Getting rid of paint smell
Today’s question comes from Aaren. Aaren asks:
Hi hope you can help! My daughter’s room will not stop smelling. In fact, I challenged Olympic Paint and Lowe’s – going back and forth until we settled. KILZ and another coat of paint reproduced the original smell! Olympic even paid a professional to do all that work for us. The second coat of Premium One water based latex interior paint still smells. We have 2 air purifiers and had our windows opens for a week while painting and for 12 days afterward. …. As of today however we are dealing with a smell from Friday. It’s awful and I’m afraid to let my daughter sleep in there (although she has for two nights). WHAT can I do to make it go away. The room seems like it’s cursed. No other room in our house ever smelled like this… Please help with ideas of what to do. How long is this supposed to last. The smell is like a sweet, clay smell. It doesn’t really smell like paint at all. We even crawled into the attic to check for smell and it wasn’t present. We tried sprays, onions, vinegar, steam cleaning. Everything. Your advice would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks. Aaren
The E D Painting Expert Answer
Hi Aaren. When we first answered this years ago, it was a rare issue, but over our 22 years in the painting industry, we’ve seen this exact scenario pop up a few times. That “sweet, clay-like” or sometimes “sour” smell that lingers for weeks is incredibly frustrating.
Based on your description, you are likely dealing with one of two specific issues:
1. “Sour Paint” (Bacterial Contamination) Water-based latex paints can actually “go bad.” If bacteria get into the paint at the factory or the store, it starts a reaction that smells exactly like sour milk, clay, or dirty socks. Unfortunately, no amount of air purifiers or open windows will cure this, because the smell is baked right into the dried film on the wall.
2. The “Wall Odor Phenomenon” Sometimes, the chemicals in new low-VOC water-based paints react with the invisible residues left on the wall from older paints, creating a chemical off-gassing that smells sweet and pungent.
Here is the problem: you mentioned the professionals applied a coat of KILZ. If they used a water-based latex KILZ primer, it will not block the odor. Water-based primers allow the smell to breathe right through them.
How to Fix the Lingering Paint Smell
To permanently kill this odor and make the room safe for your daughter, you have to seal the wall so the smell cannot escape. Here is the professional procedure:
- Dehumidify the Room: Close the windows. High humidity (especially if you live in a humid area like we do here in New England) keeps the paint pores open. Run a strong dehumidifier for 48 hours to pull all the moisture out of the walls.
- Seal with BIN Shellac-Based Primer: You need to apply a coat of Zinsser B-I-N Shellac-Based Primer (or a heavy-duty oil-based stain blocker). Shellac is what professionals use to seal in heavy smoke damage and severe odors. It creates an impermeable barrier that the clay smell cannot penetrate. Note: Shellac has a very strong alcohol smell when applying, but it dissipates completely once dry. Do not use a water-based primer here.
- Apply Your Final Topcoat: Once the Shellac is 100% dry and the room is aired out, apply a fresh coat of high-quality, premium acrylic paint. (If you aren’t comfortable doing this yourself, our residential painting services handle this exact process safely).
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Ron
I posted back in september 2013 and i still have the same smell in the room I panted.
Sandy
Ruth, thanks for update. Guess what… I think it was/is the Mythic coloring. Can’t prove it yet, but…
I asked my friend who took down the one sheetrock wall that had the Yolo on it to paint a door frame for me in another part of the house. It is an enclosed area with a skylight, but gets air from outside. Anyway, I asked him to use the same paint as the front door, dark purple, which I thought I still had can in basement. For whatever reason he ended up using the NEW purple Mythic from the bedroom (that we put on the new sheetrock) and guess what… it smells. I’m in the entryway the last week or so and wondering why the heck I smell the smell from the two bedrooms directly above me! Then I realize – huh – the doorframe is painted with the Mythic!
So, I am going to do some coloring research over the next few weeks and get back to you all. I’m wondering what they use to color for blue. I know cobalt blue in oil paints use to give me a headache, so switched to watercolors. We shall see….
