Paint issue 1 month after paint completion.

Questions & AnswersCategory: Enviromental Painting Questions and ConcernsPaint issue 1 month after paint completion.
Anonymous asked 10 years ago

I am having an issue with a bathroom that I had painted recently. 1 month ago I painted the interior master bathroom with Lowe’s semi-gloss paint. It did not go on well and I needed to use multiple coats (in some areas up to 4 coats). I placed fans in the bathroom to circulate the air and help dry. There are no windows in the bathroom, only a fan in the ceiling. The paint was still tacky even 2 weeks after I finished. I assume that was due to multiple coats and that it would just take longer.

The paint is no longer tacky at all, however, the entire bathroom smells like pickles. Yes, pickles. It is terrible and is making us sick. Do you have any idea of what this is or how to fix it? I am at a loss here and we have been living in the guest room for over a month. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance

25 Answers
Anonymous answered.

Did you ever find a solution?

Anonymous answered.

Never use Lowes paint. I am a painter and they have some of the worst and most difficult to use paint (Mainly Valspar) I have ever used.

Anonymous answered.

There is a thing called "wall odor phenomenon" sometimes called "ghost odor". When you paint walls, the smell gets worse when the room is being ventilated (open windows) and when it's warm. I did a lot of research on this because it happened to us. We used Olympic zero VOC paint. Worked in all rooms except on bedroom and a bathroom down the hall. Bedroom smelled like dead animals and got stronger everyday. If we closed the window and it wasn't a hot day, the smell was less. And no, nothing dead in walls we checked. Painted over it with a sealant called BIN and the smell was gone the next day. Repainted and 3 days later smell is back but not as strong. It is exhausting!!! We move in a week and this is my daughters room and she can't sleep in it. We are thinking we may have to remove the walls and re-drywall. Our HomeOwners Insur. is going to have to come investigate and hopefully help.

Anonymous answered.

Quite a possibility that it may never properly dry. If you applied coats over coats without allowing proper drying then the topmost coat will skin over never allowing the bottom coat to dry. It's got a shell over it that seals out aeration. Please read the directions on the container that your product arrived in and let the first coat dry properly to avoid problems like this in the future.

puddycat answered.

We just painted with brand new, but gone-bad NO VOC paint (Dunn Edwards in a dark teal). It went on smelling like good paint but when it dried it has a chemical sour smell like a cross between formaldehyde and vomit. We live in the desert (Sedona) so humidity is not an issue. Headaches and nausea are not fun. We sealed all offending walls with 2 coats of sealer primer (BIN Advanced) and another top coat of paint, as suggested by paint company, and it did not fix the smelly problem. Then we got desperate. We have burned two boxes of nag champa incense, as well as cinnamon candles for days. We have washed the walls down with backing soda…. vinegar…. and natures miracle. Everything we do alters the smell, but does not clear it up. Other rooms we painted with lighter tan color of same paint are perfect. The windows have been open for days with exhaust fans going, and we are being held prisoner in the only warm room that doesn't stink. Once the room warms up the smell comes back. After reading dozens of blogs on this issue and hearing over and over that paint company's do not own up to having a fix to this bad no-VOC paint issue, it looks like we may to have to tear down dry wall! HELP …. Any suggestions out there would be helpful before I rip my home apart.