Painting the walls - is it safe?

We really want to paint the loungeroom before the baby comes (believe me, it's awful - we just bought the house, and they had a red feature wall... with pink other walls, pink carpet and pink blinds! Ugh! Plus they had a fake fireplace we've removed, but when they painted the feature wall they just painted round the fireplace, so we also have an outline of the fireplace on our wall!

Anyway, so you can see it's something I'd like to happen before baby comes because afterwards I imagine I'll be fairly busy so not interested in painting!

Just wondered if I need to think about ventilation, masks, etc if DH and I are doing it? If necessary he will do it by himself, but it also means that we (Sebastian and I) would need to be out of the house, which is a bit of a hassle for hours at a time. Has anyone got any idea where I could find out info about paint and effects on pregnancy?

tia

I had been warned against painting whilst pregnant, I wanted to paint the nursery as it was dark & dingy looking & sort advice from my OB, he said absolutely not as the chemicals in the paint could cause grave issues particularly if it got on the skin & was absorbed into the baby.

So DH had to do it by him self well ventilated but not effecting me, needless to say it took him over 4 weeks to get it done. Like you I wanted to help but it's not worth it... you can search on the net & find a few answers around painting whilst PG most say it's not advisable.

Hope that helps

I agree, not adviseable. DH had to paint the nursery on his own as I couldn't help.

I helped paint the baby's room this time round & just made sure I was near the window the whole time!! Meant I could only do the window frames & one wall, but it was all good.

Hey Bec!! How's things? I helped paint Oskar's room (funnily enough it was PINK!!...lol - there are pics in the link in my sig.) and I also painted Joshua's room when I was pregnant. I was in 3rd tri both times. I didn't speak to a doc or anything, just used common sense and had very well ventilated and also I didn't do the oil based gloss paint for around the windows cos it's a stronger yucky smell..lol.

I painted our nursery with no problems. Like Sarah, I just opened the window and really took my time. I wanted to suprise DH with it all finished when he got home from work so I took all day to paint 3.5 walls with lots of rest periods in between.

I think if you don't use enamel paint, then you would be fine. Enamel is really really smelly, and your brushes and rollers have to be cleaned with turps. DH primed DD's new room in enamel and the smell throughout the house was horrible. It stunk for days, and made me feel sick, so we went and got some acryclic primer.

If you use acrylic, it doesn't seem to smell as much, and you clean up with water. We use Dulux wash and wear 101, I think it smells nice (but I'm probably a little weird) and it is sooo easy to clean any little (and big) handprints off the wall.

I was reading a magazine article the other day about paint, and it mentioned VOC paint, which I think doesn't smell as bad. I will see if I can find the article.


Like the girls mentioned, have the windows open, and let some fresh air in while painting.
Another tip, we were told was to use an onion chopped up and placed in a bowl of water in the room, helps with the fumes a little. I can't remember if that was with both acrylic and enamel or just enamel though? sorry..

You could also use a good quality mask for painting, not a dust one though, unless you are sanding obviously.

Not sure about what websites to check out for info, but you could start with the paint brands, like dulux, taubmans, porters, haymes, maybe even the hardware brands like Mitre 10's own brand I think is called Accent. Maybe drop into a couple of different specialised paint places, like paint place or paint barn, or whoever is in your area and ask their opinion about you painting while pregnant and if they suggest any paints to use. You can always go and then buy the paint wherever it is cheapest :)

Nic

I painted whilst pg with no troubles. I consulted my doctor first and she said to make sure you use a water based paint, eg, dulux wash and wear. Water based paints don't contain lead and aren't as strong smelling. Just keep the room well ventilated and take breaks if you need....
PS. Dulux wash and wear is great paint, you can just wipe marks off with a damp cloth, love it!

LOL at pink... we had the same, but it was peach everywhere.

For 3 months before DD was due, we fully renovated our house ourselves. It was a huge job and I slept when I had to. We sanded, stripped, painted. You name it we did it. When it came to paints, I wore a mask and I had the windows open. We used the dulex wash and wear 101. It didnt smell too much and its great to get grubby finger marks off, just with a wet cloth.

Just make sure there is plenty of ventilation and when youre tired, have a rest. Good luck:)

thanks to all your replies, just wanted to update - we ended up getting a water based paint, and it was quite a breezy day so I just stayed near the window and had a good lot of air coming through, so that was fine. Then S and I went out in the afternoon and M did the rest of the wall, so it was all finished when we got back! Still smelt a bit "painty" but we left windows open all night and it had pretty much gone in the morning.

For the next room (which we probably won't do until way after the baby comes, anyway) I think we'll go with a British Paint one which is and "eco" paint - low VOC, low ammonia, water based one. Looked quite good and I'm sure it's better than the little ones breathing in the smell. I was still surprised at how little the one we used smelt. No headache or anything, it was great.

(Hey Cass, I'm getting round to dropping in on the baby buddy thread - catch up with you there soon!)


best,