11 Ways to Get Rid of Paint Smells

Paint smell won’t go away? Here are some home remedies that will help

Co-authored by Jeff Baldwin and Janice Tieperman

Last Updated: October 6, 2024 Fact Checked

Nowadays, plenty of paint brands are more eco-friendly and safer than ever, but that doesn’t always eliminate the nasty paint fumes that fill your home after the fact. How can you get your home smelling fresh and normal again without adding any more chemicals into the mix? We’ve got you covered with a variety of all-natural, deodorizing solutions. Before you know it, your home will smell the way it did before—all with the help of a few general household items.

Things You Should Know

Open up windows and set up fans to ventilate the space.
Set out a bowl of lemon water, chopped onions, or coffee grounds to absorb smells.
Deodorize your space with 1 cup (272 g) of baking soda and 15 drops of essential oil.

1

Open up your windows.

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If your room’s layout (as well as the weather) permits, open up a few windows to let some fresh air circulate through the painted space. Leave them open until the smell of fumes goes away completely.^{[1]
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2

Switch on a couple of fans.

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Fans help circulate the air and get rid of the bad smell. Plug in a fan or two (or however many you can fit) into your painted space. Switch them on to help get the air moving around so it can deodorize the room. Leave the fans on until you can smell a difference in your room’s air quality.^{[2]
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- For extra deodorizing power, open up a couple of your windows, too!

3

Pour white vinegar into a dish.

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Bowls of vinegar help clear away the stench of paint fumes. Grab a bottle or jug of white vinegar and pour it into a few bowls. Then, put these bowls all around your room, leaving them there until the paint stench completely fades away.^{[3]
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- If you aren’t a fan of the vinegar scent either, add a few drops of essential oils (like lavender oil) to each bowl.^{[4]
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4

Mix 15 drops of essential oil with baking soda.

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Freshen up your living space with a homemade deodorizer. Dump 1 cup (272 g) of baking soda into a clean mason jar, as well as 15 drops of your desired essential oil. To really boost the fresh scent, mix in 1 tsp (2 g) of dried herbs (like rosemary or basil), too. Replace the lid and shake everything together to incorporate it all together; then, pour the mixture into a bowl and set it out in the fume-filled room until the bad smell goes away.^{[5]
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- Make multiple bowls of this deodorizing mixture to achieve max benefits.
- Don’t have any herbs or essential oils lying around? Set out a few dishes of plain baking soda instead.

5

Set out plates of sliced onion.

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The onion slices help eliminate the paint stench from your space. Peel away the outer layer of a medium- or large-sized white or yellow onion. Slice each onion in half, placing each chunk cut-side-up in a bowl. Set these bowls down on opposite ends of the smelly room and leave them overnight (or until the paint smell has completely dissipated).^{[6]
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- Toss out the onions once the room is deodorized—make sure that no one eats them!

6

Create a mixture of salt, vinegar, and lemon slices.

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Leave out bowls of this mixture for a deodorizing kick. Fill up 3 or more bowls with tap water, adding a slice of lemon and ¼ cup (59 mL) of salt to each one. Place the bowls all around a room that’s recently been painted. Let these bowls sit out overnight, or until the paint smell has gone away completely.^{[7]
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- Toss out the homemade mixture once your room is deodorized.

7

Leave out dishes of diatomaceous earth.

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Diatomaceous earth is a popular household deodorizer. Pour food-grade diatomaceous earth into containers and set them around the room. Any leftover or unused containers you have lying around your home work well for this. Set the containers out in the smelly room, leaving them out until the stench clears away.
- Diatomaceous earth is most commonly used for small-scale deodorizing projects, like airing out a pair of shoes or refrigerator, but there’s no harm in using it for larger-scale projects, like a living space.^{[8]
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- The FDA considers diatomaceous earth as a “generally safe” product, but still opt for the food-grade variety whenever you can, as it’s gone through a purification process.

8

Switch to a low VOC paint.

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Materials like paint typically have VOC, or Volatile Organic Compounds—these are responsible for the nasty fumes you often smell after painting your space. To prevent any lingering fumes, choose a low VOC paint to get the job done.^{[9]
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9

Leave out water buckets filled with lemon slices.

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Grab a big bucket or cooking pot and fill it up most of the way with water. Then, dump a handful of fresh lemon slices into the water and stick the mixture somewhere in your freshly-painted room. Each day, switch out the bucket with fresh water and lemon slices until the bad odors clear away.

10

Pour old coffee grounds into bowls.

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The coffee helps soak up the nasty paint smell in your room. Grind up your whole coffee beans, transferring the grounds into two or more bowls as needed. Stick all the bowls around a room that you recently painted and let them sit overnight, or until the paint smell has dissipated.^{[10]
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- Toss out the old coffee grounds once they’ve soaked up the paint fumes.

11

Fill pans with activated charcoal.

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Activated charcoal can absorb the foul paint smell in your space. Grab a few large bowls and fill them up with activated charcoal, which is great at soaking up bad smells. Arrange these bowls all around the fume-filled space, leaving them out until they absorb the nasty smell.^{[11]
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- Feel free to just stick opened sacks of activated charcoal in a space instead of pouring it out.
- Did You Know? You can make your own activated charcoal at home.

Expert Q&A

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Question

Do candles get rid of paint smell?

Jeff Baldwin
Residential Painter
Jeff Baldwin is a Residential Painter and the Owner of Baldwin Custom Painting, based in San Francisco, CA. With two decades of painting experience, Jeff specializes in high-end residential and small commercial painting projects. Dedicated to quality craftsmanship, Jeff and Baldwin Custom Painting provide bonded/insured, licensed, and lead-safe certified services in residential painting, light commercial painting, and wood refinishing.

Jeff Baldwin

Residential Painter

Expert Answer

Burning candles can help mask the odor, but open your windows if you can to help your room air out.

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I had my kitchen and living room painted in July, and now it smells like smoke and my eyes burn. I have tried all kinds of things to clean the wall, but had no luck. Any suggestions?

Bo$$yNJ

Community Answer

Do you smoke in the house or burn incense or candles? That may be your problem. Try something different for odor control like the ceramic rings that you put scents on, or open a window and use Febreeze.

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How do I avoid fumes and odor while painting?

Bo$$yNJ

Community Answer

Stores sell paint with less fumes; open a few windows, use a fan, and if you have a vent system, utilize it.

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Tips

Make sure that your room isn’t very humid before you start painting. The more humid your space is (especially with any open windows), the longer it will take for your new paint to dry.^{[12]
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