How to Remove a Paint Smell

Remove the lingering odor after painting.

You finally settle on paint color for your interior room and your decorating plans are coming together. You spend the day applying several layers of paint and then you stand back to admire your handiwork. Unfortunately, the odors of fresh paint are so powerful and unpleasant that you cannot bear to smell them. If paint fumes linger in a freshly painted room, try several different options to absorb or remove the fumes.

Things You'll Need

• Fans
• Plain charcoal
• Bucket
• Paper towels
• White vinegar
• Shallow bowl
• Onion
• Knife
• Small dish

Instructions

1. Open the windows wide to create cross ventilation in the room. Set up fans at several points in the room to move the air.

2. Crush 10 to 12 charcoal briquettes in the bottom of a bucket. Moisten two to three paper towel squares and nestle them among the crushed charcoal. Place the bucket into the center of the painted room and keep it there for 24 hours. The charcoal will absorb the odors.

3. Pour enough white vinegar into the shallow bowl to cover the bottom. Set the bowl in the center of the painted room and leave it there for 24 hours. The white vinegar will absorb the paint odors.

4. Peel an onion and cut it in half. Pour a small amount of cool water into the bottom of the small dish and place the two onion halves cut-side-up in the water in the dish. Place the dish in the center of the painted room and leave it there for a day. The onion will absorb the paint odors.

Tips & Warnings

• Stir 2 to 3 drops of pure vanilla extract into the paint in the can before you apply it. Often the vanilla extract will mask paint odors and make them undetectable after you apply the paint.

References

• Paints and Coatings Resource Center: Odors from House Painting
• University of Ketucky Extension: Odors: What's that Smell?