat is what lingers for several days. I personally don't mind the smell all that much (smells like progess to me) -- but I don't think the family will appreciate it all that much. I was going to go with the Eco-Spec, but I have decided to just have everything primed and sealed, and wait until after the festivities to do a proper paint job.thanks for all the insight -- and for the record, I knew the "go with oil-base" was a joke. I was actually thinking of spraying the walls with lacquer with all the windows closed while the fireplace was roaring -- do you think that would eliminate the paint smell quickly?
Fire and lacquer should get rid of the paint odor and replace it with burned house odor.
I have heard that a plate of chopped onions in the room will clear the smell of paint.