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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Anita
MB trying to get rid of chemical paint odor. Where did you purchase the activated charcoal? What brand do you think is best? Thank you for the advice.
Nick
I have been painting for years but have just had/having my first experience with weird , sickening smell. I used a Ben Moore Muresco ceiling flat white paint on Ben Moore primed sheet rock. No problem with primer and it was there for weeks with out final coat . Muresco Paint had stronger than usual odor but didn’t think too much of it. However after a week it is smelling of a strong, sickly sweet perfume like odor and giving us all head aches etc.
We are in Hudson area of New York and got this paint through Herringtons, a local building merchant.
I am calling them tomorrow to find out what their thoughts might be. Looks dismal from this post and the thought of re sheet rocking is depressing. But that smell has to go, we are sickening from it.
Any one else had a Ben Moore problem with Muresco ceiling white?
Nick
Ok update for Nick’s situation posted 12 April 2015.
Ben Moore rep came out with rep from Herringtons. Both pleasant and could smell issue. However doubts about whether it could be the Ben Moore paint as, even though walls had unpleasant odor , the dried paint on used can did not. Offered a can of synthetic Bin as primer to go over walls again and will be getting a different flat Ben Moore paint later in the week.
I am wondering if this could not be the primer which i think was Ben Moore but has been tossed.
has anyone had success with synthetic Bin? I have put two coats on in a test area and sickly smell has gone for now, but its only been a few hours.
Synthetic Bin is a water based version of their shellac product.
Lawrence
Nick, I used Muresco recently and it did have a strong smell for well over a month. I’m never using Benjamin Moore Muresco again! Good luck with your odor issues.
Vlad
If it helps anybody, here’s another datapoint: we repainted walls and replaced floors with cork laminate several months ago. Started having this strong chemical smell soon after. We were dead set on the floors being the problem, since leftover boards did emit some smell. I finally took away the floors, the smell remained. I covered walls with plastic today and the smell went away almost immediately. So the problem is in the paint, either HD or Lowes, low/no VOC with primer. I want to let those of you who have health effects from the paint know that as a temporary remedy plastic film is working very well. I attached it with masking tape.
Sue
Achemist friend suggested evacyating home for 2 days but first putting pans of amonia 1/2″ deep in house to neutralize paint. Makes sense but I am very sensitive and fear a reaction to the amonia. Has anyone tried doing this with white vinegar ?
For the love of paint
Same rotten fish smell with Behr paint from Home Depot. Nauseous and vomitting.
Face it people. The paint manufacturers know what the problem is, what they’re putting in paint that’s making people sick (does it also include putting fish and crustacean material into paint?) but they are not addressing the issue. The retail stores know what the problem is and ditto their response. Both play innocent and unaware of the problem, they minimize it, they obfuscate, perhaps deliberately lie and cheat their way out of this mess.
There are things we can do.
Start a class action lawsuit in the United States. (Here in Canada the dollar figures only amount to peanuts.)
Everybody unite and selectively boycott a whole line of paint products. Rotate that list. Let’s start with Benjamin Moore. They seem to have the most complaints on this site. (Yes there is a raving review here about how they fixed a particular problem, about how many companies would do that in this day and age, but they certainly don’t go to that length for every problem they’re creating. Lucky the chosen family that Benjamin Moore finally helped.)
So.
Class action lawsuit against paint stores and manufacturers!
Boycott Benjamin Moore first!
Watch the industry start sweating.
WE can fix this problem. All the best to us.
Sue
Has anyone tried AFM’s Safecoat paint? . It is specifically made with fewer toxic ingredients. It looks promising. In fact, I am going to order some samples for $6 each to try it.
Sue
Jymn
success story
I posted in february that the chemical paint smell was lingering in my daughters room and now it FINALLY seems to be gone. She had been sleeping in the play room in the interim, and we had been having the windows open all the time but the progress was very slow.
Then last weekend we tried two new things and it seemed to make a big difference.
One is simple: activated charcoal. It worked better than any other odor absorber we tried. We used a 500g “moso bag” which is nice and tidy, but any brand would probably work.
