Hello. We purchased a terraced house recently, where one of the bedrooms upstairs was painted over wallpaper. We painted a fresh coat with Dulux matt emulsion but there is a quite a strong smell even after 2 weeks. We left the windows open for a few days, still smells. After we painted it, the wallpaper bubbled in two spots, small size bubbles. The next day bubbles gone, wall straight. Why do you think the smell persists after 2 weeks? Before painting , we had a specialist that did a damp proof check and found no high level humidity in the house. Thank you.
Are you a tradesperson and able to answer this question?
whether the paint is out of date.maybe the moisture is hidden under the plaster and when the paint dries it has entered into a chemical reaction.an in-depth investigation into this room would have to be made
Can you describe what the smell is?
If it was matt emulsion that you painted on the walls then any smell produced during its drying and curing process should have dissipated completely after 24 hours.
Having a stab in the dark here....if the room was given a make-over by the previous owners prior to selling, and they painted the radiator with an oil-based paint, and you have moved in and have had the heating on....
Then theres a possible answer
Hi,
With modern emulsion paints, the VOC generally break down within a short period of time.
However in certain circumstances it can take longer.
Has the wood been painted with gloss? If so it could be the case that it wasn’t primed properly and is still curing, even though on the outside it can feel dry.
Has the radiator been painted ? This will emit paint odours for some time.
We’re the walls cleaned with sugar soap prior to coating ?
There are many reasons and factors as to why your are still having paint fumes weeks after painting.
I would suggest turning of the radiator in the room and have lots of ventilation.
Leave a half onion in a bowl of water in the centre of the room , this is generally quite good for dispersing the paint fumes.
Hi,
The paint could be reacting with the wallpaper paste therefore causing a smell.
My advice would be to completely strip the wallpaper, check the condition of the walls as they may need skimming and sealing, and then paint with your chosen colour.
Regards
It could be the actual paint is off as in old if you still have some of the paint left over open the lid and if it is sort of a musty smell that means it is old or been stored badly.
Or maybe there is damp in the walls.If the smell persists paint it with a sealer of trade quality and repaint with a trade paint not from DIY shops
