Is It Safe To Sleep In A Freshly Painted Room?

It's generally advised to wait at least 72 hours before sleeping in a freshly painted room. This ensures the safety of your family from potentially harmful paint fumes.

Health hazards of paint fumes

If you are planning to repaint your home, you’ll need to consider the health hazards of lingering paint fumes, especially if there's poor ventilation. For the most part, exposure to paint fumes after standard professional or DIY paintwork will not pose any risk to your or your family’s health.

However, prolonged exposure might result in headaches, dizziness, or respiratory irritation. In more severe cases, it may cause nausea or exacerbate pre-existing respiratory conditions.

To avoid these risks, you can mask or eliminate any lingering fumes using methods discussed in our article, 7 Tips for Eliminating Paint Fumes.

That being said, we suggest using low or zero VOC paints. VOCs – Volatile Organic Compounds – are harmful chemicals that evaporate from wet paint. These chemicals, which can include things like formaldehyde, are most prevalent as the paint is drying.

Considerations for specific rooms

One of the most common concerns is how soon it is safe to sleep in a room after giving it a fresh coat of paint. The timing varies depending on several factors, such as the type of paint used and the room's ventilation.

The waiting period to sleep in a freshly painted room might differ depending on the room's use, so assessing the individual situation is important. 

Younger family members might be more sensitive to paint fumes, so opt for zero-VOC or low-VOC paints for children's rooms and nurseries. 

In bedrooms for sensitive individuals, such as those with allergies or respiratory issues, it might be best to wait for the entire curing time of the paint to ensure safety.

Are there safe paint options?

The type of paint plays a significant role in determining when it's safe to sleep in the room. Here's a breakdown:

Zero-VOC paint

Zero-VOC paint is a very safe and eco-friendly option. You can sleep in a bedroom painted that day. The paint is pretty much odourless, and does not release any toxic chemicals.

Low-VOC paint

Low-VOC paint is also very safe,  but it isn't odour-free. Though you can sleep in a freshly painted bedroom within the same day, we suggest waiting about 24 hours if you are particularly sensitive to smells.

Regular latex paint and oil-based paint

Paints that are not labelled as eco-friendly or low-VOC require a fair amount of curing time. While the paint may feel dry 2 to 8 hours after painting, toxic chemicals could be released for up to two weeks.

Ventilation and precautions

Ensuring proper ventilation, using fans, and keeping windows open accelerates drying time and reduces the risk of inhaling harmful fumes. These measures are critical, particularly if you wish to sleep in the room within a short time after painting.

Get your home professionally painted

Looking to give your home a refresh? Don’t spend a small fortune and waste weeks battling through a DIY project. Give the friendly and professional painters team at Kraudelt Painting a call today on 07 3829 5735 or fill out the form on this page for fast service and professional finish.