Paint and other construction materials give off fumes and chemicals that are bad smelling and toxic to health.
5 Ways to Get Rid of Paint Fumes
The 2014 holiday season is approaching fast and you want to get some last minute interior home paint jobs done before Christmas day and before your family comes to visit. That shows great initiative! But you want to avoid the paint smells after home painting and the toxic paint odor of your interior painting.
Painting before Christmas is great. The only problem is you can’t leave your windows open all day since its freezing out. Even worse, once you have painted the indoors of your home, the paint fumes are all over your house or apartment and you don’t want to go outside to get away since its so cold also.
But how to get rid of the paint smells faster ! (Interior Painting Tips)
Well here are some of Professional Toronto Painter tips to remove any unpleasant paint smells and paint odours in a freshly painted room.
Method 1: Onions and Interior Paint Smell
Onions and Interior Paint Smells
This may seem a little bit strange to you, but onions are a great option for masking and eliminating the smell of paint thinner! Its one the best Odor eliminators and odor control methods.
Finish your indoor paint job
Once you are done, peel and cut an onion in half
Put the onion halves on two separate plates on opposite sides of the freshly painted room.
This works because the onion is very porous and will absorb the paint smell, leaving your painted home back to smelling the way it was!
Method 2: Vanilla Extract & Paint Odor Elimination
Vanilla Extract
This method only works if you do this in advance before painting your indoors. If done right, it should greatly reduce or completely eliminate the paint smells from your painted room.
Before painting your home, pour a gallon of paint into a bucket.
For every gallon of paint, add ½ tsp of vanilla extract.
Mix well before interior painting job.
Method 3: Commercially Available Products to Remove Paint Odour
Products to Remove Paint-Odour
Bad paint odours aren’t exactly a new problem per say. Because of this, many companies have already developed multiple products as a paint odor neutralizer to combat the odor of paint. Examples:
ZORBX
BON-CC-41
Febreeze
Air Wick
Generic Air Fresheners
Candles
As always, make sure you read the instructions on the product carefully before using the product.
Method 4: Covering and Sealing the Paint
Covering the paint to prevent the paint smells
The best way to mask the paint smell in the house is to mask the paint itself as much as possible. This means:
If you’re taking a break during interior painting, cover your paintbrush with a plastic bag while you’re gone
Keep the lid on your paint container as much as possible
Place the paint outside when you aren’t using it
Use disposable containers to hold your paint (such as old ice cream tubs)
Method 5: Making Sure You Use the Proper Products
This is probably the easiest way to avoid having to deal with toxic paint smells. Here are some tips on what kind of products to use for house interior painting in Toronto:
Make sure you use zero or low VOC (volatile organic compounds) for less paint smells . Most interior paints ( like Sherwin-Williams Low Odor Paint) today have at least low VOC, but zero voc paints are the best to avoid toxic odours in the house in Toronto.
Avoid using oil or alkyd based paints and primers at all costs. In some cases, an oil based primer is necessary for items such as smoke sealing, and stucco painting. If this is the case, make sure you use a low odor primer. Both Kilz and Para paints have a good low odor primer for less paint smells. If you really want to go out on a limb, there are also waterborne primers that are made for stucco ceilings that are latex based, but act as an alkyd paint. Benjamin Moore has a good waterborne paint made for stucco ceilings.
Method 6: Turn Your Thermostat Down and Open Some Windows and Doors
When all else fails to remove paint smells, this is the most obvious way to airing the house out. The advantage in doing it this way is:
You don’t expend and waste too much heat since it’s only 1 or 2x a day you are opening and closing the doors/windows for eliminating paint odours.
This is the most efficient way to air out your house while expending the least amount of heat.
This is the best way to truly air out your house after interior painting. Within 2-3 days of doing this, your house will be free of the paint smell and paint toxic fumes if there are any.
It’s the fastest way to having a toxic free painted house environment, while not wasting too much heat.
And there you have it, five great methods to reduce the smell of paint to the absolute minimum. Now you have a great new interior paint job, and a fresh-smelling Toronto house!
Are you looking for the best interior painting possible in Toronto?
With over 25 years of experience in interior home renovations, call us NOW at 416.494.9095, or email us at Brian@HomePaintersToronto.com to get a free estimate for your home renovation project with Low Paint Odor products.