The other thing we tried is more interesting: heating up the room. Now, many people have noted that the smell gets worse in hot weather, and that got me thinking. If the problem is paint still being wet underneath other layers of paint because it was too cold or humid to dry properly before it was painted over, then the heat makes the smell worse because more of the underneath paint is drying, but that’s actually a good thing, we want to get that over with and be done with it.
So we closed the door and windows and used a radiant space heater to heat up the room for hours and hours. It was a dry heat, which is good, and the activated charcoal helps with that too. You want the odor absorber in the room when you heat it, obviously. It smelled a bit worse for a while, then it smelled better.
We’re happy with the results, so maybe others could try it and see if it works for them
Bob Ucman
We have a Valspar issue with a bad smell. I tried Kilz(sp) premium primer and that did not work. I am going to try AFM Safecoat Hard Seal per an earlier post and see what happens. Worst case I have to take down the dry wall and start over.
I will participate in a class action law suit.
Bob
WR
For those thinking of trying the AFM, it did not work to solve our problem. We used the paint, rather than the hard seal, although I did have it painted over a Shellac seal. I was also disappointed in the quality of the AFM paint. The AFM took forever to dry and had a blocking problem, even though we were running a dehumidifier. For our problem room, we have closed off the room and are using a very expensive air filter to keep the smell/fumes in check and from contaminating the rest of the house. (I had our air tested by an indoor air quality lab before and after the air filter was set up, so I know it works because the “danger” levels of VOCs went into the green. The air filter uses pounds and pounds of activated charcoal.) I now have a room in my house that we cannot use except to store items that won’t pick up smell. Our plan is to eventually replace the drywall when we have the money and time. I have no idea what I will use to paint the walls when we do get new drywall put in. It seems like every manufacturer has had this problem at one point or another. Perhaps I will be making my own paint in the kitchen sink.
Sue
Was the air quality checked before and after using the Safecoat paint?
Which HEPA filter did you buy ?
Fabric that has been pre washed might be an alternative tompsinting walls.
Sara
Painting nightmare & feeling sick. We put Behr basement masonry paint on our concrete walls in basement a yr ago & immediately felt sick. They told us to put Kilz max primer over & that would seal in the odor. That did not help one bit. This is one yr later & now that the temp has changed the gases are horrible. The air down there is heavy, smells like a vinegar type gas that makes our whole house smell. I can’t stand to be here I feel sick all the time, eyes & throat burn, Ive lost my sense of taste & smell. I don’t know how to fix the problem since it’s on concrete walls. Would it help if I put mortar over it or even drywall over the concrete to keep in the gas odors?
Sue
Hello Sara:
I completely understand your frustration and despair as I too am living a “Paint nightmare.” More on that later. As for you, I think you should consider hiring contractors to sandblast the paint from the cement walls that you had painted. Rent HEPA filters that are specifically intended to eliminate VOC fumes. That is my advice.
As for me, I made the mistake of painting my interior drywalls. Those symptoms you are having will ruin your health over the long run. I know this is radical, but you should seriously consider moving. That is exactly where I am at on all of this. It has been 2 months, the HEPA filters and fans are going 24 hours a day. I can only sleep with the HEPA filter close to the bed. But since moving in, I have had MORE health problems than I had before. I already had a marginal immune system, but since returning this is what happened:
1. I had a relapse of Epstein -Bar Virus after 30 years.
Yes, the painted appears to have compromised my immunity to that extent. I have been through two deaths and employment upheaval in the last 30 years and those events did not trigger the EBV. But the paint did. What does that tell you about the toxicity of the paint??? If you have symptoms you are lucky, because you know it is bad. If you have no symptoms, you are unlucky, because health problems will manifest themselves eventually. That is my take on the topic.
2. I am still recovering form the EBV, but recently, I came down with carpal tunnel syndrome. Never had a serious problem with this in the past. But I felt PAIN which sent me to the doctor.
3. Then I started feeling joint pain, even being awakened in the middle of the night with hip pain !!!
Right now I am trying to make my environment as healthy as I can while I make my escape plans, clean out my home, prepare it for sale. The handwriting is on the wall. I must move from this toxic environment before something more serious happens with my health.
Clearly, this paint does a number on ones immunity and causes systemic inflammation which is linked to a variety of serious diseases. I don’t think I need to list them here. We all know what they are.