Ruth
I swear we are all going to go mad! I can’t wait to put this behind me Sandy. They start Tuesday! Then I will only paint one small area at a time to make sure there are no problems with whatever paint we do choose.
Prayers for all this to be resolved for all of us soon!
judd
I hope you get an answer Ruth.
Im so lost. .
Ruth
Paint smell def gone after replacing drywall. We are almost done with it all. They primed and I shook on my boots but the smell is already dissipating so it looks like that is going well. Thankful to not have that nasty smell anymore. HUGE headache and expense but glad that we could get it done. Hopefully the rest continues to go smoothly.
Omam
glad to hear that Ruth . my walls are concrete so the only option is to remove the paint with paint remover
so it,s little bit missy.
karen
Wow, Ruth, that’s such good news! Congratulations! What a long haul for all of us.
Ruth
Yes! Texture was sprayed and everything is finished now. We are going to be priming soon – probably tomorrow. There is a slight smell in the room that smells like drywall maybe? kind of a dust smell not bad. Kind of like new construction. I assume it is normal. My sister in law who had a room adition done warned me that it would smell “new” for a while. That is with all windows closed etc. But then again it is not overwhelming and there are no floors or paint in the wall yet. Hoping this is normal. I feel it is but I am now on paranoid mode after our debacle. Once everything is primed and painted (say a prayer) and carpet back on I will report back.
Sandy
hoping all is well with your paint job. just found this article, may be of interest to some….
http://www.naturalinteriors.com/2011/01/part-three-the-problem-with-paint/
I just started corresponding with mythic. after reading above article I may paint with safecoat from now on. we shall see.
be well,
sandy
Sandy
follow-up.. http://www.naturalinteriors.com/2012/01/part-four-the-problem-with-paint/
there are 4 parts to this article. I haven’t read one and two, only three so far.
sandy
Ruth
I hated safecoat’s transitional primer. IT Stunk so bad SO BAD going up (worse than trandiitonal paint) and it remained tacky after months. Another person had the same experience in this thread. I would not touch it again. We primed with harmony sherwin williams primer. I about had a panic attack. But it has been 24 hours and only a faint smell remains when everything is closed. We painted from 2-4 yesterday. Aired out room with fan in window until 8 and closed room for the night and reopened around 12 when the humidity was low. I am about to close the window again. I think it is totally normal paint smell. Right now with window open no smell. I will keep yo guys posted.
Ruth
So here is an update. Original Smell def. gone after replacing drywall. Now there is a slight new construction smell I guess? but doesn’t seem to be bothersome. My kids and my husband are not bothered by it. We still have only an empty room and subfloor (carpeting next week) so I would assume that once it is finished and we are putting a few things in the room that should be less noticeable. I am probably over sensitive now to smells after the whole debacle. My sister who had an addition done warned me that we would smell a new smell for a couple months or more. We have a fan running and door open, occasionally open the window to air out. Def. nothing like the original smell.
Sandy
Hi Ruth:
Glad to hear things going better! Just had a guy from the paint store at my house and he smelled paint from can and said it had a much stronger odor than usual. So… we shall see. I’ve been in conversation with a guy at Mythic and learning a lot about “no or low” colorants. My gut, tells me some of these problems have to do with colorants, yet, I could be way off. Please everyone, find out what kind of colorant used with your paint & what color of paint caused the problem. Maybe that will help people in the future if we see a pattern. FYI – Chromaflo now owns many of the colorants and is major supplier. Ruth, this may be totally unnecessary to say cuz you likely did your homework… but I hope you are super careful what kind of carpet you buy and what products they have used on the carpet etc. You may need it to sit outside and off gas if regular brand carpet. Best to all,
Sandy
Jmac
I had a pro painter come to do some restoration work in a room in my house. I gave him the two old cans I had to color match. One can was from 2009. He said the can was good. I used it to paint a powder room and it smells terrible.
