If you've experienced doing a painting job, then you are familiar with the fumes of freshly applied paint. They are not thoroughly unpleasant, but inhaling them may be dangerous to our health. About to do a new painting job in your home? Before you do that, here are some solutions on how to get rid of paint smell that can reek up the entire room.
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How to Get Rid of Paint Smell
If you're reading this article now before setting on to apply a fresh coat of paint, do these tips first to minimize the fumes of the paint smell.
1. Properly ventilate the room
To minimize the odors that would circulate in the room, open all the windows (if possible) and place a fan in the middle of the room before you start painting. The open windows will allow fumes to escape, aided by an electric fan, as you go along painting.
After you've finished painting, leave the windows open (but make sure there are no forecasts of rain) and leave the fan on rotation, too. In the morning after, you'll notice that the strong paint smell will lessen if not disappear completely.
2. Put a few buckets of water in the room
Fill up a few buckets of water and place them around the room you'll be painting in. This will absorb some of the paint smell and minimize the fumes after you've finished painting.
TIP
Placing slices of lemons can also help mask the odor and leave the room smelling fresh.
3. Use bowls of vinegar
Vinegar is a great odor neutralizer. To use this to minimize the strong paint smell, fill up a few bowls with white vinegar and place them in the room. Be careful not to knock them over or step on them, as the strong vinegar smell can also linger.
4. Opt for baking soda or charcoal
These two items absorb smells readily, and they can significantly decrease the strong fumes of paint in the room.
For charcoal, you can crush a few bags and place them in containers or a piece of newspaper. Make sure to place them near the painting area for them to readily absorb the smell, and I recommend doing this before you start painting.
On the other hand, baking soda is also a cheap way to minimize paint smells. Similarly, you can place a few containers full of baking soda around the room and let them take up the unpleasant smell of paint.
5. Use scented candles
This option may be a little risky, but if you don't have kids or pets that can knock them over, you can use scented candles to absorb the flammable components of the solvent in the air. Not only will you minimize fire hazards, you can also mask the smell of paint with a scented candle.
Let a few scented candles burn in the room. However, if you're going to do this option, make sure to place the scented candle in a bowl of water and let it float. This will decrease dangers of knocking the candle over and starting a fire. Moreover, make sure to check them regularly if you're going to leave the room.
6. Mask the smell
Another trick you can do alongside the above mentioned tips is mask the smell with other strong-smelling scents. An option is to light a scent diffuser (with perhaps a few drops of vanilla or lavender extract) or set out a few bowls of coffee grounds.
I've tried this with the water and lemons trick, and the smell of vanilla made the painting job more enjoyable. I reckon you try it, too!
Wear a respirator or dust mask
To prevent yourself from inhaling all the fumes while painting, wear a respirator or dust mask. If you don't have one at hand, tie a handkerchief or towel around your mouth and nose for good measure.
Conclusion
Painting jobs are less enjoyable when there are strong fumes all up in your nose. To do away with the strong smell of paint as well as minimize the health hazard it causes, employ these tips and tricks. Then, painting will be a much more enjoyable home improvement project!
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