SM
Sue
ATTN: EVERYONE ON THIS THREAD
Some people shared some helpful information and possible solutions to paint problems, but when I tried to obtain further details so that I could go out and purchase the equipment that they used, they did not respond. We cannot help each other and continue our discussions if people are not answering our questions.
So please check the boxes below when you post a response. That way we can have communication on this topic and we can be helped when you share a successful strategy. We need all the help that we can get. Thank you, SM
karen
Dear Courtney,
I agree with Sue, do not feel bad about keeping your daughter out of that room. I have had the same problem for 2 years now. I am scared to paint again. I may go back to using regular paint. I am an alternative health care practitioner and have always done everything very “green.” However, it seems that regular paint is more stable. I am waiting until the summer months to paint, hoping to ensure that any cans damaged due to cold will have been sold. Ironically, cold seems to be more harmful to paint that heat. Are your walls plaster? Ours are plaster. The house was built in 1964. I would have taken the walls down a long time ago, but my husband does not want to. Bin Zinser did help. We have an epoxy on the floor now and are going to put new flooring in to rule out the lingering smell being epoxy. I too would love to hear of a paint line that works. I haven’t heard anything negative mentioned about Farrow and Ball. I’m going to prime and wait a week before I paint. And, even then, I may paint a small area; being sure to cover up the can as I go. By the way, Gold Bond is a non-toxic drywall and they actually sell it at Lowe’s.
gd
I have the same problem with Behr paint and primer paint, terrible smell that has effected my upper respiratory system. Drywall has been taken down and still have the smell that is now through out my house. Trying to find company that will test for chemical smells. Behr knows there’s a problem but won’t admit there is . Knot sure if I want to drywall until the smell is gone Has anyone solved the problem of getting rid of the smell and how?
Courtney
Hi Karen –
Thank you for your response. I agree with you about using “regular” paint from now on. The air quality technician told me that the VOCs they remove to make low VOC paint are mainly drying agents, making for a longer drying time between coats. I have also learned that low VOC paint is better for the ozone layer, but not necessarily indoor air quality.
My walls are not plaster. My husband probably would not have taken them down either if they were, As much as I wanted the walls down and the problem (hopefully) gone, I did not want the headache of having to pick out new drywall and turning my daughter’s room into a construction zone (more off-gassing in her room that I was trying to avoid). After researching drywall, flooring, paint, etc. and all of the harmful effects they can have on our indoor air quality and health, the saying “ignorance is bliss” has never rang more true! Thank you for the suggestion of Gold Bond drywall. I am going to look into it now.
I’m glad to hear that the Bin Zinser helped your situation a little. I would love to hear how you make out after installing the new flooring. I will keep my fingers crossed!
omar
I have the same problem but the bad news is that i had removed the paint with chemical remover because my walls are concrete and it still smells
than i installed MDF panel over my walls and used wall paper to cover them instead of paint and the room stills smells
very frustrating
Courtney
Hi Sue –
Thank you for your post. I agree that an off smell is indicative of a greater problem, that is why I refused to use the room – even after the air quality test came back seemingly normal. I finally went into the room a couple of days after the drywall was removed and have to say that I don’t smell the lingering paint odor that had been there. I have been in there a couple of times, though, and each time I end up with a headache and sinus pressure. I’m thinking it could be lingering drywall dust that is irritating my sinuses (I have had sinus issues since my early 20s) and, hopefully, will not be an issue once the walls are up and the room is properly cleaned. Until then, I will continue to keep the windows open and the room taped off from the rest of the house so no dust makes its way into the rest my home.
I am very sorry to hear of your health issues. It is very hard for people who do not have such sensitivities to understand that someone can become physically ill from such things. I hope you are able to resolve your issue (or move) quickly.
Courtney
Judith
We bought a new house built in 1950 with plaster walls. Our dream home. Painted the kitchen with Ralph Laurent Paint from Miller Paint company. No problem. Painted the bathrooms with Behr Premium no VOC, no problem. Painted the bedrooms, hallway and living dining room with Ralph Lauren paint from Home Depot, horrible problem. Smelled sour and bad and nauseating. The painters went right over the first coat with the second within 4 hours as per the instructions. Got mad at the painters for not stopping as soon as they smelled how bad it was but they said they cannot smell.
