Paint

jeborer

So our apartment complex recently was bought by a new management company, and this new company has been doing lots of small renovations on the buildings to make them look better, basically. They never tell anyone when they're going to start or what they're doing (so we've ended up multiple times without heat for a couple days, or without water all day, or with roofers hammering above us for weeks on end, or taking two days to replace our sliding glass doors - in the winter). 

Well, the latest thing they're doing is fixing the community hallways outside our apartments. First they replaced the carpet with ugly tile, and now they're painting. The walls were painted in the summer. This time, they're painting the banisters and stair rails (and trim I think) so that instead of the natural wood, they are white.

Well, they are using a really smelly oil based paint. It's really drippy, and it takes multiple coats. They're back again today, to do like their sixth coat or something. The smell is sooo strong, and it comes into our apartments. My entire living room, dining room, kitchen, and the nursery (even though I keep that door closed) stinks like the paint. It actually gave me a migraine the other day, and DH was complaining about headaches too.

They don't keep the door to the outside open (which makes sense, since it's 19 degrees) but they don't have fans or anything either. The smell lasts forever, and they come every two days to work on it. I'm sure this is not good for me or baby, but every time we talk to the landlord (about anything) she says she can't do anything about it. There's repairs in our apartment that have needed done for almost the whole year we've lived here and they haven't done anything.

 I'm getting soo frustrated at this. Why would they do something like this in a space that gets no air?? I wish there was someone I could call to complain, because this is affecting my health AND my baby's health, but I don't know of anyone.

lexyraejay

FWIW, the most dangerous thing is removing lead-based paint (used until the late '70s). I've been looking into this because we are trying to finish up some house projects before the baby arrives. From what I can tell, painting isn't any worse for a baby in the womb than it is for the adults doing the painting. It's super cold here right now, so we aren't ventiliating as much as we would like either. Maybe you could pick up a used air purifier at the Goodwill or something. I hope they finish up painting soon!

TnArichmond

If your landlord won't do anything about it, maybe you could go down to the guys while they are painting, and ask them to open up a door for a little while after they finish (or when they are almost done). 30 minutes of letting cold in and stink out should be ok. Just tell them that your pregnant and the smell is seriously bothering you.