Chemists, painters, how can I get rid of the smell of fresh paint?

Factual Questions
1

My place is being painted and the smell gives me a nasty headache. Is there anything I can do that will speed up that smell going away. I’ve been keeping the windows open constantly, but it doesn’t seem t do much. Would candles work (non-scented)? Ozium? Is there some anti-paint smell product? I just don’t want to mask the smell, but get rid of it.

Another question, after the paint is dry, does it still give off “that smell”? Or it it just in the air for all these days?

Help. I’ve had a migraine almost non-stop. And there not done yet.

Thanks.

2

Go to the local health food store or pet store and get some zeolite pouches. Zeolite is a non-toxic volanic material that gets the smell of anything out of anything.

Dishes of baking soda and/or vinegar (separately) might help too.

3

Your paint will feel dry long before all the solvents bleed out of it. Turning up the thermostat will speed the degassing.

4

From a technical (chemical) standpoint, do you know why this works?

5

Sure, the odor comes from volatile chemicals in the paint. When you raise the temperature of the room, you also raise the vapor pressure of the volatiles. Here’s a plot of vapor pressure vs temperature for water. Other liquids, including paint solvents, all behave the same way.

6

Thanks.

7

In the meantime, you can get a NIOSH rated filter mask with cartridges meant to stop organic vapors. I’m not talking about those little white paper things. Those are only good for dust and paint droplets, if that. Go to a hardware store, a paint store, or a Home Depot. A serious filter mask will set you back about $25, but I think you’ll find that personally cheaper than continuous migraines.

8

There are two ways to get rid of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) given off by the paint: ventilation or adsorption onto activated carbon (charcoal).

AskNott’s suggestion of a mask with an activated carbon cartridge is sound, but if it is causing you that much of a problem, it would better for you to leave the house (if possible), with as much ventilation to the outside as possible.

9

A commercial for a hardware chain called OSH out here claims that pouring a touch of vanilla extract into the can before painting eliminates the odors. YMMV.

10

When we hire contractors to paint at work, there is a thin liquid that they add to the paint to keep the smell down. They only add an ounce or so to five gallons, but it must be expensive because they don’t like to use it.

My Google-fu is weak tonight though, I can’t seem to find any information on it.