Contacted Home Depot and they contacted the paint rep who said he has never heard of this problem. Sent the batch numbers to Ralph Lauren and they said nothing wrong with the paint, never heard of this problem but they gave us 5 gallons of Kilz to overcoat it. The smell was gone at first with the Kilz so we painted again with Aura from Miller. Unfortunately 3 months and the smell is still present. It is not as strong but still there and my ears plug up and I get dizzy and an asthma attack so I can’t be in the house without the windows open and fresh air.
It has been three months of airing and fans and exhaust fans and ozone machine and the smell still lingers. The walls are plaster and it would cost a small fortune to tear them out.
Please note all posters: these are not VOC fumes but something else that has been put in the paint to replace them.
The description of the smell as pickles and/or vinegar is what we experience. Even if I can’t smell it I start coughing and my ears plug up.
Class action law suit seems in order.
Has anyone contacted their insurance company?
Judith
The Miller paint we used was Acro Pure not Aura
Judith
I have a suggestion for future painting to avoid smells. Do not buy paint at big box stores or any big chains like Ben Moore. Their paint comes across country and is not climate controlled in shipping.
Buy paint locally that is made locally. We have Miller Paint in Seattle and another store called the Paint Laboratory that ships nationally.
The other thing is to smell the paint in the can before you paint! We realized the paint in the can stunk to high heaven and if we had smelled it would never have used it! Paint in the can should have no smell.
Still no solution to our problem but may use the heat and charcoal to get the smell gone.
The local air quality specialist suggested we install a whole house fan to keep air constantly flowing through and out of the house. Instead they suggested keeping a basement window open and running the bathroom and kitchen fans which has helped but if the house is closed and the fans off it smells.
karen
Dear Courtney,
The reaction you had could easily be a reaction to the dust from demolition. Curious to hear which drywall you used and how the smell is. Keep us posted!
Judith, great suggestion about locally-made paint! Thank you! Let us know how the heat and charcoal go!
Lisa
Hi all, you will see my earlier comments above in this thread. (although I’m not the only Lisa in the thread)
I’m writing to report that we believe that the problem of the smelly paint has been solved for us, approximately 19 months after it began. In the end, after all our troubles, the problem seemed to be solved with 3 coats of BIN. We used 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. There was no special reason we did it this way. It was just that the first 2 coats didn’t quite do the trick so we applied a third after a few weeks when we realized we needed to. I would have liked to apply a fourth and even fifth to put as much of a barrier as possible between me and that cursed paint. But after a while it was apparent that the third coat must have done the trick.
If you read my earlier posts, you will see that we used Olympic Icon paint and primer, flat, zero VOC, with a custom color, purchased at Lowe’s. The paint never seemed to dry, and after a year it was still possible to discolor a paper towel by wiping the wall with it. We had spot tried: bleach, alcohol, other recommended cleaners. The smell was something akin to body odor or some other organic smell. Unlike one writer above, closing the room and putting a space heater in there didn’t help. The warmer the room, the worse the smell, dry or not. It never lessened at all.
We were hesitant to go with the BIN for fear we would be throwing good money after bad, but all estimates for remediation were so costly that we decided to at least try it.
It’s impossible to know if we’re all experiencing a problem that is caused by the same thing in each case, but it’s obvious that there is something bad going on in paint production. I just wanted to let everyone know that for me the BIN worked, but it took more than the ordinary amount to make a difference.
Sue
Hi Lisa:
I am happy that this seems to have worked for you. As for me, I would be afraid that I would have an allergic sensitivity to the BIN shellac. Yes , the common denominator in all of the paints reported above, is that the paint industry is more interested in making money than our health. It does not matter what the offending chemicals are, the bottom line is that they are toxic to humans. A canary in the mine like me, knows immediately, but others may not notice. That does not mean that the chemicals are not harming them. Today I am leaving my home for a few days to see if a change in environment will improve my health issues triggered by the new paint, which is now several months old. Sue
Lisa
Sue, The BIN has a very strong smell, but dries quickly. It shouldn’t be used if you can’t ventilate well. I haven’t noticed any smell from the dried BIN. If you decide to use it, you’d have to have someone other than yourself do the application, because it is very strong. You could leave the house for a few hours. As I explained in one of my comments, the first 2 coats over the stinky paint didn’t seem to handle the problem. The BIN was supposed to be completely dry within a few hours, but even though it seemed to be, it still smelled. That lessened over the next few weeks, but didn’t completely go away til the third coat was applied. Once that dried, we were good – although we waited until the warm weather had given it the test (heat and humidity) before we were prepared to say we’re out of the woods. I hope you can overcome the problem you have. I understand that it’s very frustrating and even sickening to have to try to live with it.
