Painting is a relatively easy and inexpensive way to quickly revamp a room or house. But what is the health risk of inhaling paint fumes, and how can you eliminate them?
 
What you risk depends on the paint that was used. Oil paint or any paint that contains volatile organic chemicals has elements that easily evaporate into the air. Examples are solvents, thinners that maintain a uniform consistency, and drying agents that help paint dry faster. These are often the ingredients that release the gas and can make paint fumes so harmful.
 
You may first notice a headache, watery or burning eyes or nose, dry throat, lightheadedness, dizziness, or nausea. This is your body’s way of saying get me out of here and away from these paint fumes! These symptoms will usually go away if you are only exposed to the fumes for a very short time. But often, the paint will release gas fumes for weeks, forcing you and everyone else in the freshly painted space to continue inhaling these fumes for a long period of time.
 
Young children are particularly vulnerable to these fumes because their breathing is relatively fast and their bodies are smaller, which means their bodies are exposed to far more paint fumes than a healthy adult. Pregnant mothers are also at risk of harming a developing fetus, and continued exposure may interfere with normal growth and development. Older adults are also more at risk many times due to pre-existing conditions such as heart problems, respiratory conditions such as asthma or bronchitis, and/or an immune system that is compromised in some way.
 
There are paints available now that contain low or even no volatile organic chemicals. They are more expensive, but they are certainly worth the extra money for the health benefits they provide. But if you’ve moved into an apartment or a newly built home, you may have no control over the paint that was used, and unless you act, you and your family may be forced to live in this unsanitary environment.
 
A high-efficiency particulate arrest (HEPA for short) air purifier that has a filter that specifically targets and removes these vapors can clean the air and return the air quality in your home to a healthy one. How does it do this? It is designed to run 24 hours a day to continuously remove these paint fumes from the air as soon as they are released.
 
By opting for a HEPA air purifier, you also get the added benefit of a cleaner that can remove other household particles that may have resulted from a new construction or home makeover. This filter, by definition, is designed to remove normal household contaminants such as house dust, dust mites, mold and mildew spores, pollen, pet dander, bacteria and viruses, all of which are so small. like 0.3 microns.
 
The best of these air purifiers contains 4 filters built into an easy to change cartridge, each with a different purpose, making it a powerful yet compact and highly efficient solution for removing paint fumes from the air.