How Paint Fumes Affect Your Health

Maybe you want to give your room a fresh look, or you want to just add a bit of life to its rather bland look. Painting a room is usually a great idea. A fresh coat of paint makes you feel you just moved in. And it can give your room the transformation it needs.

However, there is one thing you have to know about painting. It doesn’t even matter if you are doing the painting yourself or you are employing someone to do it for you.

As long as you are planning to spend time in the room after the painting, here is one thing you need to know: paint fumes affect your health.

The fumes from fresh paint can irritate your body and, at high levels, cause more serious harm. That is why good ventilation matters while you paint and for a few days afterward. For solvent-based paints in small spaces, a properly fitted respirator rated for organic vapors offers more protection than a simple dust mask.

Do you know what is in paint fumes that make them bad for your health?

Why Paint Fumes Are Bad For Your Health?

Paints contain solvents and other chemicals that keep them liquid. These chemicals evaporate as the paint is applied and dries.

Some of them are harmful to your health. They are called volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. Depending on the product, paint fumes can include solvents such as toluene, xylene and other hydrocarbons, and oil-based (alkyd) paints usually release more than water-based ones.

You may then wonder, “if these fumes are so bad, why don’t they make paints that don’t emit them?” And your answer is that they make paints that emit lower amounts of VOC. They are called low-VOC paints.

Some paints are sold as zero-VOC or no-VOC, although they may still release small amounts once tints are added. Water-based (latex) paints generally release fewer VOCs than oil-based paints, so look for them the next time you shop for paint.

Effects of Paint Fumes On Your Health

Breathing VOCs from paint can cause short-term and long-term effects. According to the EPA, short-term effects may include the following:

Headaches
Dizziness
Difficulty in breathing
Irritation of the throat, eyes, or nose
Nausea

The painter may experience these symptoms while painting or a short while after painting. If you notice any of these symptoms, the Consumer Product Safety Commission advises you to leave the room immediately. Go to a well-ventilated area and take a break until you are feeling better.

Some VOCs, especially at high levels or with long-term exposure, have been linked to:

Damage to the nervous system
Damage to the liver and kidneys.
Cancer (for certain VOCs)

Everyone should limit exposure, but some people need to be especially careful.

Pregnant Women

When pregnant women expose themselves to paint fumes, they are not only risking their health, they are also risking the health of their unborn babies.

A Danish study found no overall link between paint fumes at home in early pregnancy and birth defects. It did see a possible higher risk of some kidney defects, and the authors said the findings need to be confirmed.

Another study, a review of painting exposures by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, also examined a possible link between a mother's exposure to painting before and during pregnancy and leukemia in her children.

Toddlers and Kids

Keep babies and young children out of rooms being painted and freshly painted rooms. A large pooled analysis linked home painting shortly before conception, during pregnancy or after birth with a modestly higher risk of childhood leukemia. This suggests exposure to VOCs may lead to leukemia in babies, although it does not prove cause and effect.

Paint fumes can also irritate children's airways and may worsen asthma or allergies.

How Long Should You Wait Before You Use a Newly Painted Room?

I know you are eager to use the beautiful room, but suppress that eagerness for the sake of your health. EPA and CPSC guidance suggests keeping windows open for about 2 to 3 days after painting, when the weather allows.

Fresh paint can keep releasing low levels of VOCs for weeks, and some VOCs have no smell. So keep ventilating even after the odor fades, and keep young children and pregnant women out of the room for at least those first few days.

Paint Fumes Safety Tips

There are two ways to be safe from paint fumes. The first is to choose low-VOC or zero-VOC paints. The other way to be safe is by getting rid of paint fumes in the following steps:

Plan the painting to happen when there wouldn’t be many people at home. You and your family could go for a week-long trip while the painting is being done.
Always encourage proper ventilation in newly painted rooms.
If you are doing the painting yourself, take breaks. And after you finish, keep the room ventilated and stay out as much as you can for 2 to 3 days.
Close paint cans tightly, and do not store opened paint inside your home.
Air purifiers are not a substitute for fresh air. Standard HEPA filters trap particles, not gases, so open windows and use fans first.

HP Thoughts: Paint fumes can also irritate the lungs and throat, causing coughing or shortness of breath in some people. If you have breathing problems, we prepared a post for you to follow: Breathing Problems at Night. Get medical help right away for severe breathing trouble.

Conclusion

Humans are not the only ones that suffer from exposure to VOCs. Paint fumes can harm pets too. Protect yourself, your family, and your pets from these paint fumes.