Beth Haney
Well, here’s one more person adding to the mix. My bedroom was painted 9 months ago with Behr paint, and Kilz latex was used underneath in some spots. The room has a plastic like smell that is quite evident when the room is shut up. I thought it was blinds that were made of composite material, so I got rid of $2,000 worth of blinds. The blinds were a factor, and it has improved, but there is still the paint smell.
A class action suit has been mentioned several times. I do not know how this is initiated but sign me up because I would really like to see something done about this problem. I have not used this room and probably never will.
What a waste.
larry
I used to paint houses for a living and then the last twenty years I’ve done other types of painting. Recently I began painting interiors again. First interior job I did was with Behr low voc paint from Home Depot. Stinkiest paint I can ever remember. The strong smell of formaldehyde (? that’s what it smells like to me) and other chemicals lasted for weeks. Gave me bad headaches, couldn’t sleep normally, my nasal passages swelled up and my throat closed up. I even felt depression associated with the other symptoms. Bad stuff. I talked to a painter friend with over 40 years experience and he said he was aware of the strong smell assoc. with the Behr low voc. He said he would never use it. I am on a second interior job now and I am using Royal brand from Ace Hardware – mainly because it is the only paint store close to where I am working. The Royal paint has very little smell. I will probably use it again. I also used Zinnzer latex mold killing primer, and some Kilz latex primer and the smells from those paints were not too bad and dissipated in about a day or two. I also used some Glidden ceiling paint from Wallmart and it seemed OK too.
Back in the day I always used Glidden low odor latex paint and Benjeman Moore latex for interior work as I found them to have the least odor and cause me and others the least headaches.. But that was twenty years ago, and obviously thing have changed. I remember years ago I had a good friend who suffered from all kinds of allergies and she had her custom chemical free house painted with a special hypoallergenic paint that ended up being worse than regular paint. It was a milk based paint and it had an odor that didn’t go away even after a couple of years. Made her really sick and she wasn’t able to occupy the house. Maybe wallpaper is the way to go. Although after my experience with Royal Paint I am convinced that there are still ok paints out there. It is no fun experimenting and being made sick by so called low odor paints. Porter makes high quality paint. I will probably try some Porter in the future
Ruth
We have a very very faint smell that doesn’t bother anybody other than me – only apparent when there is no ac or heat on and the room is closed. Considering we tore the whole room up last October and that there is a walk in attic adjacent to it – I can’t rule out that the faint smell might be from air penetration from the attic. Might try to seal that well and see what we have. We might attempt bin in the fall if it continues but truly it is nothing like the smell we had from the Benjamin Moore paint so I am not as concerned and bothered by it. If the door is open there is no smell especially if the ac/head are cycling on and off. My cousin will be spending a month in the room so I am looking forward to seeing what she thinks/says and having that room lived in – which might help also. I will keep you guys posted.
Lisa I am thrilled your smell is gone!!! I might eventually bin it – but right now it is so faint it seems like overkill and before I do that I will want to seal the attic better anyway to make sure it is not that or that that factor is contributing.
Lisa
HOLD THE PHONE!
Ruth, I may have spoken too soon. I am feeling overwhelmed right now because I was sure the 3 coats of BIN had done the trick. But apparently I didn’t wait long enough. We have just now had a few hot humid days, and when the room is shut, the smell is creeping back. This is still the only room that smells, and it’s definitely the walls. I’ve sniffed everything in that room. I’ve crawled around on the floor, I’ve put a ladder up and smelled the ceiling. Nothing in the room smells except the walls – which cause the whole room to stink when the door and window are shut. To the touch, the BIN is fine – it no longer feels like it’s still “sticky” – and you can’t rub it off with a dry paper towel (like was still doable over a year after we painted). And the smell is VERY greatly reduced. HOWEVER – it is still there, after 3 coats of BIN. At this point I think the only thing to try is another couple of coats – but this seems insane. Will anything short of ripping out the walls fix this? We can’t afford to do that, and the paint company (PPG) is not being helpful at all.
