Fresh paint smells - how to remove

Hestelle Robinson

I recently repainted a room and although paint has come a long way since the overwhelmingly smelly lead layered 70's it still is not completely odourless. At first the smell of a freshly painted room might be charming, but after a few hours the charm turns into irritation or a nasty headache.

So here's the advice I got to remove the smell of fresh paint from a room:
 

• Place a cut onion in a bowl of water and leave it in the room overnight. The room will smell a bit like onion in the morning but once you’ve aired the room the smell of paint and onion will be gone.
• Place a few bowls of baking soda throughout the room – it won’t flop (pun intended), the baking soda will absorb the odour.
• Place a few pieces of charcoal in a bucket, wet a few paper towels and place on top of the charcoal. Leave it in the room for 24 hours and the smell will be gone.