Painting the walls a designer-approved color can certainly change the feel of any room. But let’s say you give your bedroom a new look, paint it the “color of the year,” or paint a color that will help you sell your house for more money. Is it OK to sleep in your freshly painted bedroom after you wash your brushes and fold up the drop cloths?
The short answer? No. You should retreat to a guest room or get cozy on the couch. Health experts say it’s not a good idea to sleep in a bedroom while the paint is still drying. Depending on what type of paint you used, you may even have to consider your bedroom off-limits for several nights.
“It is best to wait about 72 hours before sleeping in a freshly painted room,” Raj Singh, MD, FACP, a family physician at HEALER in Las Vegas, says.
That’s because the smell of fresh paint actually comes from volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which, while they help paint apply evenly, also pose health risks and can make you sick. If you feel your eyes watering, get a headache or sore throat, feel dizzy, or have trouble breathing, leave the painted area immediately. Read on to learn more about the health precautions you should take when painting your bedroom.
When is it safe to sleep in a room after painting?
Singh recommends avoiding the bedroom for at least 24 hours after painting, but says ideally you should wait 72 hours or three days.
The exact time it takes for paint to dry depends on the climate. In hot, dry cities, paint may dry faster than in places with high humidity, Singh says.
How long you should avoid a freshly painted room also depends on the type of paint you or your contractor used. Water-based paints are much safer than oil-based paints and give off fewer chemicals, Singh says. Oil-based paints can avoid VOCs like formaldehyde and benzene, which associated with cancerhe says.
If your room has been freshly painted with oil-based paint, it’s best to play it safe and wait the full 72 hours before sitting in it again, he says. Anyone with allergies or asthma should be especially careful, Singh says, as the paint could be an irritant.
Don’t have a guest room? Avoid some of the inconveniences associated with waiting for paint to dry by purchasing paints labeled as VOC-free or zero-VOC, says Jeff Manning, CEO and founder of ABG Construction Companya multi-state general contracting and development organization, recommends. These release fewer chemicals and may allow you to return to your normal routine more quickly. Check your paint manufacturer’s instructions for more details.
How can paint fumes make you sick?
Aside from accidentally smudging a freshly painted wall, why wouldn’t you sleep in a bedroom you just painted?
Most paints contain chemicals that evaporate into the air, and these chemicals can cause a variety of health problems. How sick you feel can depend on a number of factors — such as how many chemicals are in the air, how long you’ve been exposed to them, and whether you have any pre-existing medical conditions. Some immediate symptoms include eye, throat or lung irritation, headaches, dizziness, and vision problems, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
People exposed to chemicals and high levels of paint fumes over long periods of time, such as professional painters, may be at risk for more serious health problems, including nerve damage and liver and kidney problems. The EPA also says some chemicals in paint have been shown to cause cancer or reproductive and developmental disorders in laboratory animals.
And one more thing: If you’re pregnant and nesting, it might be tempting to paint the nursery before your baby is born. But pregnant women should not tackle any painting jobs themselves and should avoid freshly painted rooms, especially if oil-based paints were used, the EPA warns.
Safety precautions when painting indoors
The best time to paint is when the weather is dry, usually in the fall or spring, and you can leave windows open for ventilation. The EPA recommends keeping windows open for two to three days after painting to reduce the risk of exposure to paint fumes.
A dehumidifier in the room can significantly reduce drying time, says DIYer and interior designer Tony Hoang, owner of What a roomadds. “Low humidity allows paint to dry faster because the moisture can evaporate more quickly,” says Hoang. “This is especially useful in areas with naturally humid climates, where paint seems to take forever to set.”
When painting at home, be sure to take frequent breaks for fresh air and use fans to ventilate the room. Setting up several fans to blow from different angles and opening a window next to one of them creates strong cross ventilation, says Hoang. This helps rooms dry faster and pushes fumes outside.
Bottom line: If you can still smell paint fumes, you should assume that the bedroom is unsafe to sleep in.
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Brittany Anas is a former newspaper reporter (The Denver Post, Boulder Daily Camera) became a freelance writer. Before going freelance, she covered just about every topic – from higher education to crime. Now she writes about food, cocktails, travel and lifestyle topics for Men’s Journal, House beautiful, Forbes, The easiest, Shondaland, Quality of lifeHearst newspapers, TripSavvy and more. In her spare time, she coaches basketball, plays pool, and loves spending time with her rude but lovable Boston Terrier, who never learned that the breed is nicknamed “America’s Gentleman.”