I wish I’d known when this started how it would progress. I would have forced the issue with the rep that came to the house (at my insistence). He pretty much just shrugged his shoulders. I should have forced him to take a sample and find out what was wrong. The company has no interest in finding out what went wrong here. Their only interest seems to be avoiding liability. I’ve done plenty of painting in my years – I never in a million years would have dreamed that a problem like this would develop. This is wearing me out – and I think that the paint company is counting on that. But what are the options? Shut the door and pretend that room doesn’t exist? It’s not a mansion. We can’t lose that living space. There are 3 bedrooms and that’s the biggest one. Many possessions are crowded into one of the other bedrooms for well over a year now. I feel confused right now because I’m really not sure what to do next and the money’s not there for any of it. I feel so much anger at the people at the paint company for not wanting to help. This product shouldn’t be on the market.
Ruth, thank you for your note. My sincere hope is that things will come around – to a point where you will be able to forget that this affected your life as it has. Maybe dealing with the attic will do the trick. I hope so.
If anybody reading this wants to consider a class-action suit against PPG (if they used one of their brands) – let me know!
The last person I spoke with told me they’ve only had one similar report before. Well, I know that’s not true because there’s more than one right on this page! And, even if only one person reported it, now that they’ve got two – shouldn’t they be trying to get a sample to find out what’s going on?
Charlie Orestano
Hello to all with the paint smell problem, I am a 36 year painting contractor in the San Diego area. Having
had paint sitting in my storage sometimes for well over a year, I found they paint will go rottenand smell
like vomit or really bad smelling old cheese or milk. I know a particular paint company that was all happy
that they are recycling paint, and one day opened 5 gal bucket of “New Paint” and it smelled like vomit.
My theory is the paint companies are recycling old paint in with new, possibly to not wast or loose the inventory.
Your choices are to either encapsulate it by painting with a super primer (doesn’t always fix it the smell). Or replace the drywall. I think possibly spraying on a converted varnish, lacquer, or shellac, will possibly do the trick. Always smell the can when you first open it, if it smells take it back to the store.
KDP
Well, add me to the list of the nightmare and I do mean NIGHTMARE of horrible paint experiences! I am so frustrated and just finished painting this week with a coat of Sherwin Williams shellac primer. That last coat was the 8th time I have painted my powder room and hallway trying to get rid of the horrible nasty odor. It all began when I painted the first time with PrimeFast2 from Menards and then used two coats of Sherwin Williams Duration paint. When I first noticed the odor, I asked my husband to please install our new vanity/sink and the new toilet thinking it must be a sewer problem. After my husband installed the new vanity/sink and toilet, we continued to smell this strange odor. Still not thinking it was the paint, we called a professional plumber to reinstall the toilet. The two days, we still could smell the strange odor. I called the plumber and he was shocked that the seal on the toilet did not take so he was kind enough to come out to our home and reseal the toilet. Well, wouldn’t you know the smell continued. My husband crawled in the crawl space and checked everything under the house and found nothing. He finally said, “Do think it could be the paint?” We both put our noses close to the walls and lo and behold, it was definitely the paint on the walls! I immediately went to Lowes and purchased Kilz water based primer and another gallon of Sherwin Williams paint. I applied one coat of the Kilz and two coats of Sherwin Williams paint. Unfortunately, the smell came back! After that, I started to research online and discovered this forum and purchased the 500g moso bag of charcoal. It did not work. I tried lemons and onions (not together) to try and absorb this disgusting odor. Nothing worked! I then went to Lowes and they advised an oil-based primer. I put this on the walls and waited…….the smell came back again! I waited a few days and went to a Sherwin Williams store and purchased their shellac. I put this on the walls and hoped for the best outcome…..but unfortunately the smell is still there! I am having a gentleman come to the house tomorrow to estimate how much it will cost to replace the drywall. After reading all the posts on this forum, I believe that is the only thing a person can do. How heart wrenching. I do understand that these walls are not “arms and legs” but it certainly is discouraging to say the least. The amount of money that we have wasted on such a small project is appalling. I will follow up after we rip these horrid walls out and replace with new drywall. To think all that the door jams, crown moulding, window trim, baseboards and everything else will need to come out along with that stinky drywall. I will be “shaking in my boots”, too when the first coat of primer is applied. I will never trust any manufacturer of primer or paint again! From now on, I plan on saving some scrap drywall and testing primers and paints before I ever bring another paint can in our home again and put anything on our walls! What an expensive lesson!
