Paint fumes during 2WW?

ahbEsq

I need opinions.  We're trying to repaint our condo in preparation for putting it on the market.  I wanted to get some painting done this weekend, but I'm 7DPO and DH thinks I should wait until I know whether I'm pregnant.  My thoughts are that if it's too early to test, it's too early for paint fumes to affect me.  DH also wants me to abstain from alcohol while I'm all about drink til it's pink.  Should I actually listen to DH on this one?

katied2011

I would say just don't huff them. 

jennakg

Just make sure the area is well ventilated while you paint.  Inhaling a lot of paint fumes isn't really good for you regardless of whether or not you're prego.

ahbEsq

Making sure the area is well ventilated makes sense.  I've even agreed to wear a face mask to limit the amount of fumes I would inhale.

ansi29

Have you bought your paint already? Buy low VOC paint, open some windows and wear a mask. You will be fine. I would not paint with oil-based paint (it has terrible fumes and is just generally a pain in the a$$ to paint with) during the 2ww but regular latex-based low-voc paint is fine. 

One other painting tip - buy Wooster short-purple handled brushes (available at Lowes and Home Depot but not at any of our local paint stores) to paint your trim and edges. Don't tape. Keep your eye level to where you're painting (younghouselove.com has good video on this).

Another painting tip - buy expensive paint. Especially if you are doing it yourselves. You could save yourself an extra coat which equals more free time on the weekend to do something fun. 

ahbEsq

ansi29:

Have you bought your paint already? Buy low VOC paint, open some windows and wear a mask. You will be fine. I would not paint with oil-based paint (it has terrible fumes and is just generally a pain in the a$$ to paint with) during the 2ww but regular latex-based low-voc paint is fine. 

One other painting tip - buy Wooster short-purple handled brushes (available at Lowes and Home Depot but not at any of our local paint stores) to paint your trim and edges. Don't tape. Keep your eye level to where you're painting (younghouselove.com has good video on this).

Another painting tip - buy expensive paint. Especially if you are doing it yourselves. You could save yourself an extra coat which equals more free time on the weekend to do something fun. 

We will be trying to re-paint areas that have already been painted to cover up marks on the walls, so we're buying the same brand we had before.  Hopefully the colors will still match so we don't have to re-do the entire wall.  We used Valspar from Lowe's, and I just looked it up and it says it is low odor, low VOC.  Last time I tried painting trim I didn't use tape and did it all by hand, so I'll try that again.  Thanks for the tip on the Wooster brushes as I was going to check those out as well!

ansi29

It is this brush:  https://www.amazon.com/Wooster-Brush-Q3211-2-Shortcut-Paintbrush/dp/B002YC06T2

 If you're using the same exact color you won't need 2 coats so the quality of paint is less important. 

I'll be painting this weekend also.