I cannot tell from this thread what the true solution to this problem is. Lots of expensive sounding options suggested but I need the true way to fix this.
Is this a health issue or just something smelly that I can with a simple remedy or just another layer of new paint?
Never seen such a long thread without a single clear solution.
What do I do?
Ruth
Here is another update from me. Our room is mostly finished now – carpet went in. Just need to finish putting back outlets hang mirror in half bath etc. No smell on cold days. Yay! Our original smell was unrenlenless no matter what the weather was. There is a slight smell that is noticeable on warm days of over 75 or so. Not a terrible smell like before but a faint new smell. Doesn’t bother my kids (they say it doesnt smell) or my husband who thinks is normal new stuff. He says it smells faintly of paint. I am not going to lie that this makes me somewhat nervous but considering we ripped the whole room apart and everything in there is new I am hoping this will pass. It is not a bad smell like before it doesnt bother me like the original did where it felt like you couldnt stay in there. So we will see hoping that it will slownly go away. Like I said there is no smell during cold days at all. My friends that had built houses said they had smells for six months or more so here is to hoping this is normal. Makes me nervous but again it is WAY WAY better than the first problem.
Ruth
Oh also room is finished but empty. Will be moving furniture in soon to see if that helps too. My friend swears an empty room will smell more. Hopefully she is right.
Courtney
Hi Ruth. Any new updates on the smell in your room since re-drywalling? I have been having the same problem in (what was supposed to be) my daughter’s nursery since my husband painted with Behr zero VOC, low odor paint in July 2013. We ended up tearing out the new solid hardwood bamboo flooring my husband installed (which tested high for formaldehyde when I had a sample tested) and thought our odor problem was solved. However, once the flooring was gone I was able to smell the “fresh paint” smell that will not go away. After running fans and leaving the windows open nonstop; priming over the walls; closing up and running a dehumidifier to pull all the moisture out of the walls; and, virtually, pretending the room does not exist, my husband finally relented and tore down the drywall today. I am cautiously optimistic, but extremely nervous that either the smell still won’t be gone (which might result in divorce court!) or will return once we paint the new walls again. I have not painted anything in my house for almost two years and fear I will never look at choosing paint the same way again! Can anyone recommend paint and/or primer that they have used recently without any problems? I used to look forward to making improvements around our home, but now the idea of them makes me nervous and unsettled. It is shocking and disturbing the amount of toxic products that are sold for use in our homes with the approval of our government. Now I’m nervous about which drywall to select. I’m looking at Dragonboard if anyone has any experience or input.
I should note that we also had the air tested in the room and it came back normal. That was a relief, but still gave us no answers and did not make me feel anymore comfortable putting my daughter in there to sleep every day and night. Even the air testing technician detected an odor (a mixture of paint and plaster is how he described it) and felt bad that there was no resolution.
I am so thankful for this thread because no one I know can relate to this problem. Even my husband can’t relate because he is not sensitive to smells at all. He just knows that our house will remain in disarray until we resolve this mess. At this point it has become our normal that my daughter’s dresser is in my dining room and her crib is in my bedroom. I’m hoping that she can have her own safe and odor-free bedroom by the time she turns two in August.
Sue
Dear Jymn
Thank you for the helpful information regarding the 500g “moso bag of activated coal and the heater. I will try this.
Dear Courney
Please, please do not take any risks with your beautiful child. Keep her away from the paint until you are 100% certain that there is no danger. Personally, I believe that if you still smell something, then there is still an active chemical that could potentially cause health issues. Did you read my post about how the paint compromised my immune system ? Epstein-Bar Syndrome, systemic inflammation, pain – These are clear indicators that the paint is harmful and does cause health problems.
Have you tried the activated charcoal and heat that Jymn suggested?
SM
Sandy
Hi All:
Did anyone have air samples taken or get paint tested?
If yes, curious as to what outcome was.
