When are Paint Fumes Safe

Now that your room is painted and put back together, all you want to do is sleep in it. The smells and fumes are sure to linger, so how long should you wait for safety? When are paint fumes safe?

Paint fumes can have negative effects on your health due to the VOC’s or Volatile Organic Compounds in it. They can cause headaches, dizziness, breathing problems and other issues. So how long do you need to wait before sleeping in your newly painted room?

It can be dangerous to sleep in a room that was recently painted. This is especially true for babies, young children and pregnant women. Fumes can cause issues with development in small children and pregnant women. THose with breathing issues and the elderly are also susceptible to problems from paint.

Professional painters suggest taking the following precautions with your newly painted room.

Zero VOCs

When you are preparing to paint, opt for low or zero VOC paints or oil-based paints. While not perfect, these are safer options for your family’s health. Low or zero VOC paint is a safe option that you can sleep in the same day as painting. More than likely there will still be odors for a day or so once you finish the project, but the smells don’t contain the harmful chemicals you need to worry about.

Low VOCs

Another option for paint is latex, which has fewer VOCs than some other options of paint. You will still want to wait a bit before sleeping in the room, potentially a day or so to air out. There are also natural paints made from things like casein, chalk, citrus oil and linseed oil. They may contain some VOCs. Again a day of airing out will clear away the smells and chemicals. Oil paints will provide the most durability, but also emits a large amount of VOCs, and will need several days to clear the air.

Ventilate

Anytime you are working indoors with paint, you’ll want to keep windows open and fans on wherever possible. Keep the windows open for several hours to a day after the job is completed.

With this information from our painting experts, you will be able to move forward confidently with your painting project, and the ensuing time afterward. If you are unsure about painting and safety, contact us now. Schedule a free, in-home estimate and our teams can get your project painted with full aftercare information.