Me
Good grief, after reading all of these, I’m afraid to paint my walls now!
Sue
Don’t paint !
I am flat on my back As I write this. The paint weakened my already weak immune system. Since moving back into my painted home I had a relapse of Epsten bar Virus. Then I was exposed to a hospital virus. Now I can’t get a diagnosis of what it is.But I am weak and have a fever .
Don’t be in denial.
It’s not about the smell. It IC about health. The smell is indicative of a serious health hazard.
Lisa
We are having yet another painter apply yet another coat of primer. This will be an oil-based primer over the 2 coats of synthetic BIN and one coat of original. After the oil based dries and cures, we’ll have two coats of latex applied. And that will have to do. The smell has been reduced, and I am trusting that more stuff to cover the bad paint will reduce it more.
If it doesn’t completely fix the problem, it will have to do. We’ll turn the room to a use that won’t require spending a lot of time in there when the weather’s not just right so that the window can be open. The smell has never transferred to anything in the room. But it’s the master bedroom, and is infuriating that this has been and continues to be the problem that it is. I’m continuing to negotiate with the manufacturer, and although to a point they were actually very agreeable, they have ceased to be so – perhaps fearing great liability. I don’t know. The cost will end at approximately 6-700$ just to be back to having a painted room. But what is the solution to loss of use? And decreased value of the home for a potential sale? I can’t think about that until I know whether or not this next action puts us in the pink.
David
Please stop trying to cover up these paint smells. These paints cannot be covered and the cold hard truth is it is a chemical reaction . I am faced with the same problem and paint experts suggested several things which I have tried from repaint to bin and nothing works. I am going to bite the bullet and take down the drywall. All paint products are porous and this can not be stopped. Sorry for the post but I think these are the facts. Good luck.
Tanya
Hello,
We moved to a new rental apartment (1960s building) 2 weeks ago.
It was freshly painted and has a parquet floors newly refinished. No rugs.
When we just moved, there was no smell of paint, but a faint smell of the floors finish.
In couple of days the smell was gone but a new smell appeared ONLY in the dining area near the kitchen.
The smell seems like be hanging in the air, we were not sure of the source at first. I smelled the ceiling, floors, the walls and only the walls in that particular area have a weird a little musty-dirty smell. All other walls (living room adjacent to the kitchen, 2 bedrooms, the hall) have no smell at all and it seems it is the same paint.
There are small windows in the dining area but they are sealed. So, I am assuming there is bad ventilation there.
Anyhow, I tried cleaning the walls with vinegar, and the smell disappeared for 2 days and now it is back with the same strength.
Is it a mold issue? Is it a moisture under the paint due to bad ventilation?
Most importantly, is it poisonous?
Should I call mold inspection or professional painter to determine this?
Does anyone found a solution?
I afraid that just applying a new coat of paint will not solve the problem.
Lisa
If ANYONE has experienced this problem and found a solution – don’t forget to come back and tell us!!!!!!
Has anyone tried multiple coats of primer? Like four or more? different kinds? LET US KNOW!
To those who ripped out drywall – what did you try before you gave up?
Anyone have a lab analysis? Anyone got reimbursement?
Don’t wait! Get someone from the company and/or an independent expert and find out what’s in the paint – even if you have to get it off the wall. Notify the manufacturer immediately. They will continue to say they haven’t heard of any problem. But we know from this site that they’ve been notified – more than once.
Benjamin Moore had a class-action suit against it for zero-VOC paint that never stopped smelling and remained tacky. That’s exactly what’s happened to me with Olympic Icon paint (a brand that others here have named as well.)