Thanks,
Sandy
Lisa
I’d like to share an “interim” report for those who find this site while searching for solutions to their stink problem. Again, if you don’t remember, we had painted a bedroom in October of 2012. The paint didn’t smell going on or immediately after. It didn’t start to smell until a day or two afterwards. Then, the smell got worse. We tried many things to counteract it, thinking the paint was just not drying properly. During the winter, while the house heat was circulating (dry air) the smell was tolerable and we thought the problem might be solved. But in the spring it came back with a vengeance and was at its worst when the room was warm, and probably more humid.
I describe the above in case your situation matches. We had the paint company PPG representative come to see (smell) the room. We were refunded the cost of the paint. I still had the receipt, but didn’t have the paint can. Which is tragically ironic since we’ve kept every other paint can we’ve ever used. SO KEEP YOUR PAINT CANS IF YOU STILL HAVE THEM.
We had the room examined by a number of professional painters and a company that deals with smells from mold, mildew, smoke from house fires, blood (yes blood) etc. We were given an estimate of $1700 for a treatment. At first they said they’d guarantee the work, but then did not. At that point we chose to try cheaper options first and had 2 coats of the synthetic BIN shellac put on the walls. The room still smelled, although the smell was different, and it did lessen as the days went by. I learned that BIN shellac dries quickly, but I think the moisture in the bad paint was soaking into the BIN and preventing it from drying quickly. The stinky paint continually had a tackiness to it like it had never dried. A few weeks later we had one additional coat of BIN shellac put on. It wasn’t the synthetic and had a duller, less shiny white to it. But that seemed to “cure” pretty quickly and the room doesn’t smell now. HOWEVER – we are waiting until spring to be sure it’s safe to say the problem has been solved. Because last year the smell subsided in the winter (it got very cold here right after that third coat and we can’t be sure the problem won’t re-appear with spring as it did last year.
But I will write again 6 months or so from now to let anyone know whether or not three coats of BIN shellac actually did the trick. We are very very hopeful. I believe the problem was bacteria in the paint as has been suggested on other sites or even here. I believe this because: only a living organism like mold or bacteria could continually keep the paint from drying by producing metabolic waste. There was no visible problem. The smell never transferred to anything else in the room, And bacteria would explain why the problem lessened in the cold dry air and grew worse in the warm humid air. Also would explain why the problem didn’t appear until after the paint was out of the can and had a chance to breathe and grow on the walls.
So, I hope I can provide an answer for some that may end up here. Again, I’ll comment again after I know for sure in the late warm spring.
One painter who looked at our room said he’d run into something like it before and they’d taken samples from the wall. They were never told what those samples revealed, but they were able to recoup some expense after the results were given to the supplier.
Again, we did two coats of BIN synthetic shellac – one right after the other together.
Then a few weeks later we did one coat of regular BIN shellac.
Now the room doesn’t smell but we’re waiting until warm weather to be sure because the last coat went on just before the weather turned very cold suddenly.
Will let you all know.
this past year has been a challenge. We use ALL the rooms in our house and not having this room available made things frustrating for day to day life. We did the original paint job ourselves but have had to hire painters to apply the BIN due to sensitivity to fumes and physical disability on my part. The original paint was Olympic Icon paint and primer, flat, zero VOC. It may have been the paint since I don’t think it was a popular brand at Lowe’s and may have been sitting on the shelf. Or it may have been the colorant, since the color was custom mixed and included a small amount of black, which is also not used very often. The color was a butternut squash soup color.
