Does paint have fumes that linger for weeks?

[SummersBreeze]

I was going to paint a room at home for my mother. We might have visitors in a few weeks. We might have visitors in 2 and half weeks. My mother doesn't want me to paint now because she says the fumes and smell will linger.

Is this true?

To be honest I don't see much of an issue because we are due to have some good weather this weekend. The paint should dry quickly.

I was hoping on starting the paint job on Saturday morning by cutting in and letting that dry. About 4 to 6 hours drying time. Followed by a coat of paint with in the cutting in frame. Then I was going to put on a second coat of paint on Sunday in a similar manner. Cutting in on the walls followed by a coat of paint.

The job should be done by Sunday evening but she's apprehensive because of painting fumes.

I don't know of this is just old age nonsense from her.

A day or 2 yes, but not weeks. Is improved by having a window open to air. After 2 weeks, you shouldn't smell anything, particularly with modern water based paints

We used Johnstone's one coat matt in the morning, and by the evening it was completely dry and no smell. Is she the Queen?

We’ve had some decorating done over the past week. Can’t smell paint at all, couldn’t smell it when it was being done. Decorators said he’d used a paint that has no smell but I can’t remember what it was.

Oil based ..yes
Water based..no

Most paint is water based these days. If it's emulsion or quick dry then that's fine

I cut an onion in half and leave it in the room when I’m painting. Seems to take away any smell when using gloss paint. For emulsion just open a window for ventilation. Cheap and appears to work 🤷‍♀️

I have an emulsion paint

You can combat it by leaving bowls of vinegar with some baking soda and sliced lemon / orange in it - gets rid of the smell very quickly.

My mother is always reading about cleaning hacks and tips in magazines and she gets me to Google them too. So she often leaves baking soda and lemon in the room as a natural air freshener. The issue I find is that she often leaves them there for days of not weeks and I often have to pick up dishes with mouldy lemons and then she wonders why the room doesn't smell fresh.

Your mum would've had a point about 20 years ago - perhaps. But nowadays emulsion paints are a lot lower on VOCs than they used to be so they don't smell as much.
You can also get extra low VOC "eco" paint. I did a room in a clay based paint from Earthborn paints recently, and don't recall smelling anything - plus the colour is really deep and lovely and matt.

Emulsion will be fine. The only possible exception I can think of is Valspar, a while back there were quite a few stories of it having a really foul smell that didn’t shift. Solve this problem by not using Valspar! I should imagine they’ve fixed this by now.

Johnston’s a what I always use.

We, the usual paints do. Is there a reason she is worried about this? Is there someone with a lung condition visiting?

You are fork out for zero paint with zero VOCs and they are brilliant but expensive.

Not sure what happened there ^^ ... zero VOCs paint

@SummersBreeze Hmmmdoes kind of defeat the purpose doesn’t it🤣

Keep the window in the room open and if possible other windows in the house. The smell shouldn't be unbearable even when the paint is wet but certainly by day 2-3 it should have faded. Light a candle in the room if needed!

I have in the past few days finished painting Bedrooms, living room, dining room and kitchen with Dulux wash and wear ( including ceilings) and there was no smell after 1 day and only my DH who has a sense of smell which would rival a very alert Basset hound said he could only smell a faint whiff two days later. I’d say it would be fine….

20/30 years ago the paint smell used to linger but modern stuff the smell goes when it's dry.

Check the tin for info about VOCs - they should state it (EU law to protect our health, the sort of thing those bastard Brexit voters want us to do away with) - low VOC paints are better and usually smell less. These things are much improved.

As others have said it will be fine smell wise but why are you letting the cutting in dry before the main painting?

We’ve just finished some painting, walls are Emulsion, paintwork is gloss, both paints are water based so no smell. Easier to clean the brushes with soapy water and it comes off of clothes easily and carpets, curtains, children…………

I wouldn’t use water based gloss while it’s warm. It dries far too quickly and doesn’t level.

Thanks for the replies.

I have dulux trade emulsion supermatt paint.

Thanks for all of the replies. I will try and reassure her that modern paints are smell free after a day or two.

There's no one with a lung condition. I think there's some type of OCD setting in with her and I think maybe there's a dementia setting in too with her so she's always trying to argue and fight.

That was on a YouTube video somewhere. Cut in and let it dry before painting the rest of the wall. It's supposed to be better that way.

Check the tin for info about VOCs - they should state it (EU law to protect our health, the sort of thing those bastard Brexit voters want us to do away with

Non EU countries have similar laws. Including the UK.

I have an emulsion supermatt paint.

Would that work?

Deadly I checked online and its 99.9% VOC free.