With this many of us experiencing the same problem – I think we can say it’s the paint’s fault, not our own.
Please – if anyone reading this has used Olympic ICON zero voc and is having this smell problem, please contact me. Use this e-mail: the word “mlema” followed immediately by the number “45” no spaces or caps. And that is @ gmail dot com.
I can’t afford to rip out dry wall. And at this point it looks like the paint company isn’t going to reimburse me for all the expenses I’ve incurred. I’m convinced, based on this site, that the paint I used was defective and led to this ongoing smell problem (almost 2 years).
Linda O'Neill
Here I am back again on this site and amazed at all the new reports. Seems like some people getting relief using charcoal but there are paints out there that nothing will get rid of the smell. We used Taubmans yes I am in Australia so it is indeed a world wide problem that the paint manufacturer are not addressing, I hassled Taubmans that much I hassled the dry wall manufacture and the insulation manufacturer. Finally Taubmans paid the cost of having the dry wall removed so I also went ahead and replaced the insulation pink batts with a more natural product. The Taubman paint had nano particles which are supposed to make it easy to remove marks on the walls but they don’t really know how it works. We are not amateurs and had painted our own house inside and out no problem with Dulux paint. It was only when we painted our small apartment we had the problem so lucky it was only a small area.
How do we all get together and get this out there. Maybe pit the paint companies against each other I am thinking of sending the link to this page to Dulux.
But honestly is was such a stressful and frustration time for us I don’t know if I can go through it again.
Lisa
Update: after talking with people on another site, I’ve decided not to apply the Kilz oil-based, but instead to go with a second coat of the BIN shellac (not synthetic, which the first two coats were) I’ll let you know if 2 coats of synthetic and 2 coats of shellac finally kill this smell. I’m very hopeful because even though the smell returned after having put the first 3 coats on last fall – after the room was allowed to get pretty warm, even more of the smell is gone (heat made it worse when it was just the paint, but perhaps the BIN, which was dry to the touch [unlike the paint] has finally found a way to dry out what’s underneath it, by allowing it to get to 83-85 degrees in that room – hot day 🙂
Honestly I don’t know how it works, i think I’m just trying to psych myself up here. I don’t see that anyone else was insane enough to live with this so long and just keep putting more BIN on the wall. (unless I missed that). It has greatly reduced the smell, and hopefully the fourth coat will suffice. Again, I’ll let you know.
Lisa
I have just taken the time to re-read these many posts. I do see that some people said BIN worked for them. Unfortunately there is no follow-up post to reassure us that it worked permanently.
I’m going to let you all know if my latest attempt at fixing this works. It will be at least 3-4 weeks before I can have another coat of BIN shellac applied, and give it the warm/humid test after it dries and cures.
Stay tuned!
Anita
Lisa what other site is talking about this problem? If we all call 310-520-8477 and leave a message describing our problems with paint, I think it will help. If we all file a formal complaint with the consumer products safety commission, we might get some answers. Everyone agency says they have never heard of the paint problem. If we all submit complaints together, we may get a better response.
Anita
It might also help us if we let each other know what area of the world we are having the problem. I am in NJ just outside of Philadelphia, PA.
ron
Hello im back.. I have been posting on this web page for 3 years now. About my paint smell problem in my room.. 3 years with this nightmare I have repainted the room numerous times and even tried different kinds of air products and treatments even ozone generators. Now the room is used for storage, I would love to have the room back but it looks like the only solution is to rips the walls down witch is alot of money the paint company should pay for that. they are sell bad paint. We end up spending more money for there incompetents.
P.S remember 3 long years
Linda O'Neill
I am in Sydney Australia had the same problem with PPG paint Taubmans. They paid for the walls to be replaced but would not admit liability they said it was a good will gesture. Removing the dry wall was the only way to get rid of the smell.
I think Lisa has a great idea
Lisa what other site is talking about this problem? If we all call 310-520-8477 and leave a message describing our problems with paint, I think it will help. If we all file a formal complaint with the consumer products safety commission, we might get some answers. Everyone agency says they have never heard of the paint problem. If we all submit complaints together, we may get a better response.