Fresh Paint

[Rachel]

Have any of you ever painted the inside of your house or moved to a place with brand new paint on the walls? Did you find that you were sensitive to the chemicals released by the paint, or did you do okay living with fresh paint in the house?

I know that I'm sensititive to cleaners, but I haven't lived in a freshly painted place for 15 years or more. I don't know how it would affect me now. I'm wondering if I would likely be okay and it would be worth the risk to find out, or if I need to avoid fresh paint or use only non-toxic paint. I don't want the VOCs released to cause my symptoms to flare, or the odor to cause headaches or migranes.

If you have any experiences with this, good or bad, please share. Thanks!

Rachel

[masumeh]

Oddly, when we painted in my place, it didn't bother me. Cleaning solutions, on the other hand, do bother me. I used to faint if I passed the detergent isle in the grocery store. But paint, I do OK.

[pat57]

there is a discussion about paint odor here

http://curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=356484

and there are low odor paints

http://www.sherwin-williams.com/pro/green/...rt_designation/

[delphicdragon]

Definitely had an issue with paint when I moved out of my apartment, but then again so did my boyfriend as we were using spray paint indoors!!! (note to self: don't so that again)

Maybe having someone else do the painting might help, and airing out the place for a while with lots of fans might be useful.

I think cleaning supplies are worse than paint (as Rachel and masumeh said).

There is a chemical called Odor-Be-Gone (http://www.odorbgoneproducts.com/) which is wonderful. You add it to the paint and the paint doesn't smell at all. My parents and I used it when we painted our family room and their bedroom. There was virtually no paint smell. My parents could even sleep in their bedroom the night after we painted.

Sara

[flop]

One of the buildings that I work in has just been painted (even had to get the workmen to move their ladder so I could get into my room!). I find that the paint smell makes me feel a little nauseous but didn't cause a headache or POTS symptoms. After an hour or two I couldn't smell it any more - must have "acclimatised".

If getting the place painted before you have to stay there is an option then that would be best rather than being in the building whilst painting is going on. You could try buying a "tester pot" of paint from a DIY store and painting something small near you (like a bit of wood/back of a mirror) and then sitting nearby whilst it dries - that way if the smell makes you ill you can just take the object outdoors and air the room. That way you may be better able to predict how you would react to a much larger amount of paint.

Flop

[Sophia3]

Yes, yes a thousand times yes, paint can be a huge problem for me.

The darker the paint, the stronger the smells, too. We painted a small storage combo/computer back room a deep dark red. Not bad while painting but the outgassing so bad, I did not let cats in the room for 3 weeks!!

also some paints have lower V.O.C's than others. I can use Home Depot's house paint in light colors and tolerate it ok in another room. Do this with windows open in milder weather.

For my room to sleep in, I painted this room over one week before moving in. It's a personaly deal but that's my story.

Walking down cleaning chemicals/smelly laundry soaps/fabric softeners bothers me and I have to move quickly.

I use unscented laundry stuff as smelly soaps bother me too..and candles. Candles are poison unless you use true essence in the scents (same with perfumes) but 'natural cosmetics/soaps can bother me too. The Kiss My Face hand soaps are too smelly for me.

Natural is not always better but it's odors in general.

Poison Ivy and asbestos are 'natural' but . . .

Good luck.

[ajw4790]

Hi!

Yes! Definitly! I am very sensitive to paint fumes and other strong odors (like from new carpet, vinyl on different products, new cars, new plastic ware, and probably one of the worst was a new shower curtain. )

As far as paint fumes, any lower odor etc. would be better, also good/great ventilation is a must, also helpful is the ability once it is painted to avoid that room as much as possible until the smell goes away.

For me the smell is just too much, instand migraine, nauseous, faint feeling, tachycardic etc. It is dependent on length of exposure and how bad the fumes are. And for me it takes a long time to recover after exposure as well. It is not fun!

I hope you are able to find a low odor paint that can work for you!

[Rachel]

Hi everyone,

Thank you for the input.

I took your suggestion, Flop, and had a small board painted. It was in my room last night as I slept, and I think I did okay. The paint had a fairly low odor, so perhaps with the right type of paint I could handle it on the walls. But I'm not sure if I will be okay once the quantity of fresh paint is so much more.

I'll have to think about this some more before I make a decision.

Rachel