Interior wall paints and safety

I am planning to paint few walls and a ceiling in the house (as am thinking to put our current ppor in market) Painter said this will be water based and Stain Blocker is Oil based. The painting is only for 1 wall in the lounge and lounge ceiling and the 1 bedroom ceiling.

Is it safe for our health to sleep in the house at night after the paint during the day? Winters will be hard to keep the windows open at night.

 

Yes.

 

Paints are a water or chemical based plastic like additive that coats a surface. The water dries or the chemical dries so the paint hardens. Solvent based paints tend to use petroleum based spirits which smell. They sometimes use oil to limit drying time so the paint doesnt harden in the tin. They create a lot of vapour until this dries and hardens and the compounds arent exactly good but usually these paints dry within 6 hours. Oxygen mixes with the solvent to vaporise the solvent into air. Once dry, the residual odour is carried in the surface not the air. Paints take time to cure and lose that odour. Plastic paints do it far more rapidly but lack surface hardness. For a soft surface like gyprock its hardly worth use of solvent based paint as the surface itself is soft. Solvent based paints tolerate weathering better and wear and tear eg doors, doorframes etc. Modern plastic (acrylic) paint is tougher than it used to be but still underperforms on some surfaces.

I would limit exposure to solvent based paint while it is wet. Open windows help IF there are screens on windows. You dont want a mosquito to stick to uncured paint. Low Voc paints aim to limit odour. As a compromise they dry fast and can look very streaky. And dont have a good work life. Low VOC plastic paints can play on unfoudered fears. Low VOC paints | Dulux

 

Do I get a leave pass if I don't like the smell of my wife's cooking? It can be quite pervasive and stink the house out for days.

 

Paint smell in a different room ? .

Solution = A teaspoon of concrete mix with a little water. Harden up. Its not cyanide

 

It's perfectly liveable. We've lived through it many times with the kids around as well.

 

I have heard that comment about some people. Staying on good terms with people on this website precludes me naming them.

Having all the windows and external doors open when painting should lead to most of the paint smell going away while painting. Open window at night will assist. It may be possible to paint some rooms and leave others with the door closed during the day, and then sleep in the unpainted room. rather than a longish commute I have spent quite a few nights in properties that I was renovating, including painting, with no known impact on my health. Burning incense may help to disguise the paint smell.

With a bit more bedding a night in the garage will be viable. A tent in the garage will be warm. If it gets too cold, shiver faster.

 

Exactly. We've stayed in many home that we've been painting. PPORs & IPs.