Are Paint Fumes Toxic? | Side Effects & Elimination of Paint Odor (2024)

FAQs

Are Paint Fumes Toxic? | Side Effects & Elimination of Paint Odor? ›

Short for volatile organic compounds, VOCs are chemicals that evaporate easily at room temperature and can be found in many household products, including paint. When you inhale VOCs, they can cause a variety of health problems, including headaches, dizziness, nausea, and even liver and kidney damage.

Most paints are very safe. However, exposure to paint and its fumes has the potential to cause irritation of the skin, eyes, and throat. This can often go away through cleaning the affected area or going out into fresh air.

Wait at least 72 hours to return to a room that has been freshly painted, even if you can no longer smell the paint fumes. Use an air purifier to help reduce the levels of VOCs in the air.

VOCs don't stay in our body a long time but repeated exposures to high levels can cause them to build-up in our body. A blood test can show the amount of VOCs in a person's body. If the concentrations are high enough, VOCs may cause health problems such as lung irritation.

Never sleep in a room without windows if you've painted it that day. Windowless rooms can take up to three days for your paint to stop emitting VOCs. You can accelerate the process by opening doors and windows around your home. Ideally, you should wait up to five days before sleeping in the room.

From the first opening crack of the paint can, VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) are released into the air. These are the compounds responsible for that fresh paint smell and––most importantly––can cause negative effects to anyone who inhales too much for too long.

In my experience of this situation, I have found that the odour will eventually subside. keep the room well ventilated as much of the time as possible by opening all windows. If after a period of time the odour doesn't subside, then purchase a new tin of the existing colour and re coat the room in emulsion paint only.

Fumes are usually noticeable with water-based paints for up to three to four days. It may be a few days longer, depending on the paint, like oil-based or solvent-based paints. Rooms that have limited ventilation or intense sunlight streaming into the room can intensify fumes and may make them linger for months.

Even though fumes from latex and oil paints can irritate the eyes, nose and throat, they do not poison the body when used as directed. Any irritation should go away once you get into fresh air. If fresh air doesn't help, take a warm shower and wash your hair.

How to eliminate paint odors? ›

Just pour white vinegar into bowls and place around the room. The acetic acid in vinegar neutralizes the molecules that carry odors. Tip: Use household white vinegar (which is 10% acetic acid) instead of culinary white vinegar (5% acetic acid) for faster results.

Paint fumes will impact children, pets, and the elderly far faster, and these groups may suffer longer. They're also at the highest risk for death after sleeping in a freshly painted room. It's a good idea to let a room dry out for two to three days if a child or an elderly person is expected to sleep there.

These chemicals quickly pass through the blood-brain barrier to the brain as well as to all other organs in the body. All inhalants, including paint, produce anesthetic effects that slow down overall functioning of the body's systems.

The role of a painter is classified as a group one carcinogen due to the correlation between the occupation and lung cancer, urinary bladder cancer, and mesothelioma. This relationship is due to the high volume of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in paints and related products.

Dangers of Inhaling Spray Paint Fumes

Since the toxic chemical goes into the blood, the adverse impact reaches all organs including heart, liver, and kidneys, as well as into bone marrow. The long-term effects of huffing, sniffing, and bagging include high blood pressure and heart rhythm disruption.