It can be hard getting rid of that fresh paint smell after you’ve freshly coated a room. It seems like it can linger on for days and days, with no end in sight. When it does go away, you wonder if you just got used to it, of if it’s really gone.
Even though it can make your house seem new, like the new car smell in a car, it’s not something you want to have in your home any longer than is necessary, especially if you have young children in the home, an elderly person, a pregnant woman, or anyone with a history of respiratory problems. It’s also just plain unhealthy to breathe in the fumes for an extended period of time, so you have to do your best to get rid of them.
Of course the most obvious solution is to open a window and get some air circulating through the room. This is also the best way, but isn’t always effective on its own. What you need is a combination of techniques that will get you back to the way things were before you painted.
Best Way to Get Rid of Fresh Paint Smell: Gotta Keep It Ventilated
The paint smell and fumes are at their worst when in a confined space. The best way to get rid of them is to open up a window and get a breeze going through. It’s one of the only ways that you can dissipate the area. Think of the ocean and how one drop of water represents such a small percentage of it. There is a lot of fresh air out there, and your paint fume molecules only represent a small portion of it. But when you consider the size of your room, it is a rather large percentage.
Get a fan and point it so that it is blowing air out of the room in question. Putting the fan by the window and pointing it facing out is a good way to go. If it oscillates make sure it is oscillating. The next step is important and can save you several days worth of time.
Next Step: Use an Air Purifier
If you don’t already have an air purifier, this would be a good chance to get one. They are great at filtering the air and producing fresh air in return. The best way to get rid of all sort of air pollutants is with a high quality air purifier. Go with one that is highly rated for cigarette smoke, because that will also be able to tackle the fine particles that are giving you your fresh paint smell.
Choose the Paint Well
There are also some paints that boast that they don’t produce strong smells and you can go with one of those in order to lessen the strength of the smell, and shorten the amount of time it takes to go away. Some people also recommend putting vanilla extract into the paint to neutralize the smell. They say it doesn’t effect the color or the life of the paint, but we haven’t tested this so try dsdthat tip at your own risk.
It’s a Matter of Time
It’s really just a matter of waiting it out when it’s all said and done. You have to wait for the paint to dry up completely before it stops smelling like you just painted. Keeping a fan in the room while it dries is a good way to speed that process up. If you put a dehumidifier in the room you can also speed up the drying time, as this will pull the moisture from the room and cause the paint to dry more quickly than it would in a humid room
Be Strategic
Make sure to paint the smallest rooms of your house first, as these typically tend to be the ones that retain that new paint smell the longest. They are the hardest rooms to create circulation and ventilation in, so if you save them for last you will have to deal with the smell the longest. If you start with them, then all of your rooms should lose the fresh paint smell at about the same time.
Best Product We Could Find: Smelleze
This is designed to get rid of the paint smell, without covering it up, and without using chemicals that can smell worse than the paint fumes themselves. It uses natural ingredients and is meant to absorb the fumes. If you use this in conjunction with the other tips we’ve provided you will be on your way to having a home free of paint fumes and odor. Good luck with your painting project, and be sure to leave any additional tips you discover in the comments below.