Lisa
SORRY! We painted the room in October of 2013 NOT 2012!
sandy
Hi:
Just wanted to make sure I double posted correction from my August posting. I was confusing a paint store that I thought was named Yolo, with various paint that it sells, Mythic, Yolo, Safecoat and other brands. I want to make sure that I’m clear it was not the Yolo paint that caused the smell because I had only bought small cans of Yolo to test the color and bought flat instead of eggshell buy mistake. I never used Yolo to fully paint any walls in the two smelly bedrooms. I am still waiting to hear back from retail place I bought the paint from and Mythic paint company person, the type of paint I used. Been weeks since retail person came to my house after telling me paint smells bad, the rooms smell and now… no return emails or calls from either of them. Was hoping for some help from them, but, not. Haven’t been able to use these rooms for way over a year. Not sure what my next steps will be. Just drained from all of this.
Phil Pirouet
I am sorry to read of all the people all over the world who are suffering from the paint odours. We live in England and all the walls, exterior cavity walls and interior wall of our house are of blockwork and plastered. A bedroom walls and ceiling were plaster skim coated and painted and a large wall in the downstairs living room repainted, both with vinyl emulsion paint. The downstairs room gave off a sharp smell and tingling on tongue and mouth. The new carpet in the bedroom gave off such a strong smell that I had to throw it out. I have tried all the sealers mentioned including shellac based – all no good.
We have paid to have all the plaster chipped off the solid block walls – two men, three days work – and had the downstairs wall re-plastered. The plaster stank, the tingling smell came back and is still the same after six weeks.
We are now having the interior blockwork wall torn down and replaced. The bedroom is still in the bare blockwork and if the downstairs remedy works we will have the walls clad in plasterboard (drywall) on metal framing with a gap between it and the solid wall. At 70 I can do without it. Has anyone had any luck with a legal remedy as the house insurers will not cover it?
Sue
What about a class action lawsuit ? This is really bad. We are all being poisoned by these toxic chemicals . It has been 1 1/2 months and I do not feel totally confident about the paint. I have fans and HEPA filters going 24 hrs a day. I am thinking if buying an AirPura filter which gets rid of VOC fumes . The R600 model costs over $600 . My paint was Dunn Edwards ZeroVOC . I thought it was supposed to be the perfect solution for sensitive individuals. That’s what they claim, yet I had to spend over $2000 to stay in a motel for 20 days because I could not sleep in my home without a reaction. This is about health !!! This stuff is toxic . I wish I had never painted my home.
Lilly
Ruth, I appreciate what you went though. I have a smelly room too. Tried to spray with Clorox, then put on BIN. Smell is with us, on warm days. I painted ceiling too with another paint, but can’t tell which one is giving the odor. Scared if we have to tear down the dry wall. How much did this cost you (per linear foot)?
Thanks. Lilly.
Lynn
I painted my bedroom a year ago November, left for a Thanksgiving vacation and returned to a nightmare. The room had a musty, sharp herb smell (sometimes smelling like pickles, other times smelling very foul). As someone else pointed out, the smell seemed to pool in the middle of the room, though I spent much time sniffing walls trying to determine its source. I tried air fresheners. A “critter” guy came and determined that there wasn’t a dead animal in the walls. Another company looked for mold in the attic and walls, pulled back the carpet (which had been recently cleaned), and gassed the room with a product designed to kill smells within the walls. It appeared to work, but within two weeks the smell was back. At that point I discovered this website. I had the room tested for toxins, and the tests came back normal except for a slight elevation for paint fumes. I spoke to Sherwin Williams, and they agreed to repaint the room at their expense. They used one coat of Bin. Two weeks later the Bin smell was still strong in the room (it should have lasted two hours); it eventually faded to be a mix of Bin and the awful smell. During the summer the smell seemed to come and go, but once the windows were closed while I was on vacation, the strong, foul smell returned. I live in the Pacific Northwest, so keeping windows open year-round is not an option. I finally resorted to having the drywall torn down and replaced at my expense.The walls were painted with a different brand of paint that wasn’t low VOC. I’m happy to say that I am finally sleeping in my bedroom again. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to post on this site. Without this site, I would have been all alone in understanding and searching for solutions to this problem. So many well meaning people told me to just “open a window and air out the room.” I wish it had been that simple.
