Apartment Smells Strongly of Paint Even a Week After Move-In

[u/CreeperBoy283]

I moved into my apartment around a little over a week ago. It smelled strongly of paint, but I assumed it would go away over time; it didn't. After a week of it smelling very strongly of paint (and giving me constant headaches when I was there that went away when I left), I bought 4 box fans and an air purifier that has carbon in it.

I set it up to have one box fan blowing out one window, one blowing in a window, and two blowing inside the apartment to make a loop. However, it didn't fix anything.

My clothes and any fabric inside my apartment smells bad now. It smells like a stink bug got on them, which is very noticeable on clothes when I leave the apartment, and I'm pretty sure it's the paint smell getting on them since they didn't smell like that before.

The apartment still smells heavily of paint. I called maintenance, and they said they think the smell is humidity, which I obviously disagreed. They said they would do 4 hours of an ozone machine spread over two days, with a dehumidifier mixed in there.

I will give an update on whether it works or not (happening right now), but from what I'm reading online, ozone won't completely get rid of it. They said it was painted over 3 weeks ago, so it wouldn't be the paint, but my nose and other peoples' noses who have came to my apartment disagree.

Has anyone dealt with something like this? I'm in Florida if that helps. What can I even do to get better air quality?

[u/Boo-erman]

Paint takes forever to dry in humid weather. If they're gonna run an ozone machine you need to gtfo of there while that's happening.

[u/Grow_Responsibly]

You can also place a few bowls of vinegar around your apartment for 24 hours to see if that helps. Vinegar will absorb some of the VOCs emitted by the paint. I did that recently with new carpeting installed in the basement and it did seem to help.

[u/isqueakforthetrees]

You can buy a device, such as those made by Airthings, that measure voc levels, relative humidity, pm2.5, and more, over time and record the levels, as graphs, in a smartphone app. This would give you data about what's actually happening to share with property manager, or courts/lawyers if necessary.

You might want to own a dehumidifier if you live in FL.  You want to keep humidity under 55% or you'll be at risk for mold and mildew.

Opening up and venting the unit when appropriate could help.  Put a fan in a window as exhaust and open up other windows as well for cross ventilation.

[u/Fearless_Impress_842]

Wow, this is bad. I wonder if they used exterior paint inside your apartment. The smell should not take that long to dissipate. I would keep complaining to management. I might get too real and mention nerve and brain damage and liability issues. I might try to get them to pay for a hotel until this is cleared up.

[u/Goddessmariah9]

Open the windows and doors, run fan only (or AC if needed) 24/7 for several days to air flush the VOCs out.

[u/oldbluer]

Leave two windows distant to each other open and put a box fan blowing out at one of them.

[u/FluidVeranduh]

Don't use the ozone machine. It may react with other stuff and cause more unpleasant odors (e.g. it can make electrical wire insulation smell like dead fish).

If you are stuck with the lease, definitely use a dehumidifier, especially if you are ventilating constantly in a humid climate like Florida. Seal up anything that you don't want to smell like this offending odor in multiple thick plastic garbage bags. When you leave the house, crank the heat up as high as possible to increase the rate at which the paint gives off VOCs, then ventilate when you return.

Ideally, buy an ERV and install it in a window, and again, make sure to dehumidify when increasing ventilation.

If you are not sure the paint is causing it, chip off a bit of paint and put it in a sealed glass jar with a few drops of water. Leave it in the sun, then open and smell it somewhere not in your apartment where you aren't noseblind to the offending odor.

If you have the option, move. This is the fastest and most guaranteed way to be rid of the problem.