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Primer/Paint Fumes Question

giggles9393giggles9393 member
in 3rd Trimester

Hi,

 I will be 28 weeks tomorrow. Yesterday we started to get our kitchen painted. They primed all day and today is the paint. I didn't realize how bad the fumes were in the house until I woke up in the middle of the night and realized I still wasn't used to the smell and it was almost as if it was getting stronger.

Is this bad for the baby? Also, I have a 5 year old that I am concerned about now. The only room I ever painted while pregnant was with a paint that had basically no odor so I really have no clue about this, tia! 

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Re: Primer/Paint Fumes Question

  • DawnJM25DawnJM25 member

    I am pretty sure I've read that it's okay for pregnant women to be around painted walls as long as the room is ventilated.  If you are waking up in the night and smelling it, I might suggest opening windows or using fans during the day to help with ventilation.  If it isn't too hot where you live, maybe you could sleep with the window open?

     

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  • ArcadianDreamsArcadianDreams member

    Whether or not the fumes can be toxic depends largely upon the kind of paint that was used. But in general, it's a good rule of thumb to ventilate your home during and after painting. So especially since you can still smell it, I would open the windows (I know, sucks with the rain but open them at least partly) to help air things out and turn on any fans that are nearby.

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  • Jsthomas618Jsthomas618 member
    Take this as you want, but I did some reading on paint  fumes early in this pregnancy.  The only studies I found linking paint to a slight increase in birth defects was a European study of female auto painters, so the exposure was all day, every day.  I found it reassuring actually but personally choose to use common sense.  I reduce exposure when I can but dont get too worked up.  Helped DH paint this weekend for short durations with the fan on.
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  • DaisyKDDaisyKD

    I think as long as the room is ventilated and you aren't the one doing the painting you should be fine.  Pretty much all the paint they make these days (from what I've heard) is safe, especially in a well-ventilated room.

    I painted our entire garage at 14 weeks pregnant, and am painting our nursery and possibly laundry room before the baby is born, and I'm not worried about it at all-I just make sure the window's open and a fan is on. 

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  • MrsT2008MrsT2008 member
    I did a bit of research when I was in the 1st tri because we were doing some renovations and I was curious.  Oil-based paint is what you really need to worry about and chances are, they used latex-based paint, so you should be fine.  Try keeping some windows open and/or fans circulating in the room if possible.
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  • giggles9393giggles9393 member
    Thank you for the replies! It actually is an oil based primer that they used yeterday.... How bad is it that I breathed it in all night, and is this something that should make me not go home until the smell is gone?
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  • Jsthomas618Jsthomas618 member
    Personally, I would leave the house only if it'll ease your mind.   I had painting done (and actually did some wearing a ventilator) with oil primer too.  I got nervous and read the MSDS sheet (explains all the potential hazards etc) and there were no birth defect causing chemicals iin the brand we used.  In case you are having more done, check out the Zinsser (sp?) brand odorless oil primer.    Try to relax, it's very low concentration that you were exposed to but do what you need to ease your mind.
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  • sarteratopssarteratops member
    As long as it's a low/no VOC and lead-free paint you should be fine. We painted when I was 31 weeks and used a safe paint but the fumes still made me feel sick.
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  • HPickle23HPickle23 member
    I'm painting the whole upstairs of our house and I'd asked people to help paint. The wall paint is low-no VOC but the ceiling paint is very smelly.  Usually after a few hours of ventilation it didn't smell as bad but I didn't go up there for a while. I would follow PP's suggestions and try and ventilate the rooms more until the smell goes away. Also, make sure that you take some Vitamin C and keep your nasal passages hydrated with saline spray. Even though you're not posing a major threat to your baby you could suffer from a chemical cold, in which, you'll feel terrible afterwards. They are like sinus infections, and it's best to try and prevent this to keep yourself healthy.
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