Sue
So are you saying that you did better with the VOC paint rather than the zero VO C ?
Susan
I painted 2 doors in my bathroom with kilz and had no problem. a couple of days later I put a second coat of paint on of Glidden semi-gloss on it. Once it dried I noticed a sour smell and I can’t get rid of it. Somebody please help me it makes me sick to my stomach. The only up side is the smell is only in the bathroom.
Mike Haymaker
I need help too! I’ll never use Kilz again. Its been a week since I primed my bedroom and fumes are still kicking. I am sick now in sinuses from being around it. I am staying elsewhere tonight as I have to leave windows open to air out. I’m lucky its warm here somehow still in AK. I made sure paint was dry before I painted over it with latex as off gassing is known when covering wet paint but, a week later is ridiculous!
David B
I’ve had similar problem like many here. Painted with Benjamin Moore line of “Ben” paint. Applied beautifully but smelled like natural gas a day after it was applied. 10 days later it still smelled strong as ever so I painted over it with Behr from Home Depot. The Behr applied awfully but at this point I didn’t care and just wanted the odor to go away. A week later and it took on a different odor which also didn’t dissipate. I contacted the store where I bought the original Ben paint. They escalated the issue to a Ben Moore area rep that contacted me within a day. The store and the rep claimed they never heard of the issue but quickly offered a gallon of primer and a gallon of Regal Select (higher quality than my original Ben line). I applied the primer which is INSL-X Seal Lock. It smelled awful for the first few days but the smell quickly dissipated by day 7. All good right? Noooo. I thought it was now safe to apply a fresh coat of latex paint but now the original odor has returned. It’s been 2 weeks since I applied this. At this point I think my walls are completely contaminated and I will have to re-apply primer and settle for primer white color on my walls.
David B
One thing I forgot to mention in my previous post is I think there’s a good chance all of the cans of paint I used may have been contaminated due to weather. I’m in the New York City area and the days I bought then paint were in the 20 degree range though the temp inside my home was in the 60s and the paint thoroughly mixed when applying.
Madge
I am a professional painter who has been painting since 1974. After Sandy my friends bedroom got some water damage to a ceiling. We replaced the drywall in the area and did all the proper applications. We decided to freshen the room up but that ended up being a nightmare. I have tired everything that would normally eradicate the odor problem but to no avail. I used all the top name primer sealers and different paint manufactures over the last 3 years. I now know that the only way to resolve this problem is to remove the drywall which will be done in March. I will tape and mud the drywall but not paint until someone comes up with a solution. My theory is the colorants were off whether that happen from the manufacture or because the paint had extreme temperature change I can’t say for sure. I think if I do paint it will be from a local paint store were my chances are better to purchase fresh paint.
Petey
Hi Madge, when you say that you used all the top name primer sealers, did you try BIN shellac? Good luck to all.
Jymn
Well, reading this has been terrifying. I painted a mural in my daughter’s bedroom with behr ultra several weeks ago and the chemical smell is lingering. Some of the painting was done on cold and/or humid days, so I’m worried there’s a coat underneath somewhere that isn’t dry. The smell doesn’t seem to come from the walls, as a few others have noticed, but pools in the middle of the room. Traditional odor absorbers (onions, lemons, baking soda) aren’t doing anything. I certainly hope I don’t end up resorting to priming over it…ugh. But this thread has been helpful. It seems like there’s a serious problem in the paint industry that should end up in court sometime soon
Cara
Same problem with Lowes Olympic low voc paint and primer in one. My son’s bedroom was painted one month ago.
Smells like I painted yesterday and I’ve had windows open during the day and an expensive air purifier running every night. I will never buy low voc or paint and primer in one again. Never had any problems like this with my other paints.
katie
well, Here I am adding to this. We had some mold removed and new drywall put up. They painted our wall with a primer/paint. We have been sleeping in the living room for almost a week waiting for the paint fumes to go away because it affects our sinuses. Now I’m thinking we will be sleeping in there the rest of our lives!
Fran
My husband painted our foyer back in October 2014 & I have been having problems ever since…headaches, anxiety, pain up the back of head, not sleeping. I was in the hospital in Nov 2014 when my right side gradually went numb (was diagnosed with a TIA) mini stroke & I’m still having problems…..I began figuring out it’s from the paint odor…..our home has a very overpowering musty odor since we painted & it’s affected me really bad…..after reading the posts on this website I feel we will probably have to tear out the drywall & start over, although another brand of paint might create the same problem. We used the Olympic Paint from Lowes. I don’t know what they are adding to paint but it is really bad if you have any allergies. I am very sensitive to odors.
karen
Now the question is: Which paint is good to use? I have always done things very “green”, zero VOC, etc. After this nightmare with Mythic, I am open to using regular paint. Just not sure which brand to use now. Any suggestions? We applied two coats of BIN. It seems to have helped. However, the true test will be the hot weather.
Paul
Cara,
I am having the same problem with Olympic Icon paint purchased from Lowes. Painted on Sat. And it is nkw just about Wed. An my kitchen smells awful. I am in the process of talking with the manufacturer of the paint but after reading this thread I am fearing the worse– having to rip out my walls.
Jeff
I have a similar problem. I live in New Zealand and tried using PPG Architectural Easy coat walls with microban. I was painting over a 10 year old surface that had been sanded and sugar soap washed. The paint claimed to be low odor, low VOC and had microban (a good feature for a bathroom and suggested by the local Bunnings store). On initial drying it started to have a sweet choking smell. The room was fully vented the entire time duiring and after painting. I’ve tried onions, fans, vinegar wash, ozone and dehumidifiers. It’s almost 2 months and the bathroom still smells/ It’s a sickly gagging smell (more chemical/synthetic like than organic/vomit like). I’m tempted to repaint but I’d like PPG to explain the problem.They were initially understanding but now, neither the Australian or New Zealand reps have returned my contact requests. Guess what brand I’ll never use again. Here down under, paint is quite expensive (about NZ$65/4l which is about US$40/gal for the medium range stuff stuff like PPG and doiuble that for good paint like Resene).
Thomas Subjak
Has anyone tried Micro-Ban? Seems like it may be a bacterial growth issue and Micro-Ban, especially in high concentrations can kill quite a bit of microbes and bacteria. I’m probably going to be trying it for an issue that we are having, but I figured I’d throw it out there to see if anyone else has tried it first.
Sue
I had my home painted with zerovoc Dunn Edwards paint. If has been over 2.5 weeks that I have lived in a motel . Daily I air out housebeirhbfans and Hepa filters. I moved back yesterday and could not sleep because I had allergic reaction . What can I do ?
Paul
Follow up to earlier posts: Olympic paints sent a rep out to my house. He had worked all day and smelled of sweat and cologne so there was no way he’d smell what I smelled and he didn’t. The company gave me a check for $50 for my troubles. Woo hoo. Half for the paint and half if I wanted to buy sealer to lock the smell in.
At the time I will admit, the smell faded a bit but not totally. Now today it hit 66 degrees here in NJ and the smell is back with a vengeance. I think these companies are full of shit and their products contain VOCs even though they advertise otherwise. And they know people aren’t going file suit because of the cost of counsel as well as testing their products. Based on my experience, I do not recommend Olympic Icon paint to anyone. I am going to try living with the smell for now. Who,would have thought a $25 can of paint advertised as low odor and no VOCS would cause this much trouble.
MB
Buy a large container of activated charcoal online and solo cups. Fill the solo cups half way and place them around the room/house. It will absorb any chemical smell. I cleared the air after having my floors refinished with poly in a couple hours with the windows open. The chemicals that burn with a new oven, were gone in 30 minutes. It works with paint too and costs very little. You can “renew” the charcoal by placing it in the sun but mine lasts for long periods.