It’s always refreshing to see bright and freshly painted walls in your home. It gives of the vibe of something novel, a fresh start and a new beginning. But while a newly painted wall gives of a sense of accomplishment, this project, whether DIY or not, often leaves a mark to homes that’s just not too friendly, even to those who don’t have sensitive noses.
Most often than not, the fresh splash of color to your walls comes with a fumes and odor that could be annoying to downright arresting. Even days after the projects has been completed, some paid odor remain inside that could cause headache and dizziness.
It might seem frustrating to anyone dealing with this concern but there are numerous ways one could get rid of paint fumes at home. One is to use odorless paint, which are now readily available in hardware stores. If by any chance, you were unfortunate to get this type and were stuck with the regular one, don’t fret. Check out these tips to ward off the unpleasant smell your freshly painted walls are giving off.
• First thing you could do is get a fan to (a) speed the curing process and dry the wall faster and (b) air out the room so that the fumes don’t linger. Make sure that your windows are open so that fresh air could ventilate the area. If your room does not have any walls, keep the door open to let the smell out.
• Another option is to wipe the dried wall with a vinegar and water solution to remove the scent. Mix a gallon of water with a teaspoon of vinegar and you’d be all set. You could also use lemon juice as an alternative for the vinegar. Not only does the solution effective in removing the paint fumes, it could also be used in ridding your home from chemical, paint thinner and new rug/ furniture/ car smell.
• You could also place a bowl of vinegar in strategic areas around the room to absorb the paint smell.
• Another option one could use is to place charcoal all over the room to neutralize the strong paint fumes. Get pieces of charcoal and crush it to small pieces and place it in pots to spread all over the room.
• If the paint used in your house is oil-based, you could light up candles for at least four hours every day for the next week. The flame from the candles would absorb and burn away the fumes. For added scent, you could use aromatherapy candles or scented ones to give of a fresher and cleaner smell.
• Another cheap way to remove paint odor is to use this ingredient that could be easily found in your kitchen – onions. Cut several pieces of onions in half and spread them out into the whole room. The only drawback with this method is that onions emit a strong odor of its own so be wary of the combined paint and onion scent that you might encounter. However, the smell of onion easily goes away after it has been taken out of the room, unlike paint fumes.
• If the room is carpeted, one option to consider is to sprinkle another kitchen staple, baking soda on the carpet. Leave the powder overnight so it absorbs the fumes in the air. It’s also a great way to freshen carpets and rugs without washing them. In the morning, vacuum off the powder.
• Light up aromatherapy oils. You could use peppermint or vanilla extracts to fill up the room, as these two scents are the most effective to overpower strong paint odors unlike other scents that only mask it.
• Placing buckets of water around the room is also a method to rid the annoying paint smell. However, as water does not have its own smell, it is the least effective among the options mentioned and is recommended only for small areas that have been painted.
• If you are doing the painting yourself, choose a dry day to do the project as humidity in the air could prolong the time the wall dries up.
