We’re currently redecorating. And while I can totally hack the paint smells when they are confined to one room, I draw the line when it comes to painting my hallway.
Just to add to the mix: I’m also pregnant with the nose of a bloodhound. Right now, I feel like I have some sort of scent-related superpower, as I can smell the kitchen trash can from upstairs.
So, I needed something other than my trustyair purifierto help whisk away those pesky paint smells whilst we tackle our hall, before baby arrives next year.
Fortunately, I spoke with an expert who told me that the solution to this problem could be living in my pantry.
According to expert Jessie Brooks, product manager at Davincified, ground coffee is a good trick to get rid of paint smells.
“This coffee trick is something I recommend to everyone who asks, and the feedback is always the same: they can’t believe how well it works,” she claims.
Fortunately, ground coffee is always a staple in my under-stairs pantry, so I thought it was worth a try to help me get a wink’s worth of sleep whilst we’re redecorating. Here’s what happened.
What is the coffee ground paint hack?
Simply fill a bowl or two with some ground coffee and leave it in the room you are painting.
“This method is special because it’s accessible to everyone,” adds Brooks. “You don’t need to be handy or have a big budget.
“Coffee is something most people already have, and the results speak for themselves. Plus, waking up to the smell of coffee instead of paint fumes? That’s a win in my book.”
You needn’t do this until you’ve finished your decorating and the lid is firmly back on that tin. So, there’s no rush if you need to go to the store to grab some ground coffee to try it out.
For larger rooms, it’s advised to place a bowl in each corner of the room. I didn’t paint my entire hall, so I used two bowls, as this is a rather confined space anyway.
Once left overnight, you should wake up noticing that your space smells remarkably less paint-filled than it would have if you hadn’t used the coffee grounds. You might even be able to smell coffee instead of paint.
How does it work? Coffee grounds contain nitrogen, and this element is often used to help neutralize odors since it’s super porous.
Nitrogen can easily trap VOCs (volatile organic compounds), which you can find in paint, as this is the ingredient that causes the paint smell.
“Think of coffee powder as a sponge for bad smells,” says Brooks. “It’s actively pulling those paint fumes out of the air, not just making your room smell like a café”.
Did it work?
To avoid the paint smell floating into all of our other upstairs rooms, I closed every door. I also removed our air purifier, which usually lives on the landing, so that it was a fair test.
I placed two bowls in the area, and after painting half of the hallway, there was a noticeable paint smell.
I noticed that, even while the paint was drying, I never found myself moaning about that pungent paint smell. Even when all of the doors upstairs were closed, so there was minimal airflow. I was most concerned about the paint smells floating through to my toddler’s bedroom at night, but standing in there, I could smell zero traces of paint. Only a faint coffee odour. I was shocked!
The next morning, I expected to wake to the scent of paint hitting me right in the face — that’s after experiencing a toddler’s foot right to the eye, of course.
I was surprised, as the paint smell was gone. Not even a slight scent of paint! I was super impressed. My husband? Couldn’t quite believe it—his jaw actually dropped when he realized how well it worked in the morning.
The best part? I’ve kept the can that the coffee was in, so I’ll be decanting this and using it again when I do the second coat.
Obviously, it will get to a point where it has absorbed as much as it can, but for now I’ll try and squeeze as much use out of it as possible.
Plus, don’t make these painting mistakes to avoid — top